Inspire 1,000's of LGBT youth & allies in CT & US

Dear Friend of True Colors,

The fourth quarter is always a busy one here at True Colors. We began organizing for our (25^th!) annual conference, still the largest LGBTQ youth issues conference in the country with over 3,500 attendees each year. Schools are back in session so our work with school based sexuality and gender alliances (GSA) launches into full swing in this quarter. We hosted 35 activities for youth with more than 300 participants.  We conducted consultation site visits with students in Ansonia, Branford, Hartford, Woodbridge, Enfield, Bridgeport,Windsor, Waterbury, New Britain, Bloomfield, Manchester, Putnam, Trumbull, New Haven and Waterford.  

One GSA advisor said, "The positive attitude your visit brought us has lasted all through the winter vacation break.  Your guidance has assisted us in being a more united club.  We will be reaching out to you in the future about coming back to visit with us."

One of the events we produce each quarter is called Muse Uprising, a youth open mic event. Youth come together to support one another, as well as challenge themselves to try new things and push their limits in a healthy way that encourages them to grow and find their voice. We watch this happen every time. The audience cheered and clapped with the beat to encourage whoever was up. People who swore they’d never perform in front of an audience ended up doing just that! In our October event:

• One young trans girl whipped her hair off during a song about not having to hide;
  
  
• Two girls who never came before took turns being one another’s ‘mic stand’ and holding their notebooks or phones so the person performing could read off them;
  
  
• Mentees who never speak in front of the group got on the microphone.
  
  
  • Jace, who loves to make witty side comments but is incredibly shy if the attention is actually on him, got up to sing—he faced the wall instead of the audience for the entire time, but he did it!
    
    
  • Mike, who seldom speaks in the group (sometimes he asks his mentor to even share his name and pronouns during the ice breakers so he doesn’t have to speak out loud at all), said he would perform if his mentor performed, so they both did separate pieces and made it through the entire song.

You know what makes these incredible moments possible? You. Our donors.  All of our youth leadership work is supported solely through the generosity of people like you.  We don’t have our 2017 numbers yet, but we expect them to exceed our 2016 numbers. In 2016, you directly helped us support more than 1,400 LGBTQ youth.  Altogether, because of you, and others like you, True Colors True Colors directly touched 12,263 lives. 

• Youth Leadership: 1,460 youth with 107 social/recreational activities, 8 high school summits and 26 Genders/Sexualities Alliance (GSA) visits
  
  
• Conference: 3,879 participants from 10 different states, 11 colleges, 110 high schools, 3 middle schools, 285 presenters, 232 volunteers…
  
  
• Mentoring: about 40 mentors/mentees – smaller numbers but huge outcomes!
  
  
• Training: 6,654 educators, social workers, administrators, across CT and nationally
  
  
• Safe Harbors: Statewide policy and programming task force in collaboration with DCF
  
  

We couldn’t do what we do without you. We are incredibly grateful!

Look what you did.

Allie* came in the first day of the True Colors summer program, Queer Academy, with her head down, shoulders slumped, and trembling. It was one of the first times she had been 'out' as a girl. The youth and staff of "Queer Academy" welcomed her with wide smiles and open hearts. 

Over the course of the next six weeks, she and the other nine youth, explored themselves and their world. They did team building activities every morning and discussed the lessons of the day every afternoon around their 'queer campfire".  They teamed with community leaders to explore topics that mattered to them - like LGBTQ icons with Sarah Prager author of Queer, There and Everywhere and gender with transgender writer, activist and media personality, Tony Ferriaiolo. 

They went on field trips every Friday to area museums, queer history archives, and even the "Big Gay Ice Cream Shop" after touring the Stonewall Bar as the recognized start of the LGBTQ civil rights movement.

They researched and completed a 'Presentation of Learning' on an area of queer culture that mattered to them.  And, Allie began to thrive. She stood straighter, made eye contact, and ultimately developed a preformance piece called, "The Importance of Being Me" that SHE PERFORMED at Draguation.  All this in just six weeks. 

That is the difference support makes. This is what affirmation looks like.  And the truth?  We couldn't do what we do without you. Queer Academy has no funding source other than our donors. No grants, no public money.  Just you.

And look what you did for Allie.

* Allie's name was changed to protect her privacy