A wide variety of leading nonprofits took over social media today to go purple for Spirit Day and show their support for LGBTQ youth. Spanning across the whole country, an abundant group of diverse organizations participated at the local, state, and national level. Organizations like The Tyler Clementi Foundation, The Music Business Association, The Happy Hippie Foundation, and DoSomething.org showed their support on social media.
We're taking a stand against bullying to show support for #LGBTQ youth with @glaad. Join us TODAY for #SpiritDay https://t.co/mI1tm9KCYq
— DoSomething.org (@dosomething) October 20, 2016
Half of LGBTQ students feel unsafe at school bc of their sexual orientation. Time to show our LOVE and support!! #SpiritDay @glaad pic.twitter.com/3cp737ZWrP
— Happy Hippie (@happyhippiefdn) October 20, 2016
#DidYouKnow that more than half of #LGBT students feel unsafe at school b/c of their sexual orientation. #SpiritDay pic.twitter.com/Y7VXcoDAOM
— LULAC (@LULAC) October 20, 2016
October 20th is #SpiritDay. Show your support for LGBTQ youth by "going purple" all day. Learn more here: https://t.co/XXDEAC2w5k! pic.twitter.com/ngXPObRV91
— Love is Louder (@LoveisLouder) October 20, 2016
LGBT students are half as likely to participate in sports when they’re in high school #SpiritDay pic.twitter.com/UxuiOjX2Qx
— Athlete Ally (@AthleteAlly) October 20, 2016
Additionally, The Trevor Project, The Task Force, Lambda Legal and others celebrated the day by enlisting their employees to wear purple to work!
Our staffers from NYC to LA to DC wear a spectrum of purple for #SpiritDay Take action to support #LGBTQ+ youth: https://t.co/M3xSXhpuzA pic.twitter.com/iwcn1YnMDj
— The Trevor Project (@TrevorProject) October 20, 2016
Kicking off #SpiritDay in our offices around the country! Lambda Legal stands against bullying. Good morning from New York! #LGBT #LGBTQ pic.twitter.com/xPvfd8K9pC
— Lambda Legal (@LambdaLegal) October 20, 2016
We condemn all forms of bullying & stand with anyone, particularly LGBTQ youth, who has experienced bullying. #SpiritDay pic.twitter.com/bBCFTI7qTw
— The Task Force (@TheTaskForce) October 20, 2016
For a full list of participating organizations, head to http://www.glaad.org/spiritday/organizations
Each year, millions of people "go purple" for Spirit Day in a united stand against bullying and to show support for LGBTQ youth. According to a 2015 GLSEN survey, more than half of LGBTQ students report being victimized based on sexual orientation, with a further three quarters of students who report hearing anti-LGBTQ remarks in school. Started in 2010 by high school student Brittany McMillan, Spirit Day now draws the participation of celebrities, corporations, media outlets, sports leagues, schools, faith institutions, national landmarks, and individuals around the world, who join together in a united stand against bullying.
Check out glaad.org/spiritday for more about how to stand against bullying and show support for LGBTQ youth. Also follow @GLAAD on Twitter to keep up to date with #spiritday news.
Spirit Day is made possible by the generous support of its presenting partners Target and Wells Fargo, official partners, NBA and WNBA, NFL, Viacom, and WWE, and supporting partners, American Eagle Outfitters, Barilla, Comcast NBCUniversal, Kellogg’s, Kirkland & Ellis, Toyota Financial Services, and Zipcar.
Past participants in Spirit Day include the White House, the Empire State Building, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Cher, Laverne Cox, Kim Kardashian, Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, Shaquille O'Neal, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The View, The Talk, The Tonight Show, MTV, the NBA, the NFL, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, WWE, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, the Las Vegas Strip, and more.
