Days of Awareness: September
Partners in Project Green shares Days of Awareness each month to spread awareness and start conversations. These days may have a social, historical, or sustainable significance worthy of our attention. These are just a small sampling of important days to acknowledge or remember. If we missed any days of importance that should be included, please share them with us.
Labour Day – Sept 2nd
Although many think of Labour Day as the last long weekend of Summer or the start of the school year, this day began with the celebration of worker rights and the labour union movement. It is observed in both Canada and the United States on the first Monday of September and is a public statutory holiday across the country. To celebrate, march in solidarity at Toronto and York Region Council’s Labour Day Parade and advocate for diversity, fair treatment, and healthy conditions in all workplaces.
Ways to Get Involved:
- Join the Labour Day Parade and march from Queen/University to Exhibition Place: https://www.labourcouncil.ca/2024_labour_day_parade
Terry Fox Run – Sept 17th
The Terry Fox Run is an annual fall tradition in Canada that raises money for cancer research. Terry Fox was an eighteen-year-old boy from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia that was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma just above the knee and had to undergo a leg amputation changing his life forever. In his battle to combat cancer, he set off on an ambitious marathon across the country with an artificial leg to raise funds for cancer research. He ran 5,373 kms before his cancer unfortunately spread to his lungs and eventually ended his life. Before his death, he raised $1 from every Canadian and the Terry Fox Run to date has now raised over $850 million for cancer research.
Ways to Get Involved:
- Show you support, host, or participate in a run, volunteer, or sponsor a team/participant: https://terryfox.org/terry-fox-run/
World Clean Up Day – Sept 20th
World Clean Up Day presents an opportunity for citizens, governments, and organizations to come together from around the world to tackle the global mismanagement of waste and to help create a new, more sustainable, waste-free world.
Ways to Get Involved:
- PPG members are invited to join us on September 16th (Claireville Conservation Park, Brampton) or 21st (King’s Park, Mississauga) from 9:30am to 12:00pm EST for a Litter Clean Up!
National Day Truth and Reconciliation – Sept 30th
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours Indigenous children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, including their families and communities. To commemorate this tragic and painful history, show your support and allyship by wearing an orange t-shirt on September 30th as a symbol of the culture, freedom, and self-esteem that was stripped away from Indigenous children for generations. #EveryChildMatters
Ways to Get Involved:
- Learn about the story behind Orange Shirt Day: https://orangeshirtday.org/orange-shirt-day/
- Learn about the establishment and on-going work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: https://nctr.ca/about/history-of-the-trc/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-of-canada/
If you have any questions about the Days of Awareness feature, please contact Charlotte Hung at charlotte.hung@trca.ca.