As part of National Bullying Prevention Month, GLAAD recently launched its latest PSA video series Amply Your Voice, which features a number of celebrities and youth speaking out against anti-LGBT bullying. Produced in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the PSAs feature personal stories of young people from the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center’s Youth Enrichment (YES) Program. Russell Simmons, Chaz Bono, Shaquille O'Neal, Amy Poehler, Ted Allen, Tabatha Coffey, Nelsan Ellis, Amber Heard, Liz Lee, Rev. Al Sharpton, Lisa Vanderpump, Louis Van-Amstel and Jane Velez-Mitchell are among a few of the celebrities featured in the PSAs. Comcast will serve as a leading media partner for the PSA campaign, contributing $3 million in airtime and reaching over 20 million homes.
(Watch the newest PSAs from the Amplify Your Voice campaign below!)
Resource kits for parents, teachers and students featuring information about the best practices on dealing with bullying and more information about the PSAs can be found at: http://www.glaad.org/resources/amplifyyourvoice.
The PSAs arrive days before Spirit Day, which takes place on Thursday, October 20. A number of organizations, celebrities and media outlets have pledged to go purple to show their support for LGBT youth everywhere. GLAAD has partnered with a number of organizations such as GLSEN, GSA Network, PFLAG and the Trevor Project to inspire Americans to wear purple on Spirit Day.
Media outlets have been inspired. Conan O’Brien will join CNBC’s Jim Cramer and Simon Hobbs, CNN’s Dr. Drew, E!’s Marc Malkin, MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts and hosts of CBS’ The Talk by wearing purple while on-air. Seventeen magazine will turn its Twitter avatar purple for the day.
MTV is getting into the spirit by turning its on-air logo purple along with its Facebook, Twitter, MTV.com and MTV Act logos. Additionally, the network will also turn its MTV2, mtvU, MTV Hits, MTV Jams and RateMyProfessors.com purple. MTV has also decided to light MTV 44 and 1/2, the jumbotron in Times Square, purple for the day.
The Sundance Channel will support LGBT youth on Spirit Day by turning its on-air media and social media logos purple, and the channel’s employees will be participating.
Logo is pledging its support by airing a purple Spirit Day ribbon on its channel to drive viewers to the website NewNowNext.com in an effort to increase awareness against bullying. The channel will also turn its Twitter (@LogoTV) and Facebook (facebook.com/logotv) photos purple and pictures of staff, fans and talent will be posted to Tumblr throughout the day.
Here Media will show support by turning logos on Advocate.com, Gay.com, Gay.net, Out.com, OutTraveler and SheWired.com purple for the day.
Other media participants include the Bilerico Project, Passport, San Diego Gay & Lesbian News, Unicorn Booty, Washington Blade and Windy City Times.
Companies including AMC Entertainment, American Airlines, AT&T, B|W|R Public Relations, Comcast, Delta, Draftfcb, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Hewlett-Packard, McGraw-Hill, NBCUniversal, Nielsen, PepsiCo, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Verizon, Viacom, and Yahoo! will all participate. Participating companies will distribute information to employees about wearing purple, and some companies have also pledged to turn their social media logos purple for the day. More information about what specific companies are panning can be found at: http://www.glaad.org/spiritday/corporate.
Additionally, supporters will wear purple on Spirit Day and change their Facebook and Twitter profile photos purple today through October 20 using free applications at http://www.glaad.org/spiritday. GLAAD also partnered with Mobli to create a Spirit Day channel for Mobli apps on Android, Blackberry and iPhone products. Mobli, where users can share moments and see the world through other people’s eyes, is a real-time, visual social media platform, made up of subject-based channels such as people, places and topics (www.mobli.com/spiritday).
A number of celebrities are on-board and will be pledging their support as well. Celebrity participants include: the casts of FOX’s I Hate My Teenage Daughter and Sundance Channel’s Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys, Tamra Barney (Bravo, Real Housewives of Orange County), Mehcad Brooks (USA, Necessary Roughness), Laura Bruce (WE, Downsized), Margaret Cho, Andy Cohen (Bravo), Wilson Cruz, Drew Ginsburg (Bravo, Most Eligible Dallas), Josh Kilmer-Purcell & Brent Ridge (Fabulous Beekman Boys), Carson Kressley (ABC, Dancing With The Stars), Padma Lakshmi (Bravo, Top Chef), Kristi Lauren (I Hate My Teenage Daughter), Vanessa Marano (ABC Family, Switched at Birth), Shay Mitchell (ABC Family, Pretty Little Liars), Sonja Morgan (Real Housewives of New York), Mary Murphy (So You Think You Can Dance), David Nadelberg (Sundance Channel, The Mortified Sessions), Matt Nordgren (Bravo, Most Eligible Dallas), Martha Plimpton (FOX, Raising Hope), Rosie Pope (Bravo, Pregnant in Heels), Jamie Pressly (FOX, I Hate My Teenage Daughter), Jai Rodriguez, Garo Sparo (Sundance Channel, Unleashed by Garo), Steve-O, TJ Thyne (Bones), Diann Valentine (WE, I Do Over), Kathy Wakile (Bravo, Real Housewives of New Jersey), and Joe Zee (Sundance Channel, All on the Line with Joe Zee). Participating celebrities will wear purple or change Twitter and Facebook photos for the day. Participants in 2010 included Cyndi Lauper, Ricky Martin, Khloe Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest, Perez Hilton, Kristin Chenoweth, the Dixie Chicks, cast members from of Glee, and Joan Rivers, among dozens of others.
In addition to celebrities, companies and media outlets, a number of national, local and faith-based organizations are getting involved and pledging to go purple in support of LGBT youth. They include: the American Federation of Teachers, GLSEN, GSA Network, Lambda Legal, the PACER Center and The Trevor Project, All Families Matter, Basic Rights Oregon, Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry, Pacific School of Religion, Coalition of Welcoming Congregations of the Bay Area, DignityUSA, COLAGE, Equality Hawaii, Equality Illinois, Equality Michigan, Equality Pennsylvania, Equality South Carolina, Equality Texas, Equality Utah, Equality Virginia, Fair Wisconsin, Georgia Equality, GMHC, Human Rights Campaign's Religion & Faith Program, Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Kansas Equality Coalition, Keshet, Lutherans Concerned/North America, Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI), Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), More Light Presbyterians, Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality, OutFront Minnesota. PFLAG Omaha, Project 515, PROMO, Straight But Not Narrow, Reconciling Ministries Network, Religious Institute: Faithful Voices on Sexuality and Religion, Tennessee Equality Project, Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) and United Church of Christ Office for LGBT Ministries.
For a list of celebrity participants, media outlets, TV networks, organizations and corporations, visit www.glaad.org/spiritday/partners. Additional participants will be announced in the upcoming days.
Learn how you can show your support, participate and take the pledge at: http://www.glaad.org/spiritday/pledge.
