Chestermere youth are working to end bullying in the community with Synergy’s annual Pretty in Pink anti-bullying campaign.
Pretty in Pink first began as Pink Shirt Day, however, members of Synergy’s Youth Council recognized some students were getting bullied for not wearing a pink shirt, Synergy Program Facilitator Shiya Mangat explained.
Now, throughout February, residents are encouraged to purchase a Pretty in Pink button at various businesses to show their support for anti-bullying.
To push youth perspective, and ensure inclusivity, Synergy designed the Pretty in Pink campaign and encourages everyone to wear a pink shirt on Pink Shirt Day on Feb. 22 or wear a Pretty in Pink button to show support.
“We do campaigns, post resources that are made by youth to raise awareness for anti-bullying, then we come up with resources from youth that point out what bullying means from a youth perspective,” Mangat said. “It’s more digestible. The youth council found that a lot of anti-bullying education is made by adults, and it’s not super relatable.”
Half of the funds raised from the Pretty in Pink buttons go directly into keeping the program alive, operations, the cost of the buttons, and supporting the youth council.
The other half is donated to a local charity the youth council chooses which they believe aligns with anti-bullying and is community focused.
This year, the youth council chose to donate the other half of the Pretty in Pink funds to The Community Therapy Dogs Society.
“Therapy dogs are in schools, supporting youth through their mental health struggles, as a direct result of bullying,” Mangat said. “They’ve seen how therapy dogs are a really great mental health resource for youth who are struggling with bullying.”
Every year, the youth council is presented with what previous councils have done to bring awareness to anti-bullying and choose what initiatives they want to see in the community.
“We have different youth who come onto the council every year, and they make it their own,” Mangat said.
Throughout the pandemic, the youth council adapted and made videos that were shown in schools. This year, they wanted to host assemblies and make social media posts.
Youth councillors are currently collecting anti-bullying statistics, designing resources to post on Synergy’s social media, and writing scripts for the school assemblies.
“The community response has been positive, we’ve been in the community doing this for a while, a lot of our partners and the schools know Pretty in Pink is going to happen every year,” Mangat said. “It’s building up, we’re excited to start posting the resources the youth are making on social media.”
Mangat explained that with the influx of mental health challenges in Chestermere and the surrounding area, it’s important to ensure programs like Pretty in Pink are available for youth.
“It’s important to keep programs like this alive and running from the youth perspective,” Mangat said. “A lot of these programs are designed by adults, and they aren’t necessarily in touch with what the youth need to hear.”
Having an anti-bullying campaign for youth, that is designed by youth increases accessibility and opens the conversation around bullying and the struggles youth in the community are having.
“Quite frankly, it is an issue, and mental health issues have only heightened,” Mangat said. “Keeping these programs alive with the perspective from youth is so important because it’s something we don’t really have outside of what we’re doing with Pink Shirt Day.”
Visit the Synergy website for more information on anti-bullying campaigns, and where to purchase a Pretty in Pink button.
