Red Cross citation for CK “Sea of Pink” Campaign

By Kirk Starratt

THE ADVERTISER

NovaNewsNow.com

With a school motto ‘Seek the Noble Way’, it seems quite fitting that the student body at Central Kings Rural High School in Cambridge is sharing a citation from the Canadian Red Cross for their ‘sea of pink’ anti-bullying campaign.

Grade 12 students launched the campaign in September following the bullying of a Grade 9 student at the school who wore a pink shirt on the first day of classes. Hundreds of students rallied and wore pink in a show of support and unity. This visible statement against bullying captured international media attention and imaginations around the world.

The citation commends the student-led initiative as showing “youth maturity and leadership” and for actions that were in keeping with the humanitarian principles of the international Red Cross movement.

Red Cross Nova Scotia Regional Council president Tabitha Bainbridge, who presented the citation to the student body during a school-wide band concert on Tuesday morning, Dec. 11, said the initiative was an inspiration to people across the province, across the country and around the world. “It was your collective effort that gave heart and soul to the ‘sea of pink’ campaign,” she said.

CK Student Prime Minister Zack Miller and Minister of Student Affairs Alana Fairfax accepted the citation on behalf of the student body.

Bainbridge announced also that Central Kings would join a growing number of schools offering ‘Beyond the Hurt’, a Canadian Red Cross program where a core group of students learn bullying and violence prevention techniques and share them with other students. Training takes place at the school this week for 15 students and three teachers. They will work to create a two-hour workshop to be shared over the coming weeks.

She said ‘Beyond the Hurt’ is part of Respect Ed, a group of programs, designed for and in collaboration with young people, with input from parents, educators and other adults who work with youth. The objectives of the program fit perfectly with the ‘sea of pink’ campaign, as it takes aim at bullying and peer harassment. “It’s not a program where adults will be preaching at you,” Bainbridge told the students.

The citation and introduction of ‘Beyond the Hurt’ at Central Kings follows the recent launch by the Red Cross of a new website, www.standup2bullying.com. It offers information and tips for children, youth and adults to prevent or stop bullying and other abuse and harassment in or around their schools or cyber-bullying online.

Reporter Kirk Starratt was on hand and files the following video package…