Pride and Less Prejudice, a non-profit organization that provides LGBTQ-inclusive books to school children, has just launched its first campaign fundraising video, #ReadOutProud.
The video features LGBTQ+ celebrities such as Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne, Nicky Blonsky, Adam Rippon, and Rufus Wainwright, who speak of the importance of children’s having access to literature that features queer, trans, and gender non-conforming characters.
Pride and Less Prejudice (PLP) was founded in 2019 to provide access to free LGBTQ-inclusive, age-appropriate books to pre-kindergarten to 3rd grade classrooms. The organization has since raised over $2000 and donated 175 books to classrooms across the United States and Canada.
With #ReadOutProud, PLP hopes to raise $10,000 which would be used to purchase, donate and distribute 800 books to classrooms in North America.
“Our organization’s mission is to foster the acceptance and support of LGBTQ and questioning youth by making them feel more at home in educational spaces,” says PLP founder Lisa Forman in a press release. “We also believe that LGBTQ-inclusive books benefit other children by introducing them to perspectives different from their own, thereby encouraging empathy and compassion.”
In the video, comedian Tig Notaro says, “when we create an environment where all students know that being LGBTQ is not out of the ordinary, we create acceptance.”
Adds Notaro’s wife, actor Stephanie Allynne, “when classrooms show understanding that all families are unique and share many common values, beliefs, and traditions, we can help create community.”
Other celebrities featured include Lauren Patten (Jagged Little Pill), Nicole Maines (Supergirl), and Natasha Negovanlis (Carmilla).
PLP accepts monetary donations that go toward the purchase of books. Educators can request free books on the organization’s website.
