The Queer Youth Task Force is proud to announce the 28th Annual Queer Youth Leadership Awards will take place on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 5:30 pm at Soquel High School in Soquel.
In the past 28 years we have seen profound progress for the LGBTQIA2S+ community, both here in Santa Cruz County and around the country.
We have seen our event grow in size and change locations, starting off in modest venues like Hobbes Restaurant in Santa Cruz and the YWCA in Watsonville, later moving to venues like the Cocoanut Grove, and finally to being hosted by K-12 schools and their LGBTQIA+ clubs throughout the County.
For 28 years we have seen our LGBTQIA2S+ youth take on leadership roles in their schools, their places of worship, their sports teams, and in their communities. We have seen underrepresented identities like our nonbinary and asexual communities gain larger voices and more visibility. And we have seen both youth and adult allies rally around our LGBTQIA2S+ youth and fight for changes in their workplaces and institutions because we know it takes a whole community to empower the next generation of leaders to grow into themselves in a place where they are affirmed and celebrated.
QYLA is about gathering as a community, bearing witness, visibility, celebration, raucous applause, and, above all, an outpouring of love. We thank our trailblazers for helping us get as far as we are today, and as we look to the future, we know there is still so much more to be done. We will work to continue inspiring youth leaders, allies, and organizations to create positive change for the LGBTQIA2S+ community for the next 28 years and beyond. We look forward to celebrating with you on May 10, 2025 at 5:30pm at Soquel High School in Soquel.
Please take a moment to read the welcome statement from the Santa Cruz City Schools (SCCS).
From your friends at the Queer Youth Task Force
QYLA.org
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