The City of Richmond, Richmond School District No. 38, Richmond Fire Rescue and Richmond Public Library are encouraging everyone to wear pink on Wednesday, February 22 in honour of Pink Shirt Day, a day dedicated to promoting kindness and anti-bullying. 

“On Pink Shirt Day, we wear pink to support kindness and the idea that everyone in the Richmond community deserves to feel welcomed, supported and safe.” says Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “When we wear pink, we demonstrate that our community strives to live in a city that accepts all people for who they are.”

To promote Pink Shirt Day, a  contest was held by the Richmond Youth Media Program (RYMP) with participants invited to create and submit a new Pink Shirt Day t-shirt design. The winning design by Botao Chen, a student at MacNeill Secondary School and participant of RYMP since 2018, was selected and has been printed on the City’s pink t-shirts to be worn by City of Richmond and Community Association staff. 

Pink Shirt Day activities taking place in the community on and around February 22 include:

• A Pink Shirt Day toonie youth skate at Minoru Arenas.
  
• “Take a Selfie with Kind Words about Yourself” at Cambie Community Centre.
  
• Window and lobby displays at community centres with messages about kindness. 
  
• Themed decorations and displays at Richmond Public Library, including specially chosen books about kindness, as well as a Pink Shirt Day Storytime.  
  
• Youth-organized craft activities for children at Steveston Community Centre. 
  
• Richmond Fire-Rescue duty crews will wear pink epaulettes on their uniform.
  
• School District No. 38 will continue to have conversations in the classroom about anti-bullying.

Details about the events above are available at www.richmond.ca/youthinitiatives. 

About Pink Shirt Day
Pink Shirt Day originated in 2007, when Travis Price and David Shepherd, two high school students from Nova Scotia, learned that a Grade 9 student had been bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. Shortly after, both students distributed pink shirts to their fellow students in solidarity. This act of kindness sparked what is now known as Pink Shirt Day—an international anti-bullying movement.