CANDLE Initiative Supports Rockland’s LGBTQ Community

CANDLE’s Youth Pride Initiative will participate in Day of Silence and Give OUT Day in April to support the LGBTQ community in Rockland County.

The Youth Pride Initiative of the New City nonprofit, Community Awareness Network For A Drug-Free Life And Environment, Inc. (CANDLE), will participate in Day of Silence and Give OUT Day in April to show support for the local LGBTQ community.

Day of Silence, to be held on April 21, is a national student-led event during which participants take a vow of silence to draw attention to the bullying and harassment—the silencing—of their LGBTQ classmates. More than 10,000 students across the nation register their participation every year and many public figures have supported the event.

By supporting this silent protest, school administrators, faculty, and fellow classmates demonstrate their objection to anti-LGBTQ behavior in our schools and in our communities. Day of Silence reaches students in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as those as far away as New Zealand, Singapore, and Russia.

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Give OUT Day takes place on April 20 and is organized by the Horizons Foundation. It is a national day of giving to organizations that support the LGBTQ community. Both Day of Silence and Give Out Day present opportunities for the community to donate to CANDLE to support their Youth Pride Initiative. Whether sponsoring a high school student to attend CANDLE’s Common Threads Youth Empowerment retreat or underwriting the cost of workshops for school administrators, nurses, or teachers on LGBTQ issues, donations from the community help to insure that youth who are isolated or threatened because of their non-traditional sexual orientation or gender identity feel valued and safe in Rockland County. Contributions can be made to CANDLE by visiting candlerockland.org and clicking on the donate button.