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Annual Prom Raises Funds to Support GLBTIQA Youth

To sponsor the prom, please click here.

While the HATCH youth are busy planning their 19th Annual Prom, “Over the Rainbow,” you have an opportunity to show your support of these amazing adolescents by becoming a sponsor. The prom is an important rite of passage for Houston-area gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersexed and questioning youth and their allies. The Prom also is the youth program’s largest fundraiser of the year. HATCH exists because of the stories we all have about being ridiculed, ostracized, and physically and verbally harassed by our peers. All of us want to protect our up-and-comers, so HATCH was created as a safe space for these kids to be themselves.

The HATCH Prom will be held on Friday, June 10 from 7 p.m. – midnight in the GLBT Cultural Center on the 1st Floor of MCC, 401 Branard. It is free to GLBTIQA youth between the ages of 13 – 20. Adults may attend by paying $25 at the door. However, we encourage you to give more to support HATCH programming and activities. Please consider becoming a sponsor today! For more information, please click here.

Funds raised around the prom support HATCH’s annual operating budget and allow us to provide weekly meetings on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, along with special events throughout the year. What goes on at a HATCH meeting? We’re glad you asked. The first hour is social hour. It gives the youth an opportunity to meet new people and bond with one another. The youth have access to the free, state-of-the-art David Bohnett Cyber Center during their social hour. Some play on the Wii, enjoy a board game, or just goof around. The second hour is an educational hour. We do a lot of prevention work with the youth, talking to them about building healthy relationships so that they don’t end up in a domestic abuse situation, reducing their risk of HIV infection, etc. In addition, community members talk to the youth about different careers, help them with college and scholarship applications, along with other topics of interest. Twice a year we do individualized suicide prevention plans. After that, they break down into small groups where they can share common experiences and help each other through anything they may be struggling with.

HATCH works with local schools to make their campuses safer and more affirming for GLBTIQ youth by running in-school groups at lunch and after school. In addition, through a partnership with local school districts and Communities in Schools made possible by a grant from the Hogg Foundation, MCC is able to provide in-school group therapy and support to GLBTIQ youth. We also provide resources and training to school staff and counselors about how to recognize and prevent anti-GLBT bullying.

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