Pride Foundation Awards $5,000 Grant to TransActive Education & Advocacy

June 22, 2010 - PRLog -- TransActive Education & Advocacy has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Pride Foundation. The grant will be used to further expand services that provide much needed support to improve the quality of life of transgender and gender non-conforming children, youth and their families through education, services, advocacy and research.

TransActive offers support groups, counseling (beginning in Fall 2010), case management, and advocacy to children and their families in the Portland metropolitan area and the Pacific Northwest, as well as training, education and advocacy regionally and nationally.  TransActive provides additional support services relating to gender identity and expression to allied organizations such as Basic Rights Oregon, Oregon Safe Schools and Communities Coalition, PFLAG and the Multnomah County Health Department, among others.

“This grant is such a validation of the work we do at TransActive and it will help us by providing the security we needed to maintaining our new office location near the Gateway District in Portland," said Jenn Burleton, TransActive Executive Director.

“It’s an amazing show of support for the work we do and the truly unique needs of transgender and gender non-conforming youth.  Less than a handful of organizations in the USA are providing the services, training and resources TransActive offers, and as a result these amazing children and youth are significantly under served, misunderstood and needlessly marginalized.  We are so thankful to Pride Foundation for recognizing this gap in community services and for stepping up to help TransActive help these children and youth in need.”

Jeffrey Hedgepeth, Grants Program Director for Pride Foundation said:

“TransActive’s application touched the hearts of the Pride Foundation/Columbia-Willamette volunteer review team and staff.  Helping gender non-conforming children, youth and their families make sense of their world is ground-breaking, vital work that goes a long way to creating healthy lives.  Every community needs these services.  What a pity they are so rare!”

In 2007, TransActive founder Jenn Burleton recognized there was a gap not only in services offered to trans and gender non-conforming children, youth and their families, but even more significantly, that children were being left out of the struggle for transgender rights, respect and inclusion.  Sharing her vision and concept with others, Jenn soon found allies in parents, families, health care providers, trans-adult advocates and most importantly, the youth themselves.

Today, incorporated as a non-profit organization, TransActive has grown into a diverse and motivated volunteer team of transgender and cisgender people, working together to provide these children and youth a present and future in which they can achieve their dreams and express their individuality.

TransActive is located on Portland's east side near the Gateway District and is easily accessible by public transportation.  To learn more, visit TransActive on the web at TransActiveOnline.org or call (503) 252-3000.

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TransActive is a diverse and motivated volunteer team of transgender and cisgender people, working together to provide transgender children and youth a present and future in which they can achieve their dreams and express their individuality.