$2,300 for CANDLE Youth Pride by Bi Visibility Day

Help me raise $2,300 for CANDLE Youth Pride's 23rd annual Common Threads Youth Empowerment Retreat by Bi+ Visibility Day on 9/23!

Maxxx Pleasure, an award-winning drag king and vlogger, is increasing bi+ visibility for the entire month of September. In addition to sharing his own experience as a bisexual person and elevating the voices of other bi+ people, Maxxx is raising funds for his hometown’s nonprofit CANDLE Youth Pride so that they can conduct their 23rd (and first virtual!) Common Threads Youth Empowerment Retreat. 

The majority of LGBTQ+ youth in the United States identify with a sexuality under the bi+ umbrella (bisexual, pansexual, queer, fluid etc.). Bi+ youth are less likely to receive affirming support than their hetero and homosexual peers due to society's prevailing binary-based understanding of sexuality.*

Validating the sexual identities of LGBTQ+ youth is a vital part of CANDLE Youth Pride's mission. CANDLE Youth Pride strives to change the social norms and beliefs that perpetuate rejection and violence against LGBTQ+ youth through educational programs for youth and youth-serving professionals, and collaborations with schools, parent groups, and other community-based organizations. LGBTQ+ youth and their affirming peer allies are directly supported with pro-social activities, leadership development opportunities, and the Common Threads Youth Empowerment Retreat.

Common Threads is an annual weekend retreat for high school students that aims to empower participants through experiences of belonging, connection, and affirmation. Students participate in workshops and activities where they learn and connect with their peers in a safe and fun-filled environment. Each year proves to be a rousing success - 90% of last year's participants reported that attending the retreat improved their emotional health and 100% confirmed that Common Threads made them feel connected with the LGBTQ+ community.**

After 22 years, CANDLE Youth Pride is faced with a new challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible for 100+ students, chaperones, volunteers, and staff to convene at the Stony Point Center. Rather than forgo the retreat for 2021, CANDLE YP is dedicated to converting Common Threads into a virtual experience. The support, skills and connection that the retreat provides are vital for high school teens.

CANDLE Youth Pride needs our help to turn this obstacle into an opportunity! The funds raised here will go towards securing a virtual platform that can host an increased number of participants, compensating presenters who lend their skills to the programs, and mitigating the cost of participation for youth.

Maxxx Pleasure and CANDLE Youth Pride THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! A gift of any amount will help bring this virtual retreat to the LGBTQ+ youth and their ally peers who need it.

*Human Rights Campaign 2019 Bi+ Youth Report
**The 22nd Annual Common Threads Youth Empowerment Retreat Board Report

FROM CANDLE:

CANDLE Youth Pride started as a CANDLE initiative in 1991 with Rockland County’s first LGBTQ+ youth support group, TRUST, a radical act at the time! Groups of LGBTQ+ youth met in a secret location, spoke their truths, and supported one another. From this grounding, Youth Pride expanded: first, to the annual Common Threads weekend Retreat; then to supports for school-based GSAs; next our Trans Youth Group; on to education for the community; then to our Leadership Project; and then to our group for LGBTQ+ Young Adults. All of Youth Pride’s efforts grow from dual missions -- to enhance the safety and affirmation for all LGBTQ+ youth in our community -- and to bolster LGBTQ+ youth’s development of supports, skills, and resilience so alcohol use, drug use, and violence aren’t the only tools available to navigate the difficulties of living as LGBTQ+ people in this world.  READ MORE.