Organizations to Support in 2022

There are so many organizations and causes to support. I will outline a few of a variety of causes that truly support the people and issues they represent.

Autism

Action Center | Autistic Self Advocacy Network (autisticadvocacy.org): The Autistic Self Advocacy Network seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism. ASAN believes that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities. We work to empower autistic people across the world to take control of our own lives and the future of our common community, and seek to organize the autistic community to ensure our voices are heard in the national conversation about us. Nothing About Us, Without Us!

What you can do:

LGBTQIA+

Trevor Project- To end suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning young people. Crisis services, peer support, research, public education and advocacy.

What you can do:

National Center for Transgender Equality- NCTE was founded in 2003 by transgender activists who recognized the urgent need for policy change to advance transgender equality. With a committed board of directors, a volunteer staff of one, and donated office space, we set out to accomplish what no one had yet done: provide a powerful transgender advocacy presence in Washington, DC.

What you can do:

Black Trans Advocacy Coalition- Established in 2011, The National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition is the only social justice organization led by black trans people to collectively address the inequities faced in the black transgender human experience. Through our national advocacy center and affiliate state chapters we work daily, advocating to end poverty, discrimination in all forms and its human inequities faced in health, employment, housing and education that are rooted in systemic racism, to improve the lived experience of transgender people. Our work is based in peace building, community education, public policy initiatives, empowerment programs and direct services. The National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition works with communities in the U.S. and across the globe to foster diversity, inclusion and equality for all people and is lead by the Black Transmen, Inc., Black Transwomen, Inc and Black Trans MX non-profit organizations.

What you can do:

Intersex Justice Project | Black and Brown intersex people winning bodily autonomy- We campaign to #EndIntersexSurgery. We use direct action and other strategies to end surgeries to change the bodies of unconsenting young people, such as clitoral, vaginal, and testicular surgeries on infant.

What you can do:

Asexual Outreach-Ace and aro leaders around the world are leading the way to a brighter future, and we’re proud to provide our community with tools and resources to enable all of us to grow together!

What you can do:

Mental Health

National Alliance on Mental Illness- NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. What started as a small group of families gathered around a kitchen table in 1979 has blossomed into the nation’s leading voice on mental health. Today, we are an alliance of more than 600 local Affiliates and 48 State Organizations who work in your community to raise awareness and provide support and education that was not previously available to those in need.

What you can do:

Active Minds-Active Minds was founded by Alison Malmon when she was a junior at the University of Pennsylvania following the suicide of her older brother, and only sibling, Brian. Active Minds has since become the premier organization impacting young adults and mental health. Now on more than 600 campuses, we directly reach close to 1.8 million students each year through campus awareness campaigns, events, advocacy, outreach, and more. In addition to a 600+ strong National Chapter Network empowering passionate student advocates, Active Minds’ programs include Send Silence Packing^®, an award-winning suicide prevention exhibit; Active Minds Speakers, a curated group of professional storytellers and presenters who provide encouraging and safe mental health education for students and other audiences; the Healthy Campus Award, which honors colleges that are prioritizing student health and well-being; and the newly launched Active Minds @Work offerings to build a mental health culture in the workplace. Our consistent message, amplified by nearly 15,000 young adults each year, is that mental health needs to be talked about as easily as physical health.

What you can do:

Crisis Text Line– Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the United States, anytime. Crisis Text Line is here for any crisis. A live, trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds, all from our secure online platform. The volunteer Crisis Counselor will help you move from a hot moment to a cool moment.

What you can do:

Jed Foundation-The Jed Foundation is a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults, giving them the skills and support they need to thrive today…and tomorrow.

What you can do:

Immigration

United We Dream | The Largest Immigrant Youth-Led Network– When you’re undocumented, you face a lot of discrimination, and that creates a lot of fear. At United We Dream, we transform that fear into finding your voice. We empower people to develop their leadership, their organizing skills, and to develop our own campaigns to fight for justice and dignity for immigrants and all people. This is achieved through immigrant youth-led campaigns at the local, state, and federal level.

What you can do:

Environment

Clean Air Task Force- Today, we continue to apply our technical and policy know-how to aspects of the climate challenge in cutting-edge ways. Fueled by facts rather than ideology, CATF combines technology innovation, policy advocacy, and thought leadership expertise to leverage workable solutions to this global crisis. We are taking a fundamental, serious look at what will be required of our society and institutions to reach the necessary intensity and funding levels for energy innovation, allowing us to attain the daunting, but necessary goal of a zero-carbon global energy system by mid-century. Despite our growing stature as a research and advocacy leader in the global climate debate, we remain true to our beginnings as a science-based organization.

What you can do:

Poverty

The Borgen Project- The Borgen Project believes that leaders of the most powerful nation on earth should be doing more to address global poverty. We’re the innovative, national campaign that is working to make poverty a focus of U.S. foreign policy.

What you can do:

Palestine

Lajee Center – Home Page– Lajee Center (‘lajee’ means ‘refugee’ in Arabic), was established in Aida Refugee Camp in April 2000 by a group of 11 young people from the Camp who wanted to serve the community. Lajee is a community-based grassroots creative cultural centre that works with new generations of Palestinians as they continue their ongoing struggle for justice and rights for Palestine and all Palestinians.

Wha you can do:

There are so many important causes and organizations out there. I barely scratched the surface. To learn about other important organizations, check out my latest post on Transgender Mental Health Resources. What organizations do you support?