They Found Out Youth
They found themselves at Out Youth
Every day, we hear stories of queer youth who are victims of bullying, confronting religious intolerance, dealing with issues of race and identity, and worst of all, living in families that neither love or accept them for who they are.
Thankfully, youth in Central Texas have had Out Youth – a place where they could get access to programs and services that helped them thrive, not just survive.
But we can’t do this important work alone!
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Together, we can build a stronger community by building stronger youth.
With your help, it can get better now.
About UPG Video
Last spring, UPG Video Marketing launched the “Video for Change” nonprofit video contest. Entrants were asked to submit a short video explaining how a UPG Fundraising Video would help them change their world.
Here’s what Out Youth submitted:
We went to work immediately with the wonderful team at UPG, working closely with Ben Cecil to develop the concept for the video and making sure that youth were the central focus of their video.
Like their work? Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog, or Like them on Facebook!
Building Stronger Communities
As we prepare to transition into February, we pause to give thanks to all of you who have supported Out Youth throughout 2011 and the beginning of 2012 with your philanthropy, special events, volunteerism, and advisement.
January seemed especially quick but amazing!
Both Lipstick 24 and Rusty’s sponsored special events with proceeds benefitting to Out Youth. Corporate partnerships with Comerica Bank, Facebook, and Google are also developing with aims to support Out Youth’s vision while expanding to meet needs of the youth and young adults we serve with more practical life skills programs and tutoring.
We are also continuing our research into social enterprise models with hopes of establishing a program that will provide employment, housing, and educational pathways to success for our youth and young adults.
Out Youth has also begun the design and implementation of its Youth Leadership Institute to better support our youth and young adults in gaining the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to pursue their dreams and goals. Board development training will also be offered to help prepare youth ages 12-17 and young adults ages 18-23 to serve on the Board of Out Youth.
There’s so much coming up and going on at Out Youth. Make sure you check out our Calendar of Events, and sign up to ride or run with Out Youth at this year’s Hill Country Ride for AIDS!
Thanks Volunteers!
It goes without saying that Out Youth relies heavily on the generosity of volunteers’ time and talents.
We were so lucky to have a new (volunteer) volunteer coordinator, Laura Luthy, join us in 2011. Together with Jake Gonzales, they have redesigned our system of volunteer recruitment, participation and tracking.
These changes, while small, have made life so much easier for our existing volunteers, helps to more readily connect volunteers and their interests, and ensures we keep Out Youth staffed with volunteers that understand the unique needs of our youth and young adults.
Want to get involved? Find out more about volunteering!
Howdy Partners
Wow, do we feel lucky to have such great partners in doing this very important work!
Whole Foods went above and beyond supporting Out Youth in 2011, and has pledged to sponsor the Annual Queer Youth Prom and Out Proud for the Holidays community party in 2012!
The Cord Shiflet family hosted the Glitz last fall and has offered to host the annual party again in 2012, while Grey Goose promises to reprise their role as the Glitz beverage sponsor!
Meetings with foundations have already begun to take place or are being scheduled while simultaneously we received news that Sir Elton John’s AIDS Foundation will sponsor Out Youth’s KYSS (Knowing Your Status is Smart) Program for a second year!
Local support from IBM, DELL, L Style, G Style magazine, Rock Out Loud, Oil Can Harry’s, Rain, Pink Avocado, and others have invested in Out Youth time and again.
And Mr. Bill Dickson and the Strickland Family Fund continue to provide guidance as we explore the idea of social enterprise.
Our new website, designed by The Lone Star Diva & Co. was launched this past year, and we are working on featured blog posts about our youth, young adults, staff, and volunteers on the home page.
Lastly, keep an eye out for our Annual Report for 2011 which will not only communicate details regarding the state of Out Youth’s finances year end 2011 but also explain our vision for moving forward based on what we are hearing from our youth and young adults, what we’ve been learning from community stakeholders, corporate sponsors, other LGBTQ youth centers, and findings from researched best practices.
Explore the rest of the website to find out more about volunteering or become a sustaining recurring donor!
Ride with Out Youth
Out Youth is proud to partner once again with the Hill Country Ride for AIDS!
Join our team today – you can Ride, Volunteer, or Sponsor a youth to ride.
More information coming soon, but in the meantime, register or donate to the Out Youth team!
Stopping AIDS in its Tracks
In recognition of World AIDS Day, Sir Elton John published an op-ed in The Huffington Post.
Out Youth is proud to be the recipient of a grant from the Elton John AIDS Foundation to fund K.Y.S.S. – Knowing Your Status is Smart – our HIV testing and awareness program.
From The Huffington Post
By Sir Elton John
World AIDS Day is a time for us to consider the state of the epidemic and the challenges we must overcome to achieve a world without AIDS. It’s a time to reflect on the fact that we ALL have a role to play in ending this disease. And one of the most important ways we can stop AIDS in its tracks is simply by fighting stigma and homophobia.
This World AIDS Day nearly coincides with the 20th anniversary of the death of my dear friend, Freddie Mercury. If Freddie were alive today he would feel very much as I do. He’d be astonished by how far we’ve come in treating and preventing HIV/AIDS since the frightening and tragic early days of the epidemic. But he’d also be saddened and dismayed to see that rampant stigma and homophobia continue to drive this disease.
The devastating impact of discrimination against gay people and people living with HIV are clearly reflected in the alarming incidence of HIV/AIDS in the gay community. In American cities, as many as one out of every five gay and bisexual men is HIV-positive, and half of those infected are unaware they have the disease. Indeed, HIV prevalence in our community is on par with some of the hardest hit regions of the developing world. Also, new HIV infections are actually on the rise among gay and bisexual men — the only risk group in America for which this is the case.
