Local activist helps raise $20,000 to support LGBTQ+ youth
by Alanna SmithWithin 10 hours, a local activist helped raise $10,000 to support transgender youth. In less than a week, the amount raised has doubled.
Mike Morrison felt compelled to kickstart a fundraising campaign for Skipping Stone — a Calgary organization dedicated to supporting transgender and gender diverse youth — after it announced last Tuesday no new clients would be accepted due to insufficient funding.
Morrison was devastated, knowing the decision could be harmful to transgender youth in the city who would no longer be able to access a necessary and potentially life-saving resource.
“Any youth, particularly trans youth who are probably the most vulnerable of all youth, finally being able to feel comfortable enough to reach out to an organization and that organization saying ‘no, we can’t help you’ really, really bugged me,” said Morrison. So, he reached out to Skipping Stone the next day and almost immediately, set up the fundraiser.
“In my head, at first it was $1,000 and then just before I hit submit, to create the campaign, I added one more zero,” he said. “We had raised $10,000 by eight p.m. that night.”
The non-profit was founded in 2016 and offers a range of services, such as mental health counselling, peer support groups, direct access to medical services and referrals to trans-affirming healthcare procedures. It is the only organization in Calgary doing so for transgender youth.
While Skipping Stone continues to fulfill its mandate, funding concerns have made it difficult.
The charity took to social media after the campaign launched to thank supporters for their love and support, which made an immediate impact and allowed Skipping Stone to intake an additional two youth and families from its waitlist just hours after the GoFundMe launched.
The support didn’t stop there and the number grew rapidly with donations coming in from across the country.
Morrison said the #SaveSkippingStone campaign was a sign of hope for many in the LGBTQ+ community who were left feeling disheartened and vulnerable in light of recent action taken by the provincial government, including the passing of Bill 8, which some argue restricts the creation of gay-straight alliances.
He said some transgender youth commented on the fundraising posts to say the outpouring of support was nice to see after feeling hopeless.
The local activist, who has been a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ+ community over the past five years, said he’s barely been able to process the campaign‘s success, which reached almost $21,000 by Sunday afternoon.
“If we aren’t taking care of our most vulnerable, then what are we doing?” he said. “I needed to feel a little hope as well.”
Twitter: @alanna_smithh