Help Teachers Save LGBTQ Lives!
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I’m Sameer Jha, a 16 year old LGBTQ+ activist with a mission to end anti-LGBTQ+ bullying in schools. This campaign is to support my goal of publishing a teacher’s guide to creating safer schools for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer students.
Why is this book critical? Here are some sobering statistics:
• 85.2% LGBTQ students experienced verbal harassment at school based on personal characteristics like their sexual orientation and gender expression, according to the GLSEN National School Climate Survey of more than 10,500 students from 50 states.
• 67.4% of LGBTQ+ students have heard “gay” used in a negative way. 58.8% have heard homophobic remarks at school such as dyke to refer to lesbians and faggot to refer to students perceived as LGBTQ+ according to the same GLSEN survey.
• Sadly, LGBTQ+ youth are nearly three times as likely to have seriously contemplated suicide and five times as likely to have attempted suicide as their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts according to the Center for Disease Control & Prevention.
These statistics are personally very relevant to me. I was bullied throughout middle school because I was a gender nonconforming boy who loved princess toys, singing, and theatre. After I came out during my freshman year in high school, my life turned around. I found love and acceptance, as well as a new purpose: to make sure others would not experience the same harassment I did.
My Background:
I founded The Empathy Alliance , a non-profit that works with educators and student leaders to make schools safer for LBGTQ+ students. In the last 2 years, I have attended conferences, served on panels, lead workshops, facilitated classes, and spoken at rallies to reach thousands of educators and student leaders from schools around the United States. I speak on topics as diverse as trans rights, bullying prevention, starting GSAs, overcoming hidden biases, updating sex-ed curriculums, exploring gender, and understanding intersectionality. Born to immigrant parents, I am especially passionate about removing the stigma around being queer within the South Asian community.
My work and message have been featured in New York Magazine, NPR, MTV News, Logo NewNowNext, Man Repeller, Youth Radio, Huffington Post, Mashable, Mercury News, East Bay Times,
Bay Area Reporter, A Beautiful Perspective, SFGate, Radio Zindagi, WomenNowTV and more
Not only am I a Congressional Award recipient, but I have also been privileged to serve as a Youth Ambassador for organizations like:
• The Human Rights Campaign: the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights group in USA
• The GSA Network: which works with over 900 Gender & Sexuality Alliance Clubs in high schools throughout America
• The Tyler Clementi Foundation: which works on preventative programs to end bullying in schools through programs like #Day1
• Trikone: The oldest LGBTQ+ group for queer South Asians in the world
This summer, I also interned for The Mayor of Oakland to lead community partnerships and social media campaigning for LGBTQ+ Pride initiatives, and was chosen as the 2017 Youth Grand Marshal for the Oakland Pride Parade.
My involvement with such organizations and the training and mentorship they have provided, along with my own personal experiences, have given me a much better understanding of the needs of LGBTQ+ youth in schools and what can be done to address them.
Today, The Empathy Alliance has grown from a small, local entity working with a few schools to a national nonprofit connected to some of the largest organizations focused on the safety and inclusion of LGBTQ+ youth. The Empathy Alliance has helped many students, but I know we can do even more! Every teacher whose heart and mind we touch can in turn impact the lives of hundreds of students. We can make a positive change to our school culture so that the most vulnerable youth are supported and protected. Currently most books about LGBTQ+ students on the market are written from an adult perspective. I want to bring a youth lens, full of personal stories and examples, to create a teacher's guide that will truly save lives.
Publishing a high-quality book requires an investment of time and money. The funds raised will go toward research, getting an editor to make sure this book meets the highest publishing standards, and all the other nuts and bolts associated with producing a book teachers will want to read, including layout, cover design, legal compliance, publication, and distribution costs. My goal is to publish the book online in a format that makes it cost effective for schools to download and print. By contributing to my book fundraising goal, you’re doing your part to make schools safer for LGBTQ+ students.
