Vancouver Eyewear Retailer Leads Charge in Anti-Bullying Movement

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb. 23, 2015) - Canada's largest online optical retailer, ClearlyContacts.ca, announced today its plan to support Pink Shirt Day by donating $5 for each pair of eyeglasses purchased on February 25, 2015. The local Vancouver company prides itself on supporting charities within the community.

"Taking a stand against bullying is a cause our team is happy to support because the stigma associated with wearing glasses has existed for decades among young kids and teens," said Lawrence Scotland, Director of Integrated Marketing at ClearlyContacts.ca. "It's the second year our company has been involved in the Pink Shirt Day initiative and we're strong believers it's an effective place for donation dollars to go."

The Pink Shirt phenomenon started in Nova Scotia after two young boys purchased and wore pink shirts to make a stand against an act of bullying they had witnessed. Since the launch of Pink Shirt Day in 2008, $800,000 has been raised for anti-bullying programs in British Columbia.

"Our goal is to raise enough awareness with Pink Shirt Day that bullying in schools and otherwise will ultimately disappear," said Jen Schaeffers, Executive Director of the CKNW Orphans' Fund. "We're grateful to have ClearlyContacts.ca on board and we hope to see eyeglass sales skyrocket on Pink Shirt Day."

For more information on Pink Shirt Day please visit www.PinkShirtDay.ca. To support the initiative by purchasing a pair of eyeglasses, please visit www.ClearlyContacts.ca

About ClearlyContacts.ca: ClearlyContacts.ca is the leading ecommerce optical retailer in Canada dedicated to providing unparalleled customer service and shopping experiences for all your eyewear needs. Since 2000, ClearlyContacts.ca continues to make vision care accessible through the web. Owned by Essilor, the ClearlyContacts.ca family of websites offers the largest selection of vision correction products. ClearlyContacts.ca is based in Vancouver, B.C. with over 600 employees worldwide. For more information about ClearlyContacts.ca, please visit www.clearlycontacts.ca.

About Pink Shirt Day: In 2007, two Nova Scotia students decided to take action after witnessing a younger student being bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. The students bought 50 pink t-shirts and encouraged schoolmates to wear them and send a powerful message of solidarity to the bully. CKNW Orphan's Fund was inspired by the story and to date have raised more than $830,000 for anti-bullying programs in British Columbia with the sales of Pink Shirt Day T-Shirts.

About CKNW Orphans' Fund: Dedicated to enhancing the lives of children with social, physical and mental challenges living in BC communities. We provide funding to both individual children and organizations for a variety of developmental needs, with an emphasis on therapies, educational bursaries and specialized medical equipment.