Young people at a Paisley charity have gone the distance to show their support for the LGBT community across Scotland.
Child and youth care charity, Kibble, which is based in the town’s Goudie Street, has marked its success in the LGBT Youth Scotland Charter by dancing, cycling and walking a total of 331km to help raise funds and champion diversity within the organisation.
Taking part in Purple Friday on February 25, LGBT Youth Scotland’s annual fundraising day, young people from Kibble joined thousands more LGBT+ allies in reaching a total of 2500km in just 24 hours through a range of activities including stationary cycling, Zumba and walking.
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The charity supports young people from across the country who have faced adversity, and offers trauma-informed therapies, education and residential services based on each individual’s needs, in hopes of giving them a chance at life.
Kibble has been working alongside LGBT Youth Scotland and has successfully achieved the Foundations level in February, signifying the charity’s commitment to diversity and stating that equality and inclusivity are essential to the business’s structure and principles.
The LGBT Charter by Youth Scotland seeks to enable organisations to ensure they are as inclusive as they can be by implementing training, workshops, and policy review programmes which, with the help of a dedicated LGBT Charter Manager, will embed understanding and help remove prejudice at every level of the business.
In a show of support, staff and young people from across Kibble services joined the Pass The Torch Relay this Purple Friday by getting active, hosting a bake sale and wearing Purple Friday t-shirts specially designed by Kibble’s young people.
The team beat their 200km target by over 100km and all monies raised will go towards supporting LGBT+ people in Scotland throughout the year.
Neil McMillan, executive director at Kibble, said: “I am so proud of everyone at Kibble for helping us achieve the LGBT Charter and for how, as an organisation, we have continued to prioritise equality, diversity and inclusivity as part of our very makeup.
“At Kibble we believe that each person deserves love and respect, and should feel seen and valued by those around them, however, in a world when up to 93 per cent of LGBT+ individuals in Scotland say they face barriers to meeting their goals we have a long way to go and we’re pleased to be on this journey with the support of Youth Scotland.
“I did some stationary cycling to help reach our 200km goal, although I was outdone by my colleagues and the young people who were full of energy and got us to the 331km mark.”
One of the young people at Kibble who took part said: “It is important for all young people and staff to know their identify is accepted, that everyone will be supportive and that any form of bullying is not tolerated. It is powerful to make sure young people and staff feel safe as soon as they arrive, boosting everyone’s mental health and well-being.”
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