With each donation, I can also send a complimentary copy of the final book to a teacher of the donor's choice. Thank you for supporting me, and all the LGBTQ+ youth in our schools.
Why is this book critical? Here are some sobering statistics:
• 85.2% LGBTQ students experienced verbal harassment at school based on personal characteristics like their sexual orientation and gender expression, according to the GLSEN National School Climate Survey of more than 10,500 students from 50 states.
• 67.4% of LGBTQ+ students have heard “gay” used in a negative way. 58.8% have heard homophobic remarks at school such as dyke to refer to lesbians and faggot to refer to students perceived as LGBTQ+ according to the same GLSEN survey.
• Sadly, LGBTQ+ youth are nearly three times as likely to have seriously contemplated suicide and five times as likely to have attempted suicide as their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts according to the Center for Disease Control & Prevention.
These statistics are personally very relevant to me. I was bullied throughout middle school because I was a gender nonconforming boy who loved princess toys, singing, and theatre. After I came out during my freshman year in high school, my life turned around. I found love and acceptance, as well as a new purpose: to make sure others would not experience the same harassment I did.
My Background:
I founded The Empathy Alliance , a non-profit that works with educators and student leaders to make schools safer for LBGTQ+ students. In the last 2 years, I have attended conferences, served on panels, lead workshops, facilitated classes, and spoken at rallies to reach thousands of educators and student leaders from schools around the United States. I speak on topics as diverse as trans rights, bullying prevention, starting GSAs, overcoming hidden biases, updating sex-ed curriculums, exploring gender, and understanding intersectionality. Born to immigrant parents, I am especially passionate about removing the stigma around being queer within the South Asian community.
My work and message have been featured in New York Magazine, NPR, MTV News, Logo NewNowNext, Man Repeller, Youth Radio, Huffington Post, Mashable, Mercury News, East Bay Times,
Bay Area Reporter, A Beautiful Perspective, SFGate, Radio Zindagi, WomenNowTV and more
Not only am I a Congressional Award recipient, but I have also been privileged to serve as a Youth Ambassador for organizations like:
• The Human Rights Campaign: the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights group in USA
• The GSA Network: which works with over 900 Gender & Sexuality Alliance Clubs in high schools throughout America
• The Tyler Clementi Foundation: which works on preventative programs to end bullying in schools through programs like #Day1
• Trikone: The oldest LGBTQ+ group for queer South Asians in the world
This summer, I also interned for The Mayor of Oakland to lead community partnerships and social media campaigning for LGBTQ+ Pride initiatives, and was chosen as the 2017 Youth Grand Marshal for the Oakland Pride Parade.
My involvement with such organizations and the training and mentorship they have provided, along with my own personal experiences, have given me a much better understanding of the needs of LGBTQ+ youth in schools and what can be done to address them.
Today, The Empathy Alliance has grown from a small, local entity working with a few schools to a national nonprofit connected to some of the largest organizations focused on the safety and inclusion of LGBTQ+ youth. The Empathy Alliance has helped many students, but I know we can do even more! Every teacher whose heart and mind we touch can in turn impact the lives of hundreds of students. We can make a positive change to our school culture so that the most vulnerable youth are supported and protected. Currently most books about LGBTQ+ students on the market are written from an adult perspective. I want to bring a youth lens, full of personal stories and examples, to create a teacher's guide that will truly save lives.
Publishing a high-quality book requires an investment of time and money. The funds raised will go toward research, getting an editor to make sure this book meets the highest publishing standards, and all the other nuts and bolts associated with producing a book teachers will want to read, including layout, cover design, legal compliance, publication, and distribution costs. My goal is to publish the book online in a format that makes it cost effective for schools to download and print. By contributing to my book fundraising goal, you’re doing your part to make schools safer for LGBTQ+ students.
With each donation, I can also send a complimentary copy of the final book to a teacher of the donor's choice. Thank you for supporting me, and all the LGBTQ+ youth in our schools.
Organizer and beneficiary
Sameer Jha
Organizer
Sameer Jha
Beneficiary
