Unity Day — Wed., Oct. 19. — is the day when people around the world wear and share orange to show their support for those who experience bullying.
The initiative is part of Minneapolis-based PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Month, was initiated by the nonprofit organization’s National Bullying Prevention Center, which encourages students, parents, teachers, community members, schools and organizations to join the movement.
Here are some examples of what schools have planned for Unity Day:
- Delano High School, California: We are having a lunch rally and are wrapping our school in a human ribbon as we all wear orange. We plan on organizing a video for our community to share with our elementary schools.
- McHenry Middle School, Illinois: We are all tracing our hands on orange paper, signing them, and making a huge chain with them in our main hallway where we also hang positive quotes. At the end of the day, everyone in orange gathers for a big group picture and our principal tweets it to the world. It gets a page in the yearbook.
- Lincoln Elementary, Kansas: We will be wearing orange, serving orange sherbet in the lunchroom, making posters and creating bullying prevention messages on the news.
- Norton Junior High School, Kansas: We will be discussing bullying prevention in classes, wearing orange, taking a picture of the students and staff spelling out UNITY, having orange snacks, and playing games in the gym.
Additionally, a number of bridges and landmarks will turn orange on Oct. 19, including the Lowry Bridge and 35W Bridge in Minneapolis; the Peace Bridge, connecting Fort Erie, Ontario, to Buffalo, N.Y.; Prudential Plaza in Chicago; the Mid-Hudson Bridge in New York; and the Skylon Tower in Canada, at Niagara Falls.
“Unity Day is an opportunity to make a powerful statement that encourages everyone to unite for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion,” said Julie Hertzog, director of PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center. “Bullying affects one out of every four children each year, and many say they feel alone in their experience. On Unity Day, we show our support and pledge to create safe environments for all children.”
For more information about National Bullying Prevention Month, and to access PACER’s bullying prevention resources, visit PACER.org/bullying.
