Our Purpose: Wear it Purple strives to foster supportive, safe, empowering and inclusive environments for rainbow young people. As a volunteer run non-profit organisation we focus on awareness, opportunity, environment and collaboration with our guiding principles governing our activity: • Advocate for and empower rainbow young people • Celebrate and promote the value of diversity and inclusion in all community settings • Raise awareness about sexuality, sex and gender identity and challenge harmful social cultures • Champion rainbow role-models to help young people establish the confidence to be who they are. Wear it Purple was founded in 2010 in response to global stories of real teenagers, real heartache and their very real responses. In 2010, several rainbow young people took their own lives following bullying and harassment restyling from the lack of acceptance of their sexuality or gender identity. One member of this group was 18 year old Tyler Clementi who took his own life after being publicly ‘outed’ as gay by his roommate, prompting a frenzy as reports poured in of various young people sadly in the same situation. In response, Ellen DeGeneres made a statement, that “this needs to be a wake-up call to everyone: teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic…and the death rate is climbing.” As the world saw the faces of precious young lives lost, some young people found a new sense of conviction and purpose to ensure that young people everywhere would know that there were people who did support and love them. Wear it Purple was established to show young people across the globe that there was hope, that there were people who did support and accept them, and that they have the right to be proud of who they are. What started out small has now grown; however the message remains the same. Everybody has the right to be proud of who they are. Donate here: http://www.gofundraise.com.au/beneficiary/wearitpurple
