Centre for Sexuality

Calgary Pride is a celebration of our vibrant 2SLGBTQ+ community. But it's also a reminder of the progress yet to be made and a call to each of us to step up our allyship year-round. Centre for Sexuality has been a leader in this space since our founding in 1972. We offer training to professionals in all sectors to increase understanding, create respectful environments and enable strong, visible allyship. Read more about what we do ⬇

Pride Brunch is almost here! Get your tickets and kick off Calgary Pride weekend with us. Our annual Pride Brunch supporting Camp fYrefly is a treasured annual Pride tradition and a wonderful way to show support for our 2SLGBTQ+ community.⁠ ⁠ Join us on August 31 at Hyatt Regency Calgary for a spectacular buffet, heartwarming stories from camp, drag entertainment and more! Your ticket will help ensure that no youth who applies for camp is turned away due to financial need.⁠ ⁠ Get your tickets at https://lnkd.in/g5veKWXG Huge thanks to our amazing sponsors for helping to make brunch such a fun and memorable event: 🏕 Camp Champs Calgary Foundation and connectFirst Credit Union 🏕 Camp Leaders KPMG Canada, Pembina Pipeline Corporation and Summa Strategies Canada 🏕 Camp Supporters AccessHR , The Catalyst Group - Accounting. Tax. Advisory is now Baker Tilly , Freddie, Gail Urquhart Consulting, McCarthy Tétrault and TransAlta

Pride Brunch is almost here! Get your tickets and kick off Calgary Pride weekend with us. Our annual Pride Brunch supporting Camp fYrefly is a treasured annual Pride tradition and a wonderful way to show support for our 2SLGBTQ+ community.⁠ ⁠ Join us on August 31 at Hyatt Regency Calgary for a spectacular buffet, heartwarming stories from camp, drag entertainment and more! Your ticket will help ensure that no youth who applies for camp is turned away due to financial need.⁠ ⁠ Get your tickets at https://lnkd.in/g5veKWXG Huge thanks to our amazing sponsors for helping to make brunch such a fun and memorable event: 🏕 Camp Champs Calgary Foundation and connectFirst Credit Union 🏕 Camp Leaders KPMG Canada, Pembina Pipeline Corporation and Summa Strategies Canada 🏕 Camp Supporters AccessHR , The Catalyst Group - Accounting. Tax. Advisory is now Baker Tilly , Freddie, Gail Urquhart Consulting, McCarthy Tétrault and TransAlta

#YYC businesses: We need you! 🏕️ Camp fYrefly, a summer camp for 2SLGBTQ+ youth, is taking place August 25 to 29. Every summer, local businesses who want to make a difference for our campers donate small goods to help us fill fun and memorable swag bags! Your donation will not just provide youth with a fun reminder of camp. It does much more: It lets 2SLGBTQ+ youth know there are people in the community that care about them and want good things for them. If you can donate any of the following for 75 campers, please reach out by commenting below or emailing our team at campfyrefly@centreforsexuality.ca. ✨️ Inspirational books or novels that promote self-acceptance and diversity  ✨️ Stationary or art supplies ✨️ Accessories like hats, socks or fanny packs ✨️ Reusable straws/cutlery ✨️ Games, decks of cards, etc. ✨️ Sensory items like fidget toys or ear plugs ✨️ Outdoor recreational accessories like bandanas, buffs or carabiners ✨️ Pins, stickers or other small art pieces ✨️ Jewelry ✨️ Makeup, chapstick, hand sanitizer or other small items Thank you in advance for your generous support! Let's make this year's swag bags the best yet 🛍️ Learn more about Camp fYrefly at https://lnkd.in/gfUHsHWD.

