June 7, 2016 - Today has been proclaimed Weed Out Hate Day in Thunder Bay. Mayor Keith Hobbs along with children and staff from Little Lions Waldorf Daycare & Kindergarten and McKellar Park School planted sunflowers as a commitment to peace in Thunder Bay.

Together they pulled out weeds and planted sunflowers as a metaphor for weeding out hate, bias, prejudice and racism in our community. Seeds have been distributed to all city elementary schools, and have also been planted in special gardens at City Parks. The sunflowers are a reminder of our commitment to weed out hate, eliminate bullying, plant love and peace, and promote inclusion.

"It is essential that within a community, all people feel accepted, supported and valued," said Mayor Keith Hobbs. "This can be achieved through social inclusion, which is a behaviour all children can be taught. It is our hope that through initiatives such as Weed Out Hate Day, we can eliminate bullying and hatred in our community."

"Little Lions, following the Waldorf philosophy, educates children to become citizens dedicated to a peaceful society," said Marilyn Grudniski, Executive Director - Little Lions Waldorf Daycare & Kindergarten. "We encourage this in all aspects of our daily work and believe that by starting when children are very young, we will eventually achieve it. We lead by example and therefore it is important that this vision is brought to the wider community through public initiatives such as Weed Out Hate Day."

This is the second year that the City of Thunder Bay has proclaimed a day in June as Weed Out Hate Day.

For more information on the Weed Out Hate Day initiative, visit: weedouthate.org

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Contact: Lee-Ann Chevrette, 625-2554, lchevrette@thunderbay.ca  
               Marilyn Grudniski, Little Lions Waldorf Daycare & Kindergarten, 344-2298 ext. 4