14-Year-Old Lesbian Launches LGBT Youth Book Project

[The Philosopher]

from shewired.com

Even in today’s internet-based world, age-appropriate books about LGBT people and issues can provide a lifeline for LGBT youth. Not all schools have the resources to put towards the inclusion of LGBT books in their libraries. Amelia Roskin-Frazeel, a 14-year-old from California is providing a solution with The Make It Safe Project, which gives free packages of LGBT books to schools without any, and makes sure students have access to them, according to http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=columnists&sc=mombian&id=126582">Bay Windows.

"When I figured out that a lot of schools didn’t have any resources about what it means to be LGBT or how to come out," explained Amelia, "I decided that I wanted to help send those books to schools."

Since the project launched last month, Amelia has provided packages for schools in Arizona, Pennsylvania, California, New Jersey and North Dakota.

To raise money for the books Amelia has placed a donation link on the http://www.makeitsafeproject.org/">Make It Safe Project website. All the money donated goes to the cost of the books. Each package includes 10 books, and costs around $100. The books ship directly from Amazon, which provides free shipping on orders that size. Packages can be requested through the http://www.makeitsafeproject.org/contactus.htm">Contact Us section of the project website.

Of the 10 books in the package, six are fiction and four are nonfiction: Annie On My Mind, by Nancy Garden; Empress of the World, by Sara Ryan; Luna, by Julie Anne Peters; Boy Meets Boy, by David Levithanp; Rubyfruit Jungle, by Rita Mae Brown; It Gets Better, ed. by Dan Savage and Terry Miller; GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Teens, by Kelly Huegel; Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens, by Kathy Belge; and Like Me, by Chely Wright.

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Amelia’s mom is currently helping her turn the Make It Safe Project into a non-profit, which they hope to have happen next year.

Amelia is working to get the word out by word of mouth (her middle school friends now attend eight different high schools), and using http://twitter.com/makeitsafeGSA">Twitter and http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Make-It-Safe-Project/139301956150174">Facebook. "So much of this right now is just letting the schools find us, because it’s hard for people to have the courage to go look for these books," she said.

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