Have you ever heard of the LGBT initiative A Note to My Kid? Originally created by Patrick Wallace, Mike Curry, and Michael Volpatt, and recently adopted by Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), the program is designed to support LGBT youth as they come out and seek safe spaces. For years, PFLAG has served as one of the largest networks of allies to gay and lesbian people; the group describes itself as “a national support, education and advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, their families, friends and allies.” The organization has garnered support from more than 200,000 members and supporters in hundreds of communities worldwide, and is one of the largest grassroots efforts of its kind.
PFLAG offers many programs that seek to educate and inspire its members and their loved ones, and A Note to My Kid is one of its latest efforts to help create a safer, more equal world for LGBT individuals. “A Note to My Kid – a project of PFLAG National – gives the parents, families, friends, and allies of LGBTQ community the opportunity to share their unconditional love via notes, photos, and videos,” the project details. Essentially, the initiative acts as a safe, collective, online space full of encouragement and support for LGBT people; it is very much in line with what PFLAG has been setting out to do for the last 4+ decades, with a digital age twist.
The homepage of the A Note to My Kid website features scanned images of handwritten letters, typed affirmations of love and support, and messages sent out to mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, extended family, friends, and allies. It’s a really beautiful space, just radiating with encouragement and love. On the site, you’ll find letters such as “A Note to Gregory from His Mom,” and “A Note from Ludmila to Her Future Family,” inspiring, personal statements letting LGBT youths in particular know that they are not alone.
It’s no surprise that PFLAG would adopt such a heartfelt tribute to the importance of fostering communities; the organization has been at the forefront of this kind of positive-minded LGBT activism for years. Make sure to go to pflag.org to learn more.