Transgender Education Collaboration

The Transgender Education Collaboration is excited with the results of the Transgender Visibility Campaign that took place in West Michigan during March and early April of 2012. The Campaign consisted of 18 events with 15 different organizations, with the Collaboration being directly involved in 12 of those events. These events included appearances on radio, a Transgender Faith Summit, community celebrations, and educational opportunities with local groups and schools. The events enabled the collaboration to reach out to a varied group of individuals. Total attendance for Collaboration specific events was above 250 individuals, and other community events at GVSU and Holland PFLAG also drew large crowds.

With such exciting results, it is clear that many in West Michigan are excited to begin serious dialogue about transgender issues, and theTransgender Education Collaboration hopes to be the catalyst for that dialogue.Our mission as a group is to exist to better connect, collaborate, educate, and share the resources and events available on transgender and gender variant issues. So what is the Collaboration up to next? We have 10 specific goals.

1.     We will be officially organizing, with bylaws and specific positions.

2.     We will be growing our list of speakers available to share and volunteers interested in helping.

3.     We will continue to be connecting with variousTransgender and LGBT related groups.

4.     We will be regularly posting blogs on our website (www.trans-edu.com) and promoting discussion on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/transeducollab)

5.     We will look at the possibility of expanding outside of West Michigan.

6.     We will fundraise so as to enable us to dream bigger inevents and ideas.

7.     We will be considering campaigns addressing what it means to be Transgender Friendly, as well as looking at addressing the issue ofunisex or Transgender Friendly Restrooms.

8.     We will be involved in Pride Month in June.

9.     We will continue to collaborate by reaching out to do trainings for local businesses, organizations, and Churches. See the new tab on our site.

10.  We will work with other local groups to build up lists of local resources.

This is an exciting time for our organization, and we look forward to being a catalyst for dialogue in our community!

Get involved, get connected and join us as we continue on our journey! Visit us online at www.trans-edu.com or 'Like' us on Facebook!