Roe Campbell, Steve LeBel (from Island Queers), Glynne Evans, and Luca Costi. The Gender Generations Project received $3850 from Island Queers and Allies Who Care in September 2022.

The Gender Generations Project works to empower trans, two-spirit, non-binary, and other gender diverse youth so that they can recognize their potential to be leaders in their own communities throughout British Columbia, and the rest of the world. The project fosters connections between the youth and adult mentors with shared or similar gender identities and backgrounds who can support and inspire them to live their truths in spite of adversity.

In our retreats, and through all of our workshops and other group activities, we work to build creative projects that provide meaningful ways for both the youth and mentors to engage in self-expression, as well as bring awareness to our diverse community.

We are a model of awesome gender diverse representation for youth in schools who might be questioning their gender identity or expression, parents of kids who are in the process of coming out, educators and other professionals who support gender diverse youth, and anyone else who can relate to our spirit of inclusivity and belonging.

In the past we have focused on the creation of projects in the realm of fine arts, such as writing, visual art, and performance, and are currently working on preparing to create a mural.

The donated funds will go towards the running of retreats for the youth, the supplies necessary for youth to participate in workshops, and transporting rural youth to attend the retreat.

Tell us a bit about your group and its purposes/projects. Please include bit about its history. : Gender Generations Project (GGP) began as a series of weekend retreats focusing on writing and visual arts to create two anthologies. Growing Up Trans (Orca Books) and Trans Youth Stories (Canadian Scholars Press) are the very first volumes written by trans youth and are marketed to trans youth and the caring adults who love them.

The GGP has since developed into an ongoing artistic and educational collective that facilitates free weekend retreats for trans children and youth (ages 5-18), with all programming provided by trans adult mentors (ages 18+). We also welcome parents, caregivers, and supportive adults by offering free, peer led workshops equipping them to better support and advocate for the trans children and youth in their lives. More than half of our board of directors are trans youth under the age of 19, and our executive director is a trans young adult. Valuing accessibility, our program is 100% free with meals, billeting, and transportation provided. Our May 2022 retreat welcomed 35 families, about a third of which came from outside the Greater Victoria Area. 

A registered nonprofit under the BC Societies Act, the GGP is in its final stages of becoming a registered charity.

Is there a specific project that this new money would be applied to, or would it be used for your ongoing work? Please describe.: Funding would be used for the ongoing work of our twice yearly weekend retreats, including our 2022-2023 goal of creating a mural for the city of Victoria. The mural will be created during our fall 2022 and spring 2023 retreats, and serve as a public, artistic representation of trans youth in the city. For ongoing costs, funding would be utilized to rent space for our retreats, pay mentors’ honoraria, provide catering, purchase materials for sessions, and administrative costs. For the mural specifically, funding would support art supplies and purchasing the mural space.

Please elaborate on how your work or project will benefit the Queer community and how it enhances the community in two or more of these critical dimensions: Inclusion, Diversity, Accessibility and Equality.: The Gender Generations Project (GGP) benefits the Queer community by providing a joyful, educational, and creative space for trans, non-binary, Two Spirit, and gender diverse youth, mentors, and their supporters/parents to learn, connect, and gather. Though we provide programming in the arts, sports, social justice, and more, our main goal is to offer attendees a space where they can simply be in community with other trans people. Given how trans and gender diverse folks are so often a minority within the broader LGBT community, trans-centred spaces like the GGP are vitally needed. When asked their favourite thing about the GGP, many youth say “just the chance to be around people like me.” This is especially true for our rural children and youth, many of whom report never having met another trans person before, never mind 35 other families and 10+ supportive trans adult mentors and volunteers. 

All of our retreats are 100% free with meals, transportation, and billeting provided. We have nurtured close connections with LGBTQ community groups across rural Vancouver Island for years and see more and more youth coming from places like Ladysmith, Haida Gwaii, Campbell River, the Comox Valley, and beyond.