Dear Safe Schools Coalition Members and Friends:

 

GiveBIG on May 2^nd! Support your Safe Schools Coalition.

 

(1) 5-minute online film from the youth of the Illinois Safe Schools Coalition, “Dear 40-Year-Old Me”

(2) Advocates for Youth is seeking youth activists

(3) IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia) is May 17^th … check out some Ideas for Action

(4) Sex Ed report: CDC Releases 2008 and 2010 School Health Profiles

 

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(1) 5-minute online film from the youth of the Illinois Safe Schools Coalition, “Dear 40-Year-Old Me”

 

I am thrilled to share with you a new, inspiring short video featuring youth involved with the Alliance. In just a couple of minutes, “Dear 40-Year-Old Me” inspires both youth and adults to get involved in making schools better places for ALL youth, especially those that are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.

 

As the young people in the video share personal, raw anecdotes about their lives, a universal theme emerges: change is both possible and empowering. The stories trace how young people have transformed through their involvement with the Alliance, from feeling marginalized to being an integral part of policy changes at both a district and statewide level.

 

We hope the personal journeys highlighted in the video will spark change and promote understanding in all who view it. Please take a second to share it with your colleagues, friends, and family in Illinois and elsewhere.

 

You can view the video at: http://youtu.be/ZvuIVfzGtww. We will also launch the video at Noon today and ask that you consider sharing this link on Facebook, Twitter, other social media, or simply forward this message onto those in your networks. At Noon the video will be posted on the Alliance Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/IllinoisSafeSchoolsAlliance where you have the ability to easily share on your own wall if you choose.

 

We greatly appreciate your support and would also like to thank the youth who shared their stories in the video, as well as EPIC and their volunteer Rally members, which generously donated time and resources to produce it.

 

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(2) Advocates for Youth is seeking youth activists

Are you a young person (14-24 years old) who is…

• Passionate about fighting for young people's rights to sexual health information and services?
• Interested in connecting with youth leaders from across the country?
• Dedicated to developing skills to make a difference in your community?

Consider applying for one of Advocates for Youth's programs! See all of the available opportunities below.

If selected, you will have opportunities to: develop new organizing and leadership skills; become informed on sexual and reproductive health issues; connect with passionate young people from across the country; and have a lasting impact on your communities. You will also join more than 100 youth activists in Washington, DC for an intense four-day activist training institute free of charge!

Advocates' youth activists have done amazing work this year. You can join them in:

• Increasing HIV testing on your campus
• Providing confidential support and resources to young people who are worried about coming out
• Working with college administrators to make condom distribution more widely available on your campus
• Mobilizing your peers around international family planning issues
• Working to destigmatize abortion and ensure youth access to affordable birth control

If this sounds like something you want to be a part of, check out the program descriptions below and apply today! Application deadlines are coming up fast.

Wait — I'm not a young person…

If you are a parent, teacher, or advocate who knows young people who are passionate about sexual and reproductive health and rights, please encourage them to apply today.

Thanks!

Julia Reticker-Flynn
Youth Activist Network Manager
Advocates for Youth

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Campus Organizing Team

Advocates for Youth works with campus organizations to provide them with skills, information, and materials to conduct advocacy campaigns on their campuses. Each year, selected campus organizations are chosen to receive intensive assistance, including funding, advocacy and media training, materials for dissemination and on-going assistance to help educate, activate, and empower students on issues such as condom availability, LGBT rights, comprehensive sex education, abortion access, and HIV prevention/treatment among others! Click here to complete the Campus Organizing Team application. Apps are due May 10, 2012.


Young Women of Color Leadership Council (YWOCLC)

The Young Women of Color Leadership Council is composed of young leaders and activists who come together to promote a message of prevention and empowerment through a reproductive justice lens. All of the Council's work is a collaboration of diversity and power, in the hopes of affecting a million more young women of color. The goals of the Council are to educate, include, and empower. Click here to complete the Young Women of Color Leadership Council application. Apps are due May 10, 2012.


