The Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Vancouver Island (BGCCVI) have a new way to show bullying is not OK on any day of the year.
Pink Shirt Day pins are available through the BGCCVI, including the Comox Valley Club. Linda Thomas, manager of fundraising and community relations for BGCCVI, said the plan is to further spread the anti-bullying message.
"Feb. 29 is Pink Shirt Day, however, our hope is that the pin will spread and be something that's shown all year-round," said Thomas. "We're looking at that point of broadening that horizon and having people talk about it throughout the year, which I think is something really big for us."
The pins cost $5 each and all proceeds from sales will stay at the Boys and Girls Club that the pin was purchased at. The Comox Valley Club will also sell pins on Wednesday (Feb. 29) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of Comox Quality Foods.
While the BGCCVI doesn't offer an anti-bullying program specifically, the Comox Valley Club focuses on building relationships and bringing awareness about bullying into the community.
The Comox Valley Club offers two programs to help parents connect with their children. Parent services co-ordinator Melanie Rockwell said both programs often deal with the issue of bullying.
Parents Together is for parents of teenagers who are experiencing significant conflict in their families, while Parenting Without Power Struggles is for parents to develop skills to help support their pre-teens, aged eight to 13, through those transition years.
"Both of our programs are geared to help parents to develop a relationship with their kids so they can best support them through their challenges, and to have a relationship where their children will be more likely to speak to them and open to hearing advice and encouragement," said Rockwell.
She added that most parents who sign up for the programs are referred by a school counsellor or some other agency because their children are already struggling in some way. She wants to spread the word that these programs are available to all parents.
Most parents use the programs when "they're reaching out because they're having significant challenges," said Rockwell. "Ideally, we would like to see (parents) have the opportunity to take part in the program before the challenges become significant."
Although the Comox Valley Club has been in the Valley for many years, human resources manager Robin Smart said many people don't know exactly what it offers.
"We had an open space back in November and we asked the public if they knew what we did," said Smart. "It was very interesting because a lot of people didn't know what we did."
Smart called the Boys and Girls Club "one of the best-kept secrets" in Canada, and said the organization has undergone changes in the last year which will help it grow and become better known.
One of those changes was the amalgamation from individual Boys and Girls Clubs to BGCCVI, which has clubs from Nanaimo, Ladysmith and Chemainus.
"We went from a small office in the Comox Valley to working on a team of approximately 90 staff between casual, part-time, and full-time, so we're a larger (organization) on the Island now, which is pretty exciting," said Smart.
Also, Thomas' position is new, and her job is to increase the community's knowledge about what the club offers.
"I want everyone in this Valley to know who we are and what we do," said Thomas. "It's to go from that best-kept secret to something that everyone knows, become that household name."
For more information on the BGCCVI and programs offered in the Comox Valley, visit www.bgccvi.com.
writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com
