About Red Shirt Day™

Red Shirt Day™ is an annual event in celebration of National AccessAbility Week. It is a day when people across Canada come together and wear red in schools, workplaces and spaces everywhere in order to create a visible display of solidarity: to show their support for persons and families of those who are living with disabilities, celebrate the achievements of people living with disabilities, and to pledge their commitment to help create a fully accessible and inclusive society that honours and values the contributions of people of all abilities in all aspects of life in Canada.

As a leading provider of programs and services to children and youth with physical disabilities and their families for over 100 years, Easter Seals Ontario proudly champions Red Shirt Day™ and invites schools, organizations, and individuals to join us in creating a more accessible and inclusive society for individuals with disabilities.

In Ontario, approximately 2.6 million people have a disability. This means roughly one in four Ontarians live with a disability and face various types of accessibility challenges in their everyday life. We want to support those who face accessibility challenges in their everyday lives and work towards breaking down barriers to inclusion.

Disability accessibility and inclusion does not end with just a one-day annual event. In order to make Canada a truly accessible and inclusive society, it requires the constant, year-round commitment and efforts of all Canadians to put it into practice in order to make it real, and to also advocate and take action to increase accessibility and inclusion.

As such, by wearing red on Red Shirt DayTM, participants are also encouraged to make a commitment – a pledge – to educate and inform themselves on issues related to disability, and do what they can – individually and collectively – to remove physical, attitudinal and systemic barriers in their schools, workplaces and communities in order to make Canada a truly accessible and inclusive place for people of all abilities.

So, join us in wearing red on May 29, and let’s make a commitment together to create a society where all individuals can thrive, regardless of ability. Together, we can turn our collective vision of accessibility and inclusion into a reality.