Port Coquitlam will continue its stand against bullying on Feb. 22, with activities aimed at raising awareness and providing tools and resources to address bullying and the importance of replacing with kindness.

The City’s Youth Services Division is coordinating the following anti-bullying activities on Feb. 22 in partnership with I Am Someone Society and BC 211.

• Breakfast – 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the Hyde Away Youth Centre (Hyde Creek Recreation Centre) – youth from local middle and secondary schools will gather for a pink-themed event including breakfast snacks, educational and thought-provoking activities with a focus on how to deal with bullying, and activities that are led by the Poco Youth Crew, the local volunteer youth group. Resources and self-help information will also be available. The Port Coquitlam Safeway store will be supporting the event through food donations and volunteers. The event is free. Register at experienceit.ca using the bar code 18801.

• Dinner – 5:30 p.m. at Offside Youth Centre and Wilson Centre (Port Coquitlam Recreation Complex) – youth and seniors are invited to enjoy a special pink themed dinner featuring pink desserts and fun, interactive and thought-provoking activities. All in attendance are asked to wear pink.  Coquitlam Florist in donating flowers for the event.  The event is free but donations are accepted. Register at experienceit.ca using barcode 18802.

Other activities include:

• Port Coquitlam City Council will proclaim Feb. 22 as Stop Bullying Day at the Feb. 14 Council meeting. Members from the Poco Youth Crew will accept the proclamation, and speak about some of the volunteer work in the community.
• Youth Services staff are wearing pink shirts during February and will be joined by other City staff and Council members on Feb. 22.
• Anti-bullying information and resources posted online at www.portcoquitlam.ca/stopbullying and on resource boards at the Hyde Away and Offside Youth Centres. The webpage features information about the 2017 events as well as links to help raise awareness about and prevent bullying behaviour.

This is the City’s tenth year taking part in the national anti-bullying movement that started in 2007 after students in Nova Scotia rallied around a boy who was bullied for wearing a pink polo shirt. BC Stop Bullying Day is Feb. 22 this year.

Local youth, adults and children are encouraged to wear something pink on Feb. 22 to raise awareness about bullying, which occurs in schools, workplaces, homes and on the internet. Bullying is defined as a power relationship carried on by one individual or group towards another person, and can include rumours, threats and hurtful words in addition to physical violence.

I Am Someone is a group of community volunteers who partnered with BC 211 and TELUS to develop and maintain BC’s first ever professional texting platform aimed at providing youth in BC with a support resource for dealing with issues ranging from bullying, addictions, homelessness, abuse, and mental health. BC211 is an information and referral organization that provides free, confidential multilingual texting support service that connects people to community, social and government services. The BC 211 resource can be accessed by calling or texting 2-1-1, serving communities from the Sunshine Coast through Hope.

The average teenager checks their cell phone for messages every 6 minutes and send anywhere from 2500-4200 texts per month. These statistics show the prevalence of cell phone use in today’s society and also is an indicator of how the youth choose to communicate today.

For more information about the Stop Bullying Day events, visit www.pocoyouth.com or www.portcoquitlam.ca/stopbullying or contact Youth Services at 604.927.7981.

CONTACT

Chris Eastman, Recreation Program Coordinator
Parks and Recreation Department
City of Port Coquitlam
Tel 604.927.7981
Email eastmanc@portcoquitlam.ca