GLBT Advocacy & Youth Services, Inc.
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June 6, 2012
I am new to the Huntsville area and am so impressed that an active organization like this exists in what can be a very hostile part of the country for LGBT individuals. Whether through individual interventions or community events, GLBT Advocacy & Youth Services is a strong part of the Huntsville community. I remember what it was like to grow up in a small Alabama town and to be so very afraid that I was the only gay person in the whole world. That sense of isolation is terrifying. I am grateful that this organization exists so that GLBT youth and adults have a support system and opportunities to form a community. That community is small, but GLBTAYS is working hard to ensure that GLBT individuals feel safe in coming out and joining that community. Visibility and the freedom to proud of who you are is essential to anyone's health and happiness. I'm proud to support GLBTAYS and the very necessary work they are doing to form and enrich a positive GLBT community in Huntsville.
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Will you volunteer or donate to this organization?
Definitely
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
Life-changing
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 6, 2012
I met James Robinson of GLBT Advocacy and Youth Services at a showing of the movie "For the Bible Tells Me So". I knew immediately I had met an extraordinary man. Here was an articulate, compassionate, honest man, imbued with integrity, unafraid to take a stand for both GLBT rights and faith — a far cry from the images we see so often in the news. As I began to learn more about GLBTAYS, I became even more impressed. Advocacy for GLBT youth is urgently needed when the authority figures in a young person's life may be the very ones who are heaping vitriol upon them. It's a serious problem; from May 1 to May 13 (Mother's Day) ten young people committed suicide after being bullied. Nearly one every day. One of those was 7 years old. These kids need to know beyond a doubt that someone is there for them, that someone will stand between them and those who have targeted them for hatred. James is that someone in our area. I've watched GLBTAYS work tirelessly to support a student bullied by a teacher at a local high school, persevering and determined that things would be made right despite apparent indifference from the school board. I've watched GLBTYAS reach out to the community on behalf of a troubled teen from our area who was in a dangerous home situation. When my own work for the GLBTQ community becomes burdensome, when hope is so fragile a single breath could destroy it, when anger at injustice reddens everything I see, James is there, calm, courageous, constant — always working, always giving, always caring. His is the soul of GLBTAYS, the force that gives it life, and is reflected in its every activity. We need the services that GLBTAYS provides and we need them badly; James ensures we have them. He and the organization have my deepest admiration.
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Will you volunteer or donate to this organization?
Definitely
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
Life-changing
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 5, 2012
I have had the privilege and great honor of watching GLBTAYS form from an idea into the innovation that it is today. To say that it has been a rewarding experience is an understatement. I have known the joys of seeing various young people from all walks of life and orientation glean a positive experience from their involvement with this organization. It has been so much fun and fulfilling, really, to meet so many people who just want to help these youth. My reflections on my teenage years and my own experiences have helped me appreciate what we are doing here...i can only wish that every community in every city, state, or country had a James Robinson to selflessly cultivate and nurture a body of volunteers and mentors and friends into the culmination of the wonderful thing that GLBTAYS is... I can only hope that the group continues to grow and garner the resources needed to offer unlimited help and hope to these young people. I have been humbled to be a part of this, to see beyond myself and further within. To me, GLBTAYS encompasses helping and healing for everyone involved.
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Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 5, 2012
I am both a volunteer for this group as well as a donor. James Robinson is an awesome person who has a never ending love for humankind and believes strongly in civil and human rights for all. I am proud to be affiliated with GLBT Advocacy & Youth Services, Inc. I am even more proud to be a friend of James Robinson. We have worked together for many years in the public school system. We have seen it all when it comes to the abuse, bullying and indifference to children. This organization is the salvation for kids in the south who find themselves in impossible situations. They provide support, love, resources for these children/youth who otherwise may feel there is no option for them other than suicide. The real life stories that come to the attention of this advocacy group are nothing short of completely heartbreaking. Until I got involved with this group, I had no idea how fast and large this problem has gotten. There are far too many children as well as adults who are "shunned" or abused by their families, friends, community simply for being who they are. To me, this is totally unacceptable in this day and age. People are people period. I wish labels could be completely eliminated and replaced by being individuals. I think a lot of the problems come from misinformation, misunderstanding, and just plain ignorance. This group is out there, making people aware of the problem and offering ways for others to help. I totally support GLBT Advocacy & Youth Services, Inc. and encourage others to check out the work they do and help in anyway possible. We are all children of God...the details really don't matter.
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Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 5, 2012
In James Robinson, not only have I found a friend, but the hardest working advocate for GBLT in north Alabama and southern Tennessee! I wish everyone I know to support this tremendous organization for the support they give to youth in troubled situations!
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Was your donation impactful?
Definitely
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Definitely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 5, 2012
I could be very professional and watch my words closely as I type, but I don't feel like this organization deserves that. No, it definitely deserves much better. GLBT Advocacy & Youth Services is a fantastic organization that is worthy of an uncensored review. This agency is professional in helping people, but it takes much more than that to truly make a difference in our community. When a child is going through hell because they don't understand who they are, when they realize who they are and they don't feel accepted, when they simply aren't accepted, this is an organization that welcomes them with open and loving arms. Sometimes it takes more than professional words to make a difference and this organization offers that. Most everyone that volunteers with the agency has gone through their own separate hell and wants nothing more than to stop someone from going through what they did. They relate to the people that they help and they are able to put their heart fully into their work. Since I have joined, I've seen so much pain through this organization. I've heard of teenagers running away from home due to abuse, I've heard of people being beaten and bullied, and I've heard of people who are tormented daily all because of who they love. However, I've also seen a lot of happiness as well. People come together in the groups, they learn that they're never alone in their pain, and the people who need help get help. This group is set on making a change in the world. This group 'will' make a change in the world.
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Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 5, 2012
GLBT Advocacy & Youth Services is a wonderful and vital non-profit organization that advocates for and supports gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth as well as adults in the North Alabama region. James Robinson works very hard in trying to secure funding to keep this organization alive for the benefit of our glbtq youth and adults. The organization offers a variety of services from peer support groups to a host home program. I, myself, have attended and assisted several safe schools workshops in Alabama and South Florida as well as volunteered for several glbtq youth events in South Florida. So I can recognize a great and valuable organization from my own experience as well as from the viewpoint of an educator that accepts all youth from all backgrounds. So please support GLBT Advocacy & Youth Services if you can so our youth will have a safe place to go and be themselves.
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How does this organization compare with others in the same sector?
Very Well
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
Life-changing
Will you recommend this organization to others?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 5, 2012
This organization is an excellent source of community togetherness to provide information and support to the LGBT community. I am continually amazed at the outpouring of love and inspiration that they exhibit.
More feedback...
Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
February 11, 2011
GLBT Advocacy & Youth Services is a one-of-a-kind organization in the Tennessee Valley area. I have personally been witness to the organization's growth from an idea into an effective community service agency that not only serves the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender population that it mentions in its mission statement but also serves the needs of the entire community. From donating food to the homeless, hosting school supply drives for disadvantaged youth, hosting peer support groups, or partnering with universities to reach glbt individuals on their campuses, GLBT AYS is proving to be a staple in the community. And with the help of its Executive Director, James Robinson, it will become one of the few agencies that stays around for the long haul.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
fascilitating peer support group meetings for youth who are under 18. The group is anonymous and to hear their stories and listen to their struglles and triumphant moments as glbt youth is amazing.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
Find a way to increase funding so their can be a number of paid staff who spend their time growing and developing the program into dream that Robinson has had for it since the beginning-that includes a community/resource center s well as a transitional living facility for those youth who are kicked at because they identify as lgbt.
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