BONNYVILLE – Every year, Premier Academy in Bonnyville sells pink T-shirts with messages of positivity leading up to Canada’s Pink Shirt Day.
With the slogan, “Be everyone’s cheerleader,” the proceeds of this year’s Premier Academy’s pink shirt sales will go toward Lakeland’s youth hub, The Hive.
“We always sell pink shirts in February and so, we decided to donate the proceeds from the sales of the shirts this time to The Hive because we wanted to give back to a youth program here in Bonnyville,” said Melissa Kirkendall, owner and coach of Premier Academy.
The cheer club has been taking part in the Pink Shirt Day event since opening its Bonnyville location six years ago.
“Our program is all geared towards children and youth. So, we always find that anything that has to do with the mental health of children is really important to us because that's what our program is really all about. And in cheerleading of course, we're always talking about lifting each other up, so the pink shirt has always been important,” said Kirkendall.
Every month, Premier Acadamy focuses on different topics that represent the organization core values with its athletes. These core values spell out the word PRIDE – perseverance, respect, investment, determination and excellence.
This month the club is focused on the value of respect.
"We are talking about bullying and who you can talk to for help and just making sure that you're lifting others up and things like that,” she explained.
During this year’s pink shirt sale, 55 T-shirts were sold and all the profits generated from the sale will be donated.
While the orders for shirts were closed as of Feb. 3 to make sure all the tees would arrive in time for Pink Shirt Day on Feb. 22, the sales were advertised on Premier Academy’s website and throughout the community.
Kirkendall said next year the club will likely look for a new youth-based organization to support through the sale of pink shirts.
So, if you missed buying a Pink Shirt Day T-shirt this year, mark your calendar for 2024.
