Paint the town pink

Nottawasaga and Creemore Public School is hoping Creemore businesses will Paint the Town Pink on April 12, the International Day of Pink.
The second annual Paint the Town Pink is an anti-bullying event that invites the community to get involved.
Businesses are encouraged to create a pink window display and/or offer an activity.
The event was born out of a student-led project, for which the school received a provincial grant, with the goal of informing the school community of challenges different people may face, providing hands-on experiences between students and community partners that teach about equity, anti-bullying, healthy coping strategies, respectful relationships and social responsibility and allowing students opportunities to express their individuality in an environment where they feel safe and accepted.
About 100 students in Grades 4-8 will be participating this year between the hours of 11:20 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1:40 p.m. to 3 p.m. They will be travelling in small groups of 10-15 students, accompanied by an adult.
“Some of the activities that we would like to run are interactive teamwork challenges, button making with equity messages, a ‘show your true colours’ selfie booth, creating a mural or other large scale visual representation, participating in a healthy coping strategy (such as interactive relaxation exercise, healthy snack station). Really, the possibilities are endless and we are also open to your suggestions,” said Alison Golding, NCPS principal, in a letter to Creemore businesses.
The pink shirt movement grew out of a 2007 incident of bullying when two Nova Scotia students witnessed a fellow student being harassed.
David Shepherd and Travis Price, then in Grade 12, witnessed a Grade 9 student bullied for wearing a pink shirt on his first day of high school.
Bullies harassed the boy, called him a homosexual for wearing pink and threatened to beat him up, according to a CBC news report of the day.
The boys retaliated by wearing pink.
They went out and bought a bunch of pink shirts and passed them out to anyone who wanted to join in their “sea of pink” protest, a gestured that garnered international attention.
Businesses interested in participating are asked to contact Golding by April 3 at 705-466-2624 ext. 25901.