When I first talked about this idea many people told me was far-fetched, didn’t make sense logistically, and would be too expensive. When I received the grant, the support that I got was not just financial. The award made me feel like others believed in my idea and believed in my ability to carry out this dream, and this gave me the confidence I needed to say that I was going to go through with my project anyway. And I am so glad that I did because now I am so lucky to see every day the impact that this program has on the lives of the individual queer and trans youth who participate and also see the conversations and changes in our community that are coming from bringing awareness of queer and trans youth issues to more people. This has been so powerful to see, especially with the passage of HB2 in North Carolina that enables discrimination against queer and trans people.
Abby Hylton, Queer Youth Circus, North Carolina
by Carolyn Ashworth | Jun 3, 2016 | What Does $1000 Do?