Wear it Purple: Get Your School Involved
In 2010, The Wear it Purple Organisation was founded as a response to the struggles of thousands of young people around the world facing a lack of acceptance of their sexuality and gender identity. Many heartbreaking stories were brought to the world’s attention, including that of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi who took his own life after being publicly ‘outed’ by his roommate.
Co-founded by Katherine Hudson and Scott Williams, Wear it Purple was established to show LGBTQ+ youth that there is hope, there are people who support and accept them, and that they should be proud of who they are. Since 2010, Wear it Purple has become a global movement, with people from all over the world celebrating rainbow young people and expressing their acceptance and support. This movement is celebrated annually on Wear it Purple Day, held this year on Friday the 25th of August.
Why Should Your School Get Involved with Wear it Purple Day?
By getting your school or workplace involved in Wear it Purple Day, you could be helping to save LGBTQ+ young people’s lives by promoting acceptance, unity, representation and safety. By holding a Wear it Purple Day at your school, you are ensuring that students feel welcomed and giving them the courage to be who they are, rather than hiding or feeling outcast from the community. Wear it Purple Day is a day for everyone to get involved and show solidarity for the rainbow community.
Wear it Purple Day can help your students by:
Connecting further to their community through developing positive relationship behaviour (such as forming relationships which are safe, supportive, and respectful)
Providing further foundations for positive self-esteem and character traits, while enabling a positive environment for learners where they feel confident in taking risks and stretching their academic potential
Enabling student involvement, advocacy and contributions to their community.
How to Celebrate Wear it Purple Day at Your School
One of the most popular events for schools is to hold a Colour Run and we are proud to partner with Wear it Purple to give schools 15% off their colour powder orders for Wear it Purple Day. We suggest ordering powder in ‘all the colours of the rainbow’ for solidarity with your LGBTQ+ students and keeping some extra purple powder for a photo at the end. However, the choice is yours and it is guaranteed to be a fun-filled day as well as a great opportunity for fundraising. Download our free guide or use Wear it Purple’s free activity guide to help you organise this wonderful event.
Some other fun ideas for celebrating Wear it Purple Day at your school include:
Wearing Purple Free Dress Day
Purple Morning Teas and Bake sales
Decorating the school with purple decorations, pride flags, etc
School disco featuring LGBTQ+ anthems
Wear it Purple has a variety of helpful resources to help you organise and celebrate Wear it Purple Day at your school. Save the date for this 26th of August and get your school involved with this incredible and life-changing movement. As always remember to tag us in any of your colour powder event photos so we can celebrate the fun with you!
