October is National Bullying Prevention Month.
It’s a time to increase awareness and education around bullying.
Unity Day
Unity Day was started by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center in October 2011.
It is the signature event of National Bullying Prevention Month.
It is the day when we come together to send a visible message of building community through kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.
The call to action is simple: wear and share the color orange. This vibrant statement becomes a conversation starter, showing support for students who have been bullied and for bullying prevention.
This presentation will help you plan how to support Unity Day in your school, community, business, or as an individual.
Catalyst
We started supporting Unity Day in 2017, but in 2019 we decided this would be an annual event…
An elementary school student in Altamonte Springs, Florida wanted to take part in “College Colors Day” and support his favorite team, the University of Tennessee Volunteers. Since he didn’t own any official merch, he hand drew the “U.T.” logo on a piece of paper and pinned it to a plain orange shirt.
His teacher, Laura Snyder, said he was excited to show it off that morning, but by lunchtime some classmates mocked the homemade design, leaving him heartbroken and in tears.
Wanting to cheer him up, Snyder shared the story online hoping someone connected to the university might send him a small gift. Instead, the story went viral.
University of Tennessee’s Response
Thousands of Tennessee fans rallied behind the student, and the university responded by sending him a huge box
of official gear.
Then they went even further…
The University of Tennessee turned the boy’s exact hand drawn design into an official t shirt sold by the school, with proceeds supporting anti bullying efforts.
Demand became so massive that the university’s online
store reportedly crashed from the flood of orders.
What started as a moment of bullying turned into a story celebrated across the country, with thousands of people proudly wearing the young fan’s design.
Hercules Parks & Rec made own
Over the course of three months, the
University of Tennessee sold 112,715 shirts
at $14.99 each. At the family's request, 100%
of the profits—approximately $8.45 per shirt—
were donated directly to the anti-bullying nonprofit organization, STOMP Out Bullying.
The Basics
When: Unity Day is typically held every year on the third Wednesday of October, a.k.a. National Bullying Prevention Month.
Why: For years, our culture justified bullying as, “a natural part of childhood,” or “a rite of passage.” Goal: To bring together youth, parents, educators, businesses, and community members to emphasize the message that bullying is not acceptable and that all students deserve to be safe in school, online, and in the community.
Action: Simple; wear and share the color orange as a visible representation of the supportive, universal message that our society wants to prevent bullying, build community, and is united for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.
Why orange? Unity Day is held during October, and orange is a color commonly identified with that month and season. It is also a color associated with safety and visibility. Orange is described as warm and inviting, and its vibrancy makes a strong statement.
Other groups now participating…
Hanna Ranch Elementary Teachers & Admins
City of Hercules Staff
Hercules Library Staff
Hercules Preschool, Hercules RAP (afterschool programs), City staff, many of the City Recognized Nonprofit groups, Seniors, and more.
At what scale do you want to get involved?
The starting point is to simply wear orange—any orange, anywhere.
Then, you can post a photo to share orange, tag it with #UnityEveryDay, and include your own message about
preventing bullying and promoting kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.
Beyond that, there are no limits to what you can do!
Groups have painted a large rock or a local bench
orange. In one city a major bridge lit up in orange.
Another community held a unity parade.
What does success look like? You define your own
success! The goal is to do something that fits for you, your school, your community, or your business. Think in terms of your strengths.
Every year there is a new, exclusive, custom-designed
t-shirt available to order in time to wear during October and beyond (pacer.org/unityday)
The 2026 t-shirt design features the words Kindness,
Acceptance, Inclusion and an image of two hands
uniting to form a heart on a white shirt with splashes of orange.
#UnityEveryDay