Charlie Pickles studio and shop shows support of Pink Shirt Day ...

By ALAN SHACKLETON

The Charlie Pickles store and studio on Kingston Road is making it easy for community members to help put an end to bullying and help those who have been victims of it.

As part of Pink Shirt Day Canada on Wednesday, Feb. 28, Charlie Pickles at 1040 Kingston Rd. has pink shirts available for purchase with proceeds going to Kids Help Phone.

Lindsay Stephenson, owner of Charlie Pickles which is a design studio and shop dedicated to finding and creating products that make people happy, said she wanted to make it easy for local residents to find a place to get a pink shirt to show their support of anti-bullying programs.

“As a parent I’d found it hard to find pink shirts and was having to scramble around as Pink Shirt Day approached,” she said of her past experiences.

“We decided we needed to have a place where people could get the pink shirts and also have a nice design and a message on them,” said Stephenson.

Pink Shirt Day began in Canada in 2007 in Berwick, Nova Scotia after a new student at a school was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. Two Grade 12 students at the school decided they needed to stand up to the bullies, so they bought 50 pink shirts and encouraged other students to wear them. The next day, the majority of the students showed up to school in pink shirts – sending a strong message of support for the victim and that bullying would not be tolerated.

The idea of having a visible symbol to show a person will stand up to bullies and show support for victims has gone international. Twelve years ago the United Nations declared May 4 as International Anti-Bullying Day. In Canada, the last Wednesday of February has been designated as national Pink Shirt Day/anti-bullying day.

The message on the pink shirts sold at Charlie Pickles is “Kind Vibes Only”.

Along with providing a place to find the pink shirts, Stephenson said they wanted to take their actions a step further by donating the proceeds of the shirt sales to Kids Help Phone which supports young people facing a variety of complex issues including bullying, abuse and mental health challenges.

She said putting an end to bullying and the harm it causes is extremely important, and is a message everyone needs to hear.

“As a mom, it breaks my heart to hear of any children who are feeling not welcome or not accepted for themselves,” she said. “Pink Shirt Day is so important because it’s addressing a lot of issues.”

Tara Duff, Chief Fun Officer at Charlie Pickles, said it is important for not only parents but also children to proudly be wearing pink on Pink Shirt Day as it sends a strong message to their peers that bullying of others will not be accepted.

“The kids want to wear the shirts and be able to say I am against bullying and I will stand up to bullying when I see it. It shows our kids have a say and have power in this too,” said Duff.

For more information on Charlie Pickles, please go to https://charliepickles.shop/