Peel LGBTQ Center at East Carolina University Receives Grant to Fuel LGBTQ Advocacy Work in Education Settings
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2020
Adam Polaski | 610.306.7956 | adam@southernequality.org
Peel LGBTQ Center at East Carolina University Receives Grant from Campaign for Southern Equality to Fuel LGBTQ Advocacy Work in Education Settings
GREENVILLE – This month the Campaign for Southern Equality awarded $2,000 in a community grant to the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC.
The Center will commit the funding to its Safe Zone Trainings for K-12 educators, facilitated in collaboration with the East Carolina University College of Education and Campus Recreation and Wellness. The trainings are three-hour sessions for K-12 educators focused on LGBTQ awareness, sensitivity, and inclusion. The grant will also support the development of other training modules, such as sessions on preventing bullying or creating gender inclusive schools.
The grant is a part of the Campaign for Southern Equality’s Southern Equality Fund, an innovative program through which CSE distributes 10% of its annual budget to support LGBTQ grassroots organizers and direct service providers across the South. Total grantmaking for 2019 exceeded $80,000, and an additional $80,000 will be awarded to Southern grassroots organizers in 2020.
Mark Rasdorf, Senior Associate Director for the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center in Intercultural Affairs at East Carolina University, said:
“At the Peel Center, our goal is to foster a safer and more inclusive environment for LGBTQ people – not just on campus at East Carolina University but also in the community at large. Our Safe Zone trainings for K-12 educators are addressing a critical need in our region, opening space for folks to learn and ask questions about sexuality and gender in a non-judgmental way. Our partnership with the College of Education and Campus Recreation and Wellness allows these trainings to reach K-12 educators and help to create a network of allies willing to speak with students of all ages about sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. We’re grateful for the opportunity to strengthen and expand that network with this grant from the Campaign for Southern Equality.”
Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, added:
“Our team at the Campaign for Southern Equality has been so inspired by the students and staff at the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center, including their work across campus and Greenville, their ethos, and their commitment to equity. The Center has emerged as a vital anchor institution in Eastern North Carolina, deploying LGBTQ-focused trainings for schools and developing a faith-based consortium on LGBTQ issues. Their staff and students are forging new ground in the region, and we’re honored to support their innovative and vital work.”
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Based in Asheville, NC, the Campaign for Southern Equality works for full LGBTQ equality across the South. Our work is rooted in commitments to equity in race, gender and class. http://www.southernequality.org