Photo: Contributed

Vernon North Okanagan RCMP are taking a stand against bullies.

Police are joining forces with School District 22 and many local community partners in support of National Pink Shirt Day on Feb. 27.

Last year, community supporter Rob Ellis from Rellish Transport was approached by the staff at Harwood Elementary School, who wanted to provide every student and staff member with a pink shirt in an effort to speak up and stand together against bullying.

Ellis and other community partners came together to make that happen for Harwood, providing the entire school with pink shirts designed by the students from Karyn Godard’s classroom.

The program was so well received and resonated with so many students, Ellis and the community partners have joined together again. This year, they are providing more than 2,700 shirts for six participating schools within School District 22.

“It will be amazing to see over 2,000 people, including students, school district employees and local community businesses, wearing the shirt designed by Harwood students specifically for Pink Shirt Day within our community,” said RCMP Supt. Shawna Baher. “The Vernon North Okanagan RCMP is proud to be a part of such an important program and message."

School District 22 Supt. Joe Rogers said teachers and staff work hard to “provide a safe, healthy and respectful learning community for our students, so they are able to build a strong foundation for a bright future. We strive to make our schools safe and inclusive for everyone. The community response to this initiative has been greatly appreciated and together, we are making a tremendous stand against bullying.”

In addition to the pink shirts, participating classes have had the opportunity to design an anti-bullying day poster, where one poster from each school will be chosen as the winner and awarded a pizza party. The goal of the poster contest is to bring students together to talk about bullying and how they can stand together to address the issue.

The RCMP and school district also wants to remind parents to speak to their children about bullying to ensure they aren’t silent victims.