On Wednesday, April 8, 2015, Youville Centre celebrated The International Day of Pink. Staff and students dressed in their favourite shades of pink and showed their creativity with accessories and decorations. Even the children enjoyed the festive pink hairbands our staff donned for the day.

Although it was a fun opportunity to dress up and be festive, the reason for the pink attire had a deeper significance. From the official Day of Pink website:

The Day of Pink is the International Day against Bullying, Discrimination, Homophobia and Transphobia in schools and communities. The International Day of Pink was started in Nova Scotia when 2 straight high school students saw a gay student wearing a pink shirt being bullied. The 2 students intervened, but wanted to do more to prevent homophobic & transphobic bulling. They decided to purchase pink shirts, and a few days later got everyone at school to arrive  wearing pink, standing in solidarity. The result was that an entire school stopped homophobic & transphobic bullying. The message was clear: anyone can bully, any can be victimized by bullying, but together we can stop it. Each year on the second Wednesday of April, millions of people wear pink to remember that positive actions make a difference. And that the change starts with each one of us.

Youville Centre recognized this cause by signing an “Anti-Bullying Pledge”, where they vowed not to bully, discriminate, or use harmful words; and to stand up and act when they witness bullying by others.

Students signed the pledge at lunchtime and as a special treat our staff had baked cupcakes for them to enjoy.

At Youville Centre we wholeheartedly support the anti-bullying movement, and it is a doubly important message, as our students are role modeling daily behaviour for their children.

The day ended with students and staff tacking their pledges up for all to see. Youville Centre was proud to celebrate the International Day of Pink and to support the anti-bullying movement.