Welcome to the "True Colors" official website!
I want your voice to be heard.
This is where you come in.
Click Here to Submit
My name is Melanie Piper and I am currently working on my Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. In completing this, girls must choose an issue in their community that they are passionate about and develop a plan that combats it in a sustainable and impactful way.
For my Gold Award project, I decided to focus on a topic that holds extremely near and dear to my heart: The LGBT community.
LGBT representation in modern media has grown exponentially over the past few years, but I believe there is still a long way to go before every member of the community can feel accepted and represented. A sense of belonging is one of the most important things for someone who feels alone to find, and amplifying the voices of those who otherwise wouldn't be able to can help develop this feeling and improve the mental health of those who feel isolated.
I want your voice to be heard.
The LGBT community has played a huge and influential role in my life thus far, and I want to give back. I've learned over the course of my life how incredibly helpful it can be to see representation in media and know how good it feels to realize that no one is alone in their struggles.
My goal is to create a project that helps amplify the voices of LGBT youth by reaching out to those in the community in my real life and through the internet to create a book filled with stories, quotes, poems, works of art, and any form of expression that can be printed on paper. These submitted messages or pieces of art will help towards breaking stereotypes, ending stigmas, and enlightening readers about LGBT issues that those in the community face every day. This would also work towards raising awareness regarding the firsthand struggles within the community for those that aren’t in it while also creating a safe space for LGBT readers to relate and identify with the experiences of their peers. With the support of LGBT Center staff members, I plan on self-publishing "True Colors" and sharing it with as many people as possible.
In order for me to create an entire book filled with inspiring stories and artwork, however, I'm gonna need some help from the LGBT community.
This is where you come in.
As of September 1st, 2019, submissions to the "True Colors" project are officially open! Directions on how to submit can be found on the How To Submit page and inspiration regarding submission ideas can be found on the Examples of Submissions page.
I encourage you to share your experiences and creativity with the world by being a part of this project! As a member of the LGBT community, you deserve to have your story celebrated. Who knows - your submission might even help someone else going through the exact same thing as you are.
Updates on submission deadlines, information regarding how to purchase "True Colors" in the future, and details about the progress of the project overall will be posted on the True Colors social media accounts (which can be found here) for those who get involved and wish to follow this project to its completion.
Thank you so much for taking an interest in the "True Colors" project. Hopefully, our combined efforts will create a safe space for multitudes of LGBT people to be proud of who they are while also making the world a better place for everyone involved.
Click Here to Submit
