Rotorua was lit up brightly with people of all ages donning pink in support of Pink Shirt Day yesterday.
Pink Shirt Day is celebrated annually around the globe and aims to create schools, workplaces and communities where all people feel safe, valued and respected.
This week was also Bullying-Free NZ Week.
Rotorua Lakes High School student Journey Walden, 16, said their Year 12 Health class organised Pink Shirt Day activities for students and they had cupcakes for sale.
He said students donated $2 if they wanted to wear pink mufti and there were prizes for the top three best dressed.
Journey said it was important to bring the topic of bullying to students' attention as sometimes it went unnoticed.
Year 12 health class teacher Dana Frost said the activities for Pink Shirt Day formed one of the students' assessments and they would get five credits for NCEA Level 2.
She said she thought getting behind Pink Shirt Day was important because it was, "a way of us all standing together and supporting one another".
"We don't know who is bullied, anyone could be bullied at any time and it's a way of standing united and supporting those people."
Not including what was to come from cupcake sales, they had already raised almost $800 for the Mental Health Foundation, she said.
Rotorua Intermediate School principal Garry de Thierry said the prefects had got his school's pupils motivated to take part, and all sorts of pink regalia had been walking past his window.
Pupils were wearing pink for a gold coin and there was an assembly the prefects had organised to celebrate the engagement of the pupils, with some prizes to give away, he said.
"It's an idea the students really warm to and our prefects tend to pick that up on an annual basis."
The staff had been great and joined in too, he said.
Mr de Thierry thought it was important to bring bullying to the fore and make people aware of the impact it had on students or anyone in the workplace.
Perrin Ag Consultants Ltd client services manager Gayle Newman said people within their company were wearing pink shirts and this was the first year they had taken part.
For more information and a list of helplines visit www.pinkshirtday.org.nz.
Bullying is: Deliberate - there is an intention to cause physical and/or psychological pain or discomfort to another person. Harmful - there is short- or long-term physical or psychological harm to the target. Involves a power imbalance - there is an actual or perceived unequal relationship between the target and the initiator of the bullying. Has an element of repetition - it is usually not one-off. It is repeated over time, with the threat of further incidents leading to fear and anxiety (Bullying Prevention Advisory Group, 2015). Source: www.pinkshirtday.org.nz