Dozens of schools, businesses and non-profit groups painted the Tri-Cities pink last Wednesday in an effort to combat bullying.
Thousands of people across the region wore pink t-shirts with different anti-bullying messages and many raised money for the Amanda Todd Legacy Fund.
Carol Todd, the mother of Amanda Todd, a Port Coquitlam student who committed suicide in October after posting a video about her bullying experiences, was on hand for some of these events and said she was touched by the support.
In one instance, Todd said, she was approached by a man who said he was a bully as a youngster. "He apologized, he was a bully and he regrets that he did that. He's raising two boys now and he's trying to raise them to be kind and respectful. It was very emotional," Todd said.
At Aspenwood elementary school, students wore pink t-shirts and presented Todd with a cheque for $1,220 from coins they collected in February, the school's Random Acts of Kindness month.
Todd also collected $3,000 from X-Club Fitness in Port Coquitlam, which held a fundraiser for the Amanda Todd Legacy Fund in February, and the Port Coquitlam Walmart and Theatrix presented Todd with cheques for $1,000 and $3,078 respectively, with Walmart following up with another cheque for $2,912.30 raised by selling bracelets and other anti-bullying materials at the store during the month of February.
In all, more than $11,000 was donated to the Amanda Todd Legacy Fund, which is administered by the Vancouver Foundation and will be used to create education programs for youth and support youth with mental health issues.
Other events took place around the community last Tuesday and Wednesday, known as Pink Shirt Day.
On Feb. 26, School District 43 officials wore pink Love is Louder than Bullying t-shirts at a board of education meeting and the following day, Gleneagle secondary hosted a Kindness Rocks event attended by more than 4,000 students and sponsored by Coast Capital Savings.
Port Coquitlam Parks and Recreation Youth Services also held a stop-bullying event with pink-themed food, activities and a workshop for 25 youth in Grades 6 to 12 to teach them about the impacts of bullying and ways to combat it.
The students took part in games that showcased the emotional effects and sense of aloneness bullying can cause and left with practical skills on how to deal with cyberbullying on Facebook; they also learned about resources, including bc211.ca, which is a local information and resource hotline where youth can talk with a trained professional and be directed to services.
