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Burnaby schools to step up acts of kindness at local mall for Pink Shirt Day

A pink wave is preparing to sweep through a Burnaby mall this week in the name of kindness and anti-bullying. Feb.

A pink wave is preparing to sweep through a Burnaby mall this week in the name of kindness and anti-bullying.

Feb. 28 is Pink Shirt Day, an annual day of solidarity against bullying, and Burnaby students will be out in full force, making nice at the Metropolis at Metrotown mall.

For five years now, leadership students from Maywood Community School have donned pink shirts and descended on the mall with kind intentions, and Metropolis has helped out by pitching in shirts and giving students $10 gift cards to hand out as random acts of kindness.

This year, however, the ranks of the pink-shirted will swell nine-fold as nine other elementary schools join in the fun – and good deeds.

 “We are so excited to see our partnership between Metropolis and Burnaby schools grow with student leaders from 10 schools spreading kindness on Pink Shirt Day,” said Maywood Community School principal Kathryn Yamamoto. “Spreading kindness builds a community of generosity and care. The hope for our students is that they remember that moment when someone accepted their act of kindness, so they will continue to follow this path of generosity.”

Community school coordinator Gayle Beavil, who started the initiative when she worked at Maywood, agreed.

“We wanted the kids to experience the positive feelings that giving gives us, as the giver, not the receiver. We wanted this feeling to stay with the kids so thatthey would keep doing it in their own lives,” she said.

While brightening someone’s day by giving them a $10 gift card and a kind note is rewarding, however, Beavil said organizers of the Metropolis initiative have always encouraged kids to perform other acts of kindness as well.

“We also made sure they knew that giving does not need to be attached to buying things; we made sure they were prepared to do ‘free’ acts of kindness, also, such as holding doors for folks, offering to carry their bags and smiling and saying hello,” she said. “These are acts we can always do, whether we have a gift card or not.”

Before the event, for example, all the schools involved will have the option of writing encouraging, motivating or inspirational notes on pink slips of paper for the leadership students to hand out at the mall along with the gift cards.

Last year, the entire Maywood student body also performed a flash mob dance at the mall with Windsor Elementary School students.

Whether or not another such surprise is planned for this year, the NOW is not at liberty to report – but shoppers would do well to mosey over to the mall’s main atrium at about 11:30 a.m. today (Wednesday).

Schools participating in this year’s Pink Shirt Day initiative at Metropolis are Lochdale Community School, Windsor Elementary School, Maywood Community School, Stride Community School, Edmonds Community School, Douglas Road School, École Marlborough Elementary, Brantford Elementary, Stoney Creek Community School and Montecito Elementary.  

Second Street Community School participated in writing notes of kindness for the event.

 

How it all started

In 2007, Nova Scotia teens David Shepherd and Travis Price organized a high school protest to wear pink in sympathy with a Grade 9 boy who was being bullied for wearing a pink shirt.

Since then, the idea has 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. Last year, people in almost 180 countries shared their support of Pink Shirt Day through social media posts and donations.

This year, Pink Shirt Day is happening Wednesday, Feb. 28, and the focus is cyberbullying.

Official Pink Shirt Day T-shirts, bracelets and pins can be purchased at London Drugs. Proceeds are donated to programs supporting children’s healthy self-esteem, teaching empathy, compassion and kindness.

– Source: CKNW Kids’ Fund’s Pink Shirt Day