“I was excited that we were able to host this event on such short notice,” said Chris Cognetta, YFT’s Chair of the Board, “this would have never been possible without the resounding community support we have received in the past month.”

Youth First Texas would like to thank all whose support make this magical night possible for LGBTQ youth who may not have been as welcome at other formal “rite of passage” dances held this time of year – namely their high school proms.  Without the overwhelming donations from residents of the greater Dallas area and the National Adam Lambert Fan Club we could not have hosted this event free for every youth in attendance.  Much thanks to the chefs from the Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts in Dallas for an outstanding dinner.  The energy levels stayed high all the way through midnight thanks to DJ Matt Purvis.  Attendees were able to have formal photographs taken thanks to Nicholas and Kimberley Scattergood.  Last, but definitely not least, the event could never have happened without the efforts of over a dozen volunteers coordinated by Roger Ryan.

“I was honestly concerned with the short amount of time and budget we had to work with,” said Amie McNamara, YFT’s Youth Programs Coordinator, “but the work of everybody involved was magical and created a magical night for LGBTQ youth.  I was also really impressed with the decorum and perfect behavior of the youth in attendance.”

Controversy erupted last year when the Gayla Prom restricted ages to 14 to 18 from the historical 14 to 22.  YFT chose to continue with its own tradition and revive the 14 to 22 age range for the Spring Formal Ball.  The results were a nearly 50% increase in youth attendance compared to last year’s Gayla Prom.  “In consideration of the concerns held by the coordinators of Gayla Prom last year we chose to increase security for this event and we are very pleased to report that we did not have a single incident or issue for the Spring Formal Ball,” said Jeremy Liebbe, YFT’s Chair of Social Services who also serves as a police operations commander for many of the large special events in the Oak Lawn area.  “I would like to thank LGBT Liaison Officer Laura Martin for providing a uniformed presence that both increased security and reminded the youth that there are police officers they can turn to for help or just hang out with when taking a break from dancing.”

The attendance at this event continues to show the need for services and opportunities directed to LGBTQ youth and their allied friends.  Youth First Texas has seen a 28% increase in program attendance this year as compared to the same time period last year, with forty-nine new youth coming through the doors for their first time in recent months.  We look forward to continue offering a safe space for LGBTQ youth and their allied friends to strengthen opportunities for life skills, leadership development, peer support, and educational advancement.

Youth First Texas and the youth we serve benefit each year from the kindness and generosity of private donors, organizations and corporations that believe in our mission and vision.

Thank you TGRA!

Consultants from a local Deloitte office came to Youth First Texas to help our young Fashionistas create a plan for their upcoming Give’m Heel Fashion Show, scheduled in July.  Geoff Clemm and his associates Jenn, Ale, and Alex, joined in for Friday Family Dinner and then put on a show of their own.

Through an interactive and engaging program the youth learned valuable project management, goal setting, and communication skills.  Geoff inspired his fierce allied co-workers to assist him in this project.  Geoff, came by to meet with Amie McNamara, Youth Programs Coordinator and Chris-James Cognetta Board Chair, to discuss the needs of the youth and their upcoming projects.

Through conference calls and e-mails with the youth and the Youth Programs Coordinator (Amie McNamara)  Geoff and his team were able to ascertain the needs of the youth and then execute a plan to create an engaging program for our youth.  This was definitely different than our typical Friday night fare.

The evening was successful as the laughter, cheers and squeals were heard from the big room.  We thank our friends who work for Deloitte and their support of our organization.

First Annual Youth First Texas Spring Formal

Friday May 25th 2012, 7pm to 12am

Youth First Texas’ Drop-in Center

In the absence of the Dallas Resource Center’s annual Gayla Prom.  Youth First Texas has launched its first Spring Formal for LGBTQ youth ages 14-22 and their allied friends.  Youth from Youth First Texas, SMU interns, and Youth First Texas Volunteers came together within weeks to put together this event.  The outpouring of donations from the greater Dallas area and from the National Adam Lambert Fan Club has been overwhelming. Decorations, food, formal clothing, and much more has been coming in each day supporting Youth First Texas.  Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts School instructors and students will be providing the catering for this event– an amazing and appreciated contribution.

Youth First Texas continues to provide a safe-space for LGBTQ-A youth and a “prom” or formal is a right of passage that is easily attended by most youth– but can be difficult for those who may not feel safe at their school due to their gender, orientation or other reason.  We welcome all.  There is no cost for any youth to attend this event– however, donations will always be welcome. DJ Matt Purvis will be on hand as well as lighting provided by the Scattergoods, and PFLAG will be providing photography services as well as others.

The youth will be eligible to participate for Spring King and Queen– and many different raffles to win great prizes including iPods, gift-cards and much more.  The first 50 youth to attend– get a great SWAG bag full of great gifts from cosmetics to gift-cards and much more.

We will need volunteers, in three shifts, which include those who do set-up and decorations, general chaperones to monitor the event, and a third shift which is the close down and tear-down for the clean-up.  All volunteers will be required to attend a short-briefing from the Prom coordinators.  Parents are welcome to attend and spend time in the Parent’s lounge if they desire.

Learn more as we count-down to Spring Formal night on Facebook (Youth First Texas) and our Twitter feed (@yftprograms or call our main number and get more information.

NOTE:  Security will be tight for this event and their is a no tolerance policy for smoking, drugs, alcohol, intoxication and there will be no- in-and-out at the event.

Youth First Texas will not be a beneficiary of the Black Tie Dinner this year. Competition in this post-recession economy is stiff and many organizations are working hard to bring dollars to sustain their mission and vision. We cannot begrudge them for this. This is not a setback for Youth First Texas as our projected income as a beneficiary is less than 20% of our overall operations budget for 2012. We have endured shortfalls far greater than this and weathered many a storm in the 13 year history of our organization. We are financially strong, our programming is rich, and our attendance is up.

