{"id":67182,"date":"2022-04-27T09:45:39","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T17:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?p=67182"},"modified":"2023-04-13T17:42:33","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T01:42:33","slug":"celebrating-pride-lgbtq-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ca.zennioptical.com\/blog\/celebrating-pride-lgbtq-youth\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Pride: How to Support LGBTQ+ Youth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"_ps2id\" href=\"\/p\/womens-tr-geometric-eyeglass-frames\/20299\/2029929\" data-ps2id-offset=\"\" aria-label=\"Visit womens tr geometric eyeglass frames 20299 2029929 page\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67185 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zennioptical.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/20220222_Q2_Social-MW-033-1x1_72ppi.jpg\" alt=\"Zenni rainbow eyeglasses with heart-shaped frames. Rainbow candy surrounds the glasses on a white table.\" width=\"546\" height=\"546\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Officially celebrated in June, Pride month is a major pillar in the LGBTQ+ community. It not only gives us the opportunity to reflect on our history, but we can also set new goals and commit to furthering equality for all moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>For the past five years, Zenni has proudly partnered with the <a href=\"https:\/\/itgetsbetter.org\/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3v6SBhCsARIsACyrRAm6W6EAumkkIExbforBoxeipaNz9WR-PqThVqAxFxnCKr1wrmHpwtkaAhITEALw_wcB\" aria-label=\"Visit It Gets Better Project Page\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">It Gets Better Project<\/a>, an organization that provides outreach to LGBTQ+ youth. Growing up as part of this community has a unique set of challenges, and the It Gets Better Project helps young people face those challenges head-on with support, advocacy, and resources.<\/p>\n<p>As an eyewear company, we understand the importance of feeling seen. With that in mind, here are recommendations from the It Gets Better Project to support the LGBTQ+ youth in your life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Let them know they are loved.<\/strong><br>\nLGBTQ+ youth often feel isolated, so support from parents and the adults in their life is crucial. This can take on any form, so long as you are accepting, loving, and supporting them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Encourage them to talk.<\/strong><br>\nWhether it\u2019s about their feelings or just what\u2019s going on in their daily lives, this reinforces that they are important to you. Not every conversation has to be deep, it\u2019s more about you being there to listen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Be actively involved in their school life.<\/strong><br>\nWhen LGBTQ+ students feel good at school, their educational outcomes are significantly stronger. You are your child\u2019s biggest advocate. Click <a href=\"https:\/\/itgetsbetter.org\/blog\/lesson\/how-to-make-your-digital-classroom-more-lgbtq-friendly\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about here\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a> for more info.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Help connect them to the community.<\/strong><br>\nTheir school\u2019s Gender &amp; Sexualities Alliance (GSA) is a great place to start. If they don\u2019t have a GSA, advocate for one. Online resources help too, like IGBP\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/itgetsbetter.org\/blog\/lesson\/youth-voices\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Youth Voices Program\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Youth Voices Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Self-educate.<\/strong><br>\nWhile it may seem daunting at first, learning the <a href=\"https:\/\/itgetsbetter.org\/glossary\/\" aria-label=\"Visit LGBTQ+ glossary Page\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">LGBTQ+ glossary<\/a> is a vital way to communicate with young people. Sure, mistakes will be made along the way, but doing the work will yield fabulous returns.<\/p>\n<p>For more information on supporting LGBTQ+ youth, visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/itgetsbetter.org\/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3v6SBhCsARIsACyrRAm6W6EAumkkIExbforBoxeipaNz9WR-PqThVqAxFxnCKr1wrmHpwtkaAhITEALw_wcB\" aria-label=\"Visit It Gets Better Project Page\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">It Gets Better Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cTo me, pride is freedom. And I have never felt more proud \u2014 I\u2019m proud <strong>of<\/strong> myself, to <strong>be<\/strong> myself, of the fact that I <strong>see<\/strong> myself. I have the freedom and courage to love myself outwardly. Pride makes me feel free because I no longer hide the best part of myself.\u201d<br>\n\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/blakeasilva\/?hl=en\" aria-label=\"Visit @blakeasilva Page\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@blakeasilva<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[163,162],"class_list":["post-67182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-glasses","tag-eyewearforeveryone","tag-pride"],"acf":[],"contentshake_article_id":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ca.zennioptical.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ca.zennioptical.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ca.zennioptical.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ca.zennioptical.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ca.zennioptical.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ca.zennioptical.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ca.zennioptical.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ca.zennioptical.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ca.zennioptical.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ca.zennioptical.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}