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For Immediate Release:
August 2022 |
Kaleidoscope Youth Center awarded Funding from Grantmakers for Girls of Color
COLUMBUS –Kaleidoscope Youth Center (KYC) has been awarded $50,000 from Grantmakers for Girls of Color (GFGC) Holding a Sister Initiative (HASI). HASI is the first national fund in the country explicitly dedicated to resourcing and uplifting trans girls and gender-expansive youth of color, and creating space for cis and trans girls of color to build solidarity with one another.
“Unfortunately, both within and outside of the LGBTQIA+ community, Black and Brown cis, trans, gender-expansive, non-binary and/or femme persons are individually and collectively excluded from crucial conversations and opportunities that support their thriving,” says KYC Executive Director Erin Upchurch, MSSA, LISW-S. “We are looking forward to having resources and programming centered on the needs and experiences of the community in this way.”
The GFGC website states, “Trans girls and gender-expansive youth of color, those who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latina, Asian, Arab, Pacific Islander and other People of Color, deserve to have joy, and to be safe, free and thriving.”
Upchurch continues, “We need greater investments in the wellness, safety, and dignity of these youth and young adults. Liberation, safer spaces, and abundance can emerge through community partnership, collective power, and access to resources. We must be creative and responsive to the needs of our youth; and we are grateful for the opportunity as trusted providers to co-create - alongside our young people - what we know is possible in the world.”
Funding will be used by KYC to provide affirmation, educational and wellness grants, internship stipends, professional development, and to hire a Community Care Manager. Grant opportunities will be available beginning in the Fall of 2022.
About Kaleidoscope Youth Center
Kaleidoscope Youth Center (KYC) is Ohio's largest and longest-serving organization in Ohio solely dedicated to supporting LGBTQIA+ youth ages 12 - 24. Services include a Drop-in Center, community education and training, advocacy and civic engagement, health and wellness programs, and housing opportunities.
“Unfortunately, both within and outside of the LGBTQIA+ community, Black and Brown cis, trans, gender-expansive, non-binary and/or femme persons are individually and collectively excluded from crucial conversations and opportunities that support their thriving,” says KYC Executive Director Erin Upchurch, MSSA, LISW-S. “We are looking forward to having resources and programming centered on the needs and experiences of the community in this way.”
The GFGC website states, “Trans girls and gender-expansive youth of color, those who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latina, Asian, Arab, Pacific Islander and other People of Color, deserve to have joy, and to be safe, free and thriving.”
Upchurch continues, “We need greater investments in the wellness, safety, and dignity of these youth and young adults. Liberation, safer spaces, and abundance can emerge through community partnership, collective power, and access to resources. We must be creative and responsive to the needs of our youth; and we are grateful for the opportunity as trusted providers to co-create - alongside our young people - what we know is possible in the world.”
Funding will be used by KYC to provide affirmation, educational and wellness grants, internship stipends, professional development, and to hire a Community Care Manager. Grant opportunities will be available beginning in the Fall of 2022.
About Kaleidoscope Youth Center
Kaleidoscope Youth Center (KYC) is Ohio's largest and longest-serving organization in Ohio solely dedicated to supporting LGBTQIA+ youth ages 12 - 24. Services include a Drop-in Center, community education and training, advocacy and civic engagement, health and wellness programs, and housing opportunities.
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Download former press releases below:
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Kaleidoscope Youth Center partners with Columbus City Schools to promote safer spaces for LGBTQIA+ Students
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