VOL. 66 NO. 08
The Paper That ’s Going Places!
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013
Bullying no match for the power of pink Michael Simpson Staff Writer February 27 will see a sea of pink throughout local schools and businesses in Vegreville as the MODEL Project spearheads the community’s efforts to
stomp out bullying on International Pink Shirt Day. “There’s a lot of community participation this year,” MODEL Project Coord inator Ryan Veldkamp said. “26 businesses and organizations
Ryan Veldkamp, MODEL Project Coordinator, holds aloft a single drop of pink in an approaching storm of pink-shirted anti-bullying awareness that will hit Vegreville on February 27.Veldkamp said he placed an order this year for 605 shirts, up from last year’s order of 50, due to the demand from people wanting to take part in the movement. (Michael Simpson/Photo)
are taking part in the days’ activities along with the schools. It’s a really simple campaign for people to participate in, it’s about growing awareness. This is how we combat bullying.” Veldkamp said this will be the second year that the MODEL Project has included a community flavour to the day. In addition to the school activities taking place, pink hands filled with messages of support for victims of bullying crafted by the students will be displayed in participating businesses, as well as a community coffee sponsored by Tim Horton’s downtown which will also see tasty pink snacks given away by the Veg-Al Drug Society and the MODEL Project. Veldkamp said last year’s pink shirts were such a hit, after ordering 50 in 2012, he’s now staring at box upon box in his office from this year’s order of 605 shirts that were requested. “175 of those were ordered by local businesses, the rest will be handed out in schools.” Veldkamp said the approaching day of awareness has seen Student Success Coaches from the MODEL Project reaching out and connecting with students relating personal experiences with bullying. Veldkamp said he put on a presentation about cyber bullying for a grade 5-6
class recently and found the response overwhelming in terms of kids who spoke up about their encounters and what can be done to stop it. “Because social media is so prevalent now, kids can’t just go home and get away from bullies. They’re being texted, there’s online sites, you just can’t close the door on it now and kids have a harder time escaping it. This is a fun movement we can take part in where kids can stand up and say ‘it’s not okay’ to bullies.”
Collaborating in the community See page 3 for story
Remembrance Day Contest Winners See page 7 for story
Family Day fun in Vegreville See page 9 for story