REGINA – Since they aren’t battling on the gridiron members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders helped battle bullying on Saturday afternoon to help sell Pink Day anti-bullying t-shirts.
“It gives me a chance to share on a personal level and to open up to the kids and to show them that it’s not just them dealing with it,” said offensive lineman Dan Clark.
Inside the London Drugs’ location in Regina’s south end, shoppers such as Tracy Watts stopped by to purchase a t-shirt, and made no secret that bullying affects everyone.
“I think that parents need to pay attention. Kids are being bullied, teachers and even adults bully as well,” she said.
The collaboration between the Riders and the Red Cross aims to drum up support for Red Cross Pink Day on February 24th.
“We really want to get everybody in this city and in this province in these Pink Day shirts. Every shirt sold is one kid that’s provided the information they need for this anti-bullying message,” explained Sarah Fedirko, the fund development manager with the Canadian Red Cross.
Still, for Clark tackling bullying is personal.
“I’ve dealt with it, in elementary school I was very badly bullied,” he said, explaining that it’s something he deals with to this day. “Still at times self-conscious about my body, but it’s those things like I said, I got my power through my sports and I came to the realization that I was born this way.”
Spreading that message was extra special for Clark and his two teammates Levi Steinhauer and Nic Demski.
The football pros autographed t-shirts and even offered personal pictures to supporters.
The Red Cross says they’re hoping to sell 16,000 shirts by Pink Shirt Day. The organization says the shirts will be sold at London Drugs locations across the province for the next three weeks.
All proceeds from the sales will go towards the Imagine No Bullying anti-bullying campaign.
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