Snowflake Walk Sunday in PoCo
Event is designed to raise awareness of bullying and to fund anti-bullying initiatives
Natasha Forsberg, left, Holly Pham and Marlo Bourgeois sell snowflake bracelets at Gleneagle Secondary.
Photograph by: Lisa King , NOW
Though the forecast is calling for rain on Sunday, it will be all about the snowflake.
Residents from Port Coquitlam and throughout the Lower Mainland are being encouraged to show their support for a new anti-bullying campaign by taking part in the inaugural Snowflake Walk.
The walk gets its name from the nickname Carol Todd had for her daughter Amanda, whose high-profile death after years of bullying impacted people around the world.
Besides raising awareness of bullying, the walk aims to gather funds for an anti-bullying resource centre and education.
Carol Todd will be among the walkers. Amanda's mother said it's great that Port Coquitlam has started the campaign and walk, which she suggested would help increase awareness of bullying and its causes.
"It's just a fun way to get people together to start thinking about it again," Todd told The NOW.
She also hopes other cities will start their own Snowflake Walks to bring attention to the issue.
Though Amanda was the inspiration for the snowflake and pink colours used in the campaign, her mother said she doesn't want the walk to become the Amanda Todd walk, noting the city already has the Terry Fox Run.
"This is a symbol of what we can do as a community in order to begin to end bullying," Todd said.
The walk is part of a major initiative launched in November called the Be Someone campaign. The campaign includes a number of measures to curb bullying, including a first-of-its-kind anti-bullying bylaw in B.C.
The program will be visible through window decals placed in businesses and public areas alerting young people that those businesses and community facilities are safe places for anyone who is being bullied.
Todd said she's pleased to see the campaign catching on, noting other cities across the country have requested information packages from the City of PoCo.
She added she also gets a warm feeling when she sees the Be Someone decals in local businesses.
Registration for the walk begins at 11 a.m. Sunday (Dec. 9) at the Port Coquitlam Recreation Complex on Wilson Avenue, with the walk starting at 1 p.m.
For more information go to www. snowflakewalk.com.
