Ruth Ellis Center

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Upcoming Event

Stride for Pride 2025

Across the country, LGBTQ+ young people — especially our trans youth — are under attack. The very resources that protect their lives, their identities, and their futures are being stripped away.

At Ruth Ellis Center, we won’t back down.

Every mile walked, dollar earned, and team built fuels our mission this Stride for Pride season. Our life-changing support, compassionate care, and empowering opportunities make a real difference in the lives of LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness and instability.

This is the moment: our chance to see the transformative power of community and serve the LGBTQ+ youth in need

Join our movement to support life-saving services, gender-affirming care, and welcoming spaces for our next generation

Whether you’re striding solo or rallying your crew, your support makes an impact.

1.  Start or join a team — Rally your crew and walk with purpose.
2.  Make a donation — Every gift brings us closer to safety and care for our youth.
3.  Spread the word — Share the mission. Amplify the movement.

Thank you for believing in our youth and building a future with them.

With gratitude and pride,

The Ruth Ellis Center Team

Upcoming Event

July’s Reading Room Selection: This Book Is Gay

This Book Is Gay is a 2014 young adult self-help book written by Juno Dawson to help teenagers understand the world of LGBTQ+ identities. Dawson is a prolific author, writing both fiction and nonfiction for a young-adult audienceThis Book Is Gay also addresses parents and cisgender heterosexual teenagers with LGBTQ+ friends and loved ones, providing support with a variety of resources. The book faced censorship in Alaska in 2015 for its sexual education material. Dawson came out as a transgender woman in 2015 and wrote a follow-up book about her experiences as a transgender woman. This book is titled What’s the T? and serves as a companion piece to This Book Is Gay that explores gender identity.

Dawson uses humor in This Book Is Gay to communicate complex and stigmatized ideas to people who don’t fully understand what it means to be LGBTQ+. Illustrations by Spike Gerrell convey complex information through infographics and support Dawson’s humorous tone. Each chapter is interspersed with survey responses from LGBTQ+ people across the globe; these anecdotes and testimony give a wider view into each topic than one person could achieve on their own.

Dawson stresses self-acceptance as a key factor in coming of age as an LGBTQ+ person. Dawson uses anatomical illustrations and anecdotes to educate and give transparency to topics that are often hidden from adolescents. Her goal is to help future generations protect their sexual health and combat stigma by providing resources that older generations of LGBTQ+ people did not have at a young age.

Content Warning: This Book Is Gay addresses the following topics: anti-LGBTQ+ biases, anti-LGBTQ+ slurs, rape, suicide, self-harm, drug use, and racism.

Bringing our vision to the world.

Fundraising, volunteerism, and special events are not just platforms for sharing our mission, vision, and principles. They are opportunities for personal growth, learning, and making a difference.

It is our way of engaging with young people and providing a feeling of community in a range of uplifting and forward-thinking ways.

Each touchpoint also offers the opportunity to educate and spread awareness among existing and future supporters and extend our reach in local areas and beyond.

Ruth Ellis Center events range in subject matter and scale. We are always looking for new collaborators and volunteers. Contact us today if you want to get involved, sponsor an event, or hear more about the Center.

Get Involved

Fundraise

Help us reach our financial goals through collaborative fundraising efforