Pink Shirt Day, or Anti-bullying Day, is an annual worldwide movement that occurs on the last Wednesday of February. This day aims to bring awareness to the issue of bullying in schools, workplaces, at home, and online, and encourages individuals to practice kindness in their daily lives.

How Pink Shirt Day began

Now a global movement, Pink Shirt Day has humble beginnings. This day was inspired by an act of kindness in small-town Nova Scotia when two high school students bought and distributed pink shirts to their classmates after learning that a younger student was bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of school. 

“David Shepherd, Travis Price and their teenage friends organized a high-school protest to wear pink in sympathy with a Grade 9 boy who was being bullied [for wearing a pink shirt]…[They] took a stand against bullying when they protested against the harassment of a new Grade 9 student by distributing pink T-shirts to all the boys in their school. ‘I learned that two people can come up with an idea, run with it, and it can do wonders,’ says Mr. Price, 17, who organized the pink protest. ‘Finally, someone stood up for a weaker kid.’ So Mr. Shepherd and some other headed off to a discount store and bought 50 pink tank tops. They sent out message to schoolmates that night, and the next morning they hauled the shirts to school in a plastic bag. As they stood in the foyer handing out the shirts, the bullied boy walked in. His face spoke volumes. ‘It looked like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders,’ Mr. Price recalled. The bullies were never heard from again.” 

- Globe & Mail