Bullying is a major problem in our schools, workplaces, homes, and online. Over the month of February, and throughout the year, CKNW Kids' Fund's Pink Shirt Day aims to raise awareness of these issues, as well as raise funds to support programs that foster children’s healthy self-esteem.
Now a movement celebrated across the globe, Pink Shirt Day has humble beginnings. Inspired by an act of kindness in small-town Nova Scotia, CKNW Kids' Fund, working with partners Boys & Girls Clubs and CKNW 980, was inspired to raise funds to support anti-bullying programs. Here is a snippet of an article detailing the original incident:
After David and Travis’ act of kindness in 2007, CKNW was inspired to help other youth affected by bullying, with many staff members wearing pink shirts and collecting funds to support Boys and Girls Clubs. Since then, the idea has only grown each year, with worldwide support and participation. Countries across the globe are now organizing anti-bullying fundraisers of their own, including Japan, New Zealand, China, Panama, and numerous others. In fact, last year alone, people in almost 180 countries shared their support of Pink Shirt Day through social media posts and donations.
On February 28, 2018, we encourage everyone to practice kindness and wear pink to symbolize that you do not tolerate bullying.
As the Pink Shirt Day movement grows each year, we not only see more and more people practicing kindness – both online and off – we are pleased to use the funds raised through official merchandise sales and donations to help hundreds of kids affected by bullying. Since 2008, net proceeds of over $1.8 million have been distributed to support youth anti-bullying programs in British Columbia and throughout Western Canada. In 2017 alone, we were able to support programs that impacted more than 59,300 youth and children.
Learn more about how we put our funding to work by visiting our Where Your Donations Go page.