On Thursday, October 17^th, The Help Group wore purple in support of National Spirit Day! Several administrators, faculty, staff and students all came to schoolwearing either an item of purple clothing, or a purple ribbon, to show their support.

National Spirit Day was conceptualized in 2010 by a high school student, and has become an international movement of solidarity against bullying. Millions of Americans wear purple on Spirit Day as a sign of support for LGBTQ+ youth and to speak out against bullying.

The Help Group is proud to have launched Kaleidoscope, a multi-layered program addressing the social, emotional and vocational needs of the LGBTQ+ youth in our community. Nationally, 7 out of 10 LGBTQ+ students reportedly experience harassment while at school. By inviting students, administrators, and teachers to participate and wear purple, The Help Group sent a strong message of support to our LGBTQ+ and allied students, while taking a firm stand against bullying.

“National Spirit Day creates a wonderful opportunity for allies to demonstrate their support of LGBTQ+ youth.  On the same day, administrators and students wore purple and created a beautiful visual impact of the safe space provided at our schools.  In this way, students who may feel marginalized or unsafe were able to get a sense of the individual and group support that they may not have been aware is available to them.  We were proud to see this strong demonstration of support and to engage students in the discussion that our differences are what make us special,” said Bryan Scheihing, Program Director of Kaleidoscope at The Help Group.