Calling all organizations that help, support or encourage 2SLGBTQ+ youth: We're hosting a resource fair at Camp fYrefly this summer and we want you to be there! The Camp fYrefly resource fair offers our campers an opportunity to connect with a variety of community services and organizations working to support their needs and concerns. It's a great chance to showcase your programs and services and a statement of allyship with the 2SLGBTQ+ community. The resource fair takes place on August 25 at YMCA Camp Chief Hector in Kananaskis, Alberta. If you're interested or want more information, email our team at campfyrefly@centreforsexuality.ca, or comment below ⬇️ Applications close end of day on August 6!

Being an engaged bystander can help everyone have a safer Stampede. Every July, the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth comes to Calgary. In addition to the rodeo, Stampede offers live music, exclusive parties and concerts, pancake breakfasts and arts and cultural experiences. It's a boot-stomping good time, but as with any event of this size, especially ones that involve alcohol, the risk of sexual assault and harassment increases. The Calgary Stampede is an event for everyone. To ensure everyone has a great time, we must all share the collective responsibility to look after one another. “If we want to attend an event or space where we can have fun, then that means we have to show up for each other,” says Dori Palmiere, the Training Centre and Community Engagement Teams Manager at the Centre for Sexuality. “We are responsible for ourselves and others to create safer communities.” One way to help ensure you, your friends and those around you enjoy a safe Stampede is to be an engaged bystander. Being an engaged bystander means that when you see a person experiencing harassment or harm, you do something about it. Pay attention to your surroundings. Notice if someone has had too much to drink. Offer some water to someone who has been in the heat too long. Don’t be afraid to be active when you notice someone being harmed. “In these types of venues, it seems to be an instinct for people to just keep walking, or where they think it’s not really their business,” says Pam Krause, the CEO of the Centre for Sexuality. “If you see something, say something. Then, you’re not just letting it go because that is a fundamental problem in our society.” Speaking up, providing care and extending support invites others to do the same, which ultimately creates healthier communities and safer spaces. To become more aware and active this Stampede, familiarize yourself with the 5Ds of an engaged bystander: Direct, Distract, Delay, Delegate and Document. You can decide which of the 5 Ds works best for you. For example, some people are comfortable directly intervening while others may prefer to delegate. No matter what intervention you decide, doing something is better than nothing. Keep reading at https://lnkd.in/gg33Ybwb to learn specific ways you can be an engaged bystander and look out for others.

Apply by July 12! We're hiring for a Training Centre Facilitator on a one-year contract term. Visit bit.ly/c4scareers to learn more.

True allyship goes beyond Pride Month. In June of 1969, the New York police raided the Stonewall Inn, a known gathering place for members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. That night, the patrons fought back, sparking the Stonewall Riots, which would become the catalyst for the gay rights movement. One year later, on the anniversary of the riots, the first Pride Parade took place in commemoration of the uprising and the fight for equal rights has remained strong since. Today, we highlight Pride for the entirety of June, and it has evolved into celebrating a resilient community and a period to outwardly champion and support the 2SLBGTQ+ community While we’ve come a long way since 1969, there is still a need for allyship and demonstrated support of the 2SLGBTQ+ community beyond the month of June, too. Being an ally is a lifelong process of celebrating and supporting 2SLGBTQ+ people. It’s more than showing up for an annual parade; it’s about allyship, advocacy and action every day. Read more about how to be an active, visible ally throughout the year with our latest blog post: https://lnkd.in/gFhYbJbX

We're still processing and thinking about everything we learned at our Allyship in Practice event with United Way of Calgary! ⁠ After our panelists shared their experiences and answered questions about what true allyship means to them, event participants were given the opportunity to write down steps they plan to take to be stronger allies to marginalized communities.⁠ ⁠ Allyship isn't a rubber stamp to achieve and then move on! It's a never-ending process of listening and learning and a commitment that must be continuously renewed.⁠ Centre for Sexuality offers training for professionals in all sectors to create safer, more inclusive environments for all. To learn more, visit https://lnkd.in/gZWaqViM.

One more week to apply to facilitate a workshop at this year's Camp fYrefly! Visit https://lnkd.in/gfUHsHWD for more information.