This year, the It Gets Better Project celebrated its 10 Year Anniversary and with it, the launch of Youth Voices, the organization’s first official youth ambassador program. These kids have been phenomenal all year! They’ve raised their voices, shared their stories, and paved a path for LGBTQ+ youth everywhere. Take a look below at some of the highlights from our year together.
We Rise 2020: Virtual May
In the springtime, as more and more events were pivoting to digital, our Youth Voices didn’t skip a beat. They stepped up immediately to participate in this panel discussion on LGBTQ+ history as part of a month-long spotlight on mental well-being and healing.
Pride with American Eagle
American Eagle is a Legacy Partner for the It Gets Better Project. The company has been a huge supporter of It Gets Better EDU and now of our Youth Voices. During Pride, they even let us take over their Instagram account for a few in-grid posts and IG Stories.
It Gets Better: A Digital Pride Experience
As part of our online Pride celebration, our Youth Voices stepped up to share a message of support with other LGBTQ+ youth and to express what Pride means to them. One of our Youth Voices even closed out the event with a phenomenal original DJ set!
Queerbook 2021
Queerbook was back in 2020 with a virtual yearbook-style showcase of LGBTQ activists, celebrities, and influencers with words of wisdom for today’s school-age queer youth. This year’s queerbook simply wouldn’t have been complete without entries from some of our stellar Youth Voices.
2020 Global Summit
Since 2017, the It Gets Better Project has hosted multi-day leadership summits for volunteers and friends of its Global Affiliate Network. Our voices came together once again for an incredible panel discussion with Hopelab, one of our generous event sponsors.
PBS American Portrait
PBS American Portrait is a collection of stories contributed by people all over the country — a portrait of what it really means to be American today. For Thanksgiving, our Youth Voices joined together with other supporters of the organization to share what they were most grateful for this year.
RITZ – Where There’s Love, There’s Family
As a company, RITZ believes everyone should feel like they belong. That’s why this holiday, RITZ is on a mission to help make the world a more welcoming place by encouraging people to rethink what it means to be family. Here’s some of Youth Voices sharing what chosen family means to them.
To learn more about Youth Voices, go to itgetsbetter.org/youthvoices2021.