Clearly, we must do more, MUCH more, to reduce the incidence of HIV among gay and bisexual men, and that work has to begin within our community. In the early days of the AIDS epidemic, we rose up with our straight allies, claimed for ourselves equal rights and equal value as human beings, and demanded solutions for a health crisis that affected not just the gay community but every population across the globe. And it WORKED! HIV rates among gay men declined dramatically by the late 1980s, and we can be justifiably proud of our efforts then.
But today’s statistics show that we have stalled in our drive against this disease. We’ve dropped our guard and become complacent, and in that void, AIDS is thriving in our community once again.
Today, on World AIDS Day 2011, I’m ringing the alarm bell. We must WAKE UP! There are three immediate challenges before us, and we have to address them NOW!
First, we must help our young people to combat the many negative messages our society still flings at gay people. We have to teach gay men to love and accept themselves, to value and protect their health and the health of others, and to join the campaign for our equal rights as human beings. We cannot be silent or invisible. The old slogan “Silence = Death” is every bit as relevant today as it was in the 1980s. Homophobia can be neutralized by familiarity and experience and compassion. Stigma can be eradicated by courage and pride and unity. We can begin to end AIDS when we empower ourselves.
Second, we must take responsibility for our own health and well-being. We must get tested and retested. Too many of us do not know our HIV status, and that MUST change.
Third, we must not let our federal and state governments balance their budgets by cutting crucial funding for HIV prevention, treatment, and research. Reducing or eliminating HIV programming today will cost us much MORE money down the road. That’s because these investments pay for themselves in terms of infections prevented, health preserved, and lives saved. Earlier this year, the National Institutes of Health released a groundbreaking study demonstrating conclusively that people living with HIV who receive effective antiretroviral treatments are 96 percent LESS likely to pass the disease to their sexual partners. In other words, HIV treatment IS prevention. Therefore, we should be INCREASING funding for HIV treatment programs, not implementing cuts, as many states are doing today.
We have all of the tools we need to stop this epidemic in its tracks. Working together, I believe my little son Zachary and his generation can live to see a future without AIDS. But to get there, we have serious work to do. We must fight stigma, homophobia, and apathy. We must learn to love and value our lives and our health. We must be honest in our own relationships. We must get serious about the risky behaviors that have become commonplace once again in our community, and the negative messages that encourage this behavior. We must acknowledge the dangerous substances that are known drivers of infection. We must demand health funding.
But more than anything, we must educate and mobilize young people to join the fight not only AGAINST the AIDS epidemic, but also FOR health and acceptance and love. On this World AIDS Day, let us spread messages of tolerance and compassion that are so critical to ending AIDS.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation
Sir Elton John is the Founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF).
EJAF supports innovative HIV prevention programs, efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS, and direct care and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Since 1992, EJAF has raised over $220 million in support of projects in 55 countries around the world.
Now Accepting Applications
Out Youth is seeking to fill two board positions designated for current constituents who are ages 12 to 17.
One position is designated for youth 12 to 14 years of age, and the other is designated for youth 15 to 17. The board has added these slots to ensure the youth voice is represented in governance decisions affecting Out Youth. The vetting process and board service requirements for these board members are the same as for any other board member.
To apply for one of these new board positions, please submit a completed Board Member Application form to Ceci Gratias, Chair of the Governance Committee.
Please direct any questions about the application process or board service to Ceci.
Make a Holiday Gift
For more than twenty-one years, Out Youth has been the only continuing resource for youth and young adults of all sexual orientations and gender identities in Austin and greater Central Texas.
Out Youth is a place that embodies love, pride, and community. The contributions and collaborations of youth, staff, interns and volunteers are inspiring. We have heard from so many people about how much Out Youth means to them, how their lives changed for the better, or they wished there were an Out Youth when they were growing up.
All of these things make Out Youth so much more than a “center” – they’ve made Out Youth a home.
And with your help, Out Youth will continue to build a stronger community by building stronger youth for another 21 years. You can make donations as a monthly (sustaining) partner or one-time donations.
Or, make checks payable to Out Youth and mail to:
909 E 49th ½ Street
Austin, Texas 78751
Thank you for making a difference with a gift to Out Youth!
Your donation supports our programs and services, HIV prevention, testing and counseling, community information and referrals, lending library, computer center, and all our other services for LGBTQIA youth in Austin and greater Central Texas.
Best wishes for a safe, healthy and memorable holiday season!
To learn more about what your donations provide, explore the website, or give our Executive Director a call at (512) 419.1233.
Out Youth is a 501(C) 3 non-profit organization.
Your contributions are tax-exempt to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Giving Thanks Dinner
Every year we give thanks for all our volunteers by hosting a dinner in their honor at Out Youth.
We hope that you will join us this Sunday, November 27th, from 3:30pm to 6:00pm for one last helping of turkey, dressing, and plenty of pie!
Please know that we are grateful for all your support of Out Youth over the last year, and we hope to see you Sunday.
Trans Day of Remembrance
Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died in North America due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives.
Many of these crimes against transgender people remain unreported and unsolved; a trend that show no sign of abating.
With this in mind, we will stand in solidarity with our transgender siblings, to remember the dead and to celebrate the living.
For Youth Wanting to Participate
We will meet at Out Youth and travel together to Austin City Hall at 5:00pm. We will stay for the entire program, and then return to Out Youth between 8:30pm and 9:00pm. Please be sure to have a ride home arranged ahead of time.
If you are under the age of 18, you must have your guardian sign the Travel Permission and Medical Release Form.
Travel Permission and Medical Release Form (PDF)
Travel Permission and Medical Release Form (DOC)
For More Information
Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT)
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