Dear PFLAG Supporter,

Back to school season is in full swing and we want to be sure you’re ready to engage with school communities in your area! There are plenty of ways to get involved and make the most of this exciting time of year. Here are some resources to help your chapter dig into this work:

Unsure how to get connected with your local schools? Creating relationships with school administrators can open up pathways to supporting LGBTQ+ students and their families!

A few tips on leveraging and cultivating community connections:

• Prep for the season - what are your school district’s policies? When and where does your school board meet? What is the election cycle this year?
• Consider scheduling meetings with school district leaders (principals, school admin, superintendents, etc.), Title IX Coordinators, or school counselors to learn about school policies and share information about how your PFLAG chapter can support.
• Develop a letter or packet of resources to provide to local schools. We have template rack cards and brochures available in Canva to support outreach and resource provision to school administrators, GSA advisors, PTO/As, and educators.  
• Here’s some best practices for working with your school GSAs! It’s a great way to connect with queer + allied youth in your area, as well as support their efforts to create inclusive schools.
• You can also consider putting together a forum for the public, inviting school counselors, admin, and/or school board members to have a dialogue with the community around LGBTQ+ students and what support they need.

Some PFLAG resources to help:

• Safe Schools For All– this website was created in partnership with several other national organizations, and focuses on the rights of students in schools and what we can do to protect them.
• The Read With Love Campaign promotes inclusive access to books in school libraries that represent ALL students. From hosting public readings of banned books, to engaging in state advocacy fighting censorship, Read With Love is a great campaign for any chapter interested in getting involved in fighting back against LGBTQ+ censorship in our schools.

Urban Think Tank Alert

We know urban chapters face specific challenges, so the Urban Think Tank is a peer-to-peer facilitated discussion space for chapter leaders from urban areas across the chapter network. 

October's topic will be growth and expansion in cities. When a PFLAG chapter is thriving and has a lot of capacity, the question becomes "What next? How do we grow?"

Has your chapter added another meeting? Have you set a goal to add social programming? Does your chapter have a Speakers Bureau or other strong educational programming? There are so many ways to grow beyond a monthly support meeting! Whether this is a struggle or a success story for your chapter, come prepared to share and support other urban chapter leaders!

Register now for the Urban Think Tank on October 15th at 4pm PT/7pm ET.

PFLAG Votes Corner: Love Votes!

Yesterday, we kicked off our Love Votes Week of Action and every day this week, we’ll be highlighting a different action your chapters and members can take to show your love votes this November. This initiative is centered on voter registration and education. Here’s how you can get involved:

Tuesday, September 24th: Join us for the first of two volunteer sessions utilizing an exciting peer-to-peer organizing tool that makes it easy to check in with your network and ensure they are registered to vote, and ask them to pledge to be a PFLAG Voter! Register now!

Wednesday, September 25th: Call for Videos encouraging followers on social media to make their own Love Votes videos - directing to social toolkit for best practices on them. 

Thursday, September 26th: Join us for our September edition of PFLAG Academy Online, PFLAG Votes 2024: Know Your Rights as a PFLAG Voter, where we’ll delve into voting rights and host a Q&A session with a representative from the League of Women Voters. 

Friday, September 27th: Say it loud and proud on social media: Your love votes! Check out our social toolkit for ideas for your posts! 

Saturday, September 28th: Can't volunteer with us on Tuesday? No worries! Join us for the second opportunity of the week to get out the vote using our peer-to-peer organizing tool. Register for the training session now!

It doesn’t stop there! Please help us get the word out by sharing our daily actions on your social media pages. It is going to take all of us to get out the vote this November!

Regional Resilience Roundup

The start of the school year can be overwhelming, both logistically and emotionally, as families navigate safety and inclusion at school. PFLAG is the perfect place for parents and families to seek support, but your chapter can also be the source of family joy and connection by offering family programming.

Having a family event, like a back-to-school picnic or a LGBTQ+ movie screening (rated G or PG) can offer opportunities for kids and teens to connect, bond, and celebrate. Consider offering a craft circle, board game night, or Read With Love-In. Make sure parents are invited as well as kids to keep your chapter protected from liability concerns!

Stay safe,

Eddy Funkhouser (they/he)

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