New Westminster's firefighters are thinking pink this month.
The fire and rescue services crew will swap out their regular work wear for pink shirts starting Wednesday, Feb. 20 and leading up to Pink T-shirt day on Wednesday, Feb. 27 in support of anti-bullying. Crews will be visiting various New Westminster schools and events throughout the week in order to raise awareness of bullying and to support organizations that advocate for anti-bullying around the city, according to a media release.
"We feel it's our duty as community role models to support important issues such as this one," fire inspector Kathy Ius said in the release. "Our crew is excited to put on their very best in pink and meet some of the amazing people in our community working towards getting the anti-bullying message out through their schools and organizations."
Pink T-shirt Day began when two Nova Scotia high school students gave pink shirts to the boys in their school after discovering that a new student at their school had been bullied for wearing a pink shirt. Now a nationwide initiative, Pink T-shirt Day brings large-scale awareness about bullying. The City of New Westminster has several organizations that dedicate time to this end, and the school district has implemented initiatives such as the RespectEd program.
- Niki Hope