YouthResource Peer Educators

YouthResource, a website by and for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (GLBTQ) young people, explores issues of concern to GLBTQ youth. The Online Peer Educators provide affirmation and support to their peers, answer questions posed by visitors, and assist users to find the local resources they need. Peer Educators also write blogs, articles, and issue briefs for the YouthResource website, advocate for GLBTQ rights, and present at conferences on GLBTQ issues. Click here to complete the YouthResource Peer Educator application. Apps are due May 10, 2012.


Cultural Advocacy and Mobilization Initiative (CAMI): State Activists

Advocates for Youth works with state youth activists in 8 target states (AL, CA, CO, FL, OH, NC, SC, TX) on youth leadership councils, which advocate for comprehensive sex education and other sexual health and rights issues in their communities. Their goal is to mobilize people in their states to fight for honest, responsible sex education and ensure that young people are listened to and have a voice within the debate. Click here to find out more about our state partners. Applications will be available shortly.

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(3) IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia) is May 17^th … check out some Ideas for Action

 

Go to http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org/-Ideas-for-action,78-

 

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(4) Sex Ed report: CDC Releases 2008 and 2010 School Health Profiles

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (aka CDC) released an analysis of the 2008 and 2010 School Health Profiles data in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, entitled “HIV, Other STD, and Pregnancy Prevention Education in Public Secondary Schools — 45 States, 2008–2010.” A critical finding of the study was that, between 2008 and 2010, little progress was made in increasing the percentage of public middle and high schools that teach specific HIV, other STD, and pregnancy prevention topics to young people, as recommended by the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and Community Preventive Services Task Force. The School Health Profiles data are critical to help guide decisions about how to improve education efforts across the country at the state and local levels. These data also will help states and communities understand and tailor their efforts to address the level of risk in their adolescent population.

 

 

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Or mail this form with your check made to "Safe Schools Coalition":

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The Safe Schools Coalition is a public-private partnership of 60+ organizations (government agencies, schools, community agencies, churches, youth/student groups, gay/lesbian groups, human rights groups) and 100+ individuals working to help schools become safe places where every family can belong, where every educator can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. Safe Schools' website: http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org Safe Schools' blog: http://safeschoolscoalition.blogspot.com/ Join SSC's group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=43732067796 Join SSC's group on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1110307 Follow SSC on Twitter: http://twitter.com/safeschoolsc   Got a problem at school with anti-gay harassment?

In Washington State:

1-877-SAFE-SAFE (1-877-723-3723) 24 hours a day - the phone line is answered at the Sexual Assault Hotline and they will have a Safe Schools Coalition Intervention Specialist volunteer get back to you within 24 hours. Or contact us by email (click here: Intervention) http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/contact/?id=10 and we will respond within 24 hours.

 

For non-emergencies: 206-451-SAFE (7233).

Or email us:

Questions Speakers Bureau Membership Publications Listserv Website

 

Co-Chairs:

Beth Reis, Public Health - Seattle & King County, 206-296-4970 Michelle Munro, not representing a member org Mo Lewis, King County Sexual Assault Resource Center Matthew Wilson, Oasis/Pierce County AIDS Foundation

 

Co-Secretaries:

Heather Carter, Youth Suicide Prevention Program Frank Couch, Science & Management of Addictions Foundation Penny Palmer, not representing a member org

 

Listserv Managers:

Beth Reis for Action Items, Resource messages (books, films, curricula, etc.), Professional Journal messages and Help Needed by Reporters/Authors, Researchers, and Member Organizations Corey Bernstein and Robyn Walters for News messages Nik Donia for Event messages Open position for Jobs, Internships, and Volunteer Opportunity messages Ryan Schwartz for Right Wing Watch messages Julie Parmenter for Opinion (blogs, editorials, letters to the editor) messages Colleen Mullins for Lesson Planning Guide messages Gabi Clayton for Legislative/Elective messages and Fundraising* messages     * Note: Fundraising messages are only sent for member organizations.

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