You and the World Blog 3 - Gay Marriage

Hello lovely being! My name is Anna Sugrue, and I am a freshman at Science Leadership Academy. Welcome to my third and final blog on gay rights and marriage equality! If you’re feeling a little lost, click these links to read my first blog and my second blog. 

This blog is the last portion of a year long English You and the World project. Along with our third blog, our class had to go into the world and become an Agent of Change for our issues.  Some people volunteered at dog shelters or soup kitchens, some did presentations to raise awareness, others raised money to help their cause. I decided to hold a rainbow themed bake sale to raise money for the Attic Youth Center. The Attic is an organization in Philadelphia that provides shelter, counseling, and a safe, open space for teenagers in the LGBTQ community. I held the bake sale on April 15th. The main attraction was my lovely homemade rainbow layer cake. It was a great success.

Originally, as I said in blog 2, I was going to craft and present a video about the definition of love. I realized though, after some careful considerations, that a presentation like the one I was planning would not make much of a difference in the minds of fellow SLA students. As I found in my polling, on a small percentage of the SLA students apposed gay rights, all on the basis of religion. Most of the people I presented to would agree with what I said, and I would not be able to convert the one’s that did not. My bake sale process went pretty darn well. I had tremendous support from my friends Dillon and Michaela with baking and selling. I encountered a few problems involving icing and cookies, but I was able to sell the cookies despite their icing-less-ness.

Experiencing the You and the World Project individually and as a class has been a wonderful whirlwind of a learning escapade. Over the course of all three blogs, I learned much more about a issue I’m passionate about. I watched youtube videos that inspired me and frustrated me, I felt hopeful and I knew there was so much more that needs to change. This class and this project encouraged me to act - to do something about it. To use my passion, my anger, and my hope to make a difference in the world.  A whole new realm of idea and opportunity was opened up to me, one I had never been encouraged to explore before. I have learned that I can make a difference, and I will.

I found the Attic Youth Center, a non-profit organization in Philadelphia that could always use support. Although I only raised $60, I feel like I impacted the life of someone discriminated against unfairly and unjustly. Just $25 provides a hot meal for 5 homeless LGBTQ teens who were disowned or kicked out of their homes because of their sexual or gender identity. $50 provides an LGBTQ youth at the Attic with a life coaching session to help apply for college, develop a resume, and get on track in school. If I combined the money I raised with the money raised by fellow activist Lindsey Jones, we could provide 10 Attic youth with a weekly support group to connect with other LGBTQ youth in a safe and caring environment.