This is an opportunity for other organizations to step-up and shine in their own right, Youth First Texas will step back and focus on what is most important–providing that safe-space for our youth, educational and recreational opportunities that our youth, your youth and the community’s youth may participate in, without fear of reprisal.

Our commitment to Black Tie’s mission and vision is unwavering, even in the face of their board of directors decision. We teach our youth humility, grace, kindness, and good sportsmanship. Youth First Texas will continue to support Black Tie Dinner 31, through volunteer hours and supporting their efforts right up to the close of the event. Through this exercise the youth will learn that in life there is certainly disappointment. More importantly, supporting the community and other causes is just as important as furthering their own cause.

Youth First Texas, believes that we must put our heart in the power of the youth— or forever hold the pieces. Every year we serve more LGBTQ youth and their allies. More than 1200 unique youth each year are served at our center. This is accomplished with a work force where 95% of all hours provided by volunteers to operate our 5,000 square foot facility, and our affiliated chapters . Additionally we have only one half-time staff member.

Youth First Texas can make a difference sometimes in just one visit or over the course of years. We ask our youth to “come as they are” as we will meet them there. Our heart truly is in the power of the youth. Our youth is essentially the community of tomorrow we must embrace our future and guide them toward personal fulfillment and success. We ask you now to put your heart in the power of the youth— through whatever means you deem appropriate. Our board of directors, our Youth Board and our volunteers are poised to take on this challenge with grace and dignity. We hope that you will join in our vision for the future of our youth.

Sincerely,

Chris-James Cognetta
Chair
Youth First Texas Board of Directors
3918 Harry Hines Blvd
Dallas TX 75219

Amie McNamara said, “I am extremely excited and honored to meet this need at Youth First Texas.  I truly believe the consistency and expanded hours I will be able to help provide will better serve our youth and fulfill our mission.”

With the position being filled the new Dallas center hours will be Tuesday through Thursday from 4:00pm to 9:00pm, Friday from 4:00pm to 10:00pm and the second and fourth Saturday from 6:00pm to 10:00pm.

Chris Cognetta, Chair of the Board of Directors, was quoted as saying, “I’m excited about this opportunity to bring the organization to the next level in fulfilling our mission and vision, and am very happy that our doors will be opening at 4pm daily to better serve our youth.”

Amie can be reached at amie.mcnamara@youthfirsttexas.org.

Help GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) inform education policymakers and the public about what’s really going on in our nation’s schools by completing the 2011 National School Climate Survey, GLSEN’s seventh national survey about the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth in school.

If you attended high school or middle school sometime during the last school year (2010-2011) and are at least 13 years old, tell us about your experiences in school.  (If you did not complete
the entire school year you can still participate in the survey.)  The survey is anonymous.

For more info and to complete the survey online, visit: www.glsen.org/2011survey.

The first place winner was Giancarlo Mossi for “Solely Is Not Solo.” He won a Kindle 3G wireless reading device. When asked how he felt about winning, he responded, ” It feels great! After some time of not feeling well, it feels good to have something amazing to look forward to.” The 2nd place winner was Chey Posey for “Conviction.” He won a $50.00 gift certificate to Half-Price Books. The two honorable mentions were awarded to Felix “Fabian” A. Cantu-Cruz for “Song of Storms”, and Virginia Hunt for “Trapped.” The two honorable mentions each won $25.00 gift certificates to Half-Price Books.

The winners’ poems are guaranteed a spot in the upcoming edition of the annual Queer Subtext Literary Anthology, which is made in an assembly-line fashion every summer, at Youth First Texas, in a big book-making party! Thank you to all who have contributed to this very successful poetry contest! We hope to see you next April!

Editor’s note: We’d like to thank Liam Cambridge for contributing this blog entry in addition to participating in this year’s contest. Thanks!

Remember, every 2nd and 4th Saturday is Open Mic, so bring your poetry, songs or just your selves to rock out with Aunt Melanie and everyone else!

While the ride down to Austin was a little cramped for some, there was an overall feeling of excitement throughout, and when they arrived at Out Youth Austin, they had a great time getting to know everyone down there. Once they reached the hotel, it was only a matter of time before everyone passed out for the night.

Monday brought with it a brief training session, to make sure that everyone understood how to talk and interact with the legislators, then it was off to the Capitol Building to promote Asher’s Law. The youth were glad to find that many of the people they talked with were very friendly, and appeared to care about what they had to say, though they weren’t surprised when a few were less than welcoming. The highlight of the day was the chance to speak before the Texas Board of Education, which everyone agreed was an amazing experience. Their first day’s work done, the youth went and had a delicious barbecue dinner, and one youth had an enlightening discussion with a talking cow’s head.

The first order of business for Tuesday was packing everything up so that they were ready to go. Then it was back to the Capitol, where the topic of the day was the Education Works bill. The youth all agreed that LGBT-inclusive sex education was necessary in schools, and they did their best to convince legislators. The car ride home was relatively quiet, as the long day had left many youth ready to nap, at least until they stopped for dinner.

The youth who kept a record of their thoughts all spoke at some length about how they felt the trip was not only “a blast,” but it also “made an impact,” because many of them have been bullied, or know friends and other youth who have been bullied. They were all grateful to have been a part of the experience and really hoped that they “had made a difference” during Lobby Day 2011.

My thanks to the three youth who contributed to this article, as well as the volunteers who chaperoned, for providing me with the necessary information to create an overall record of their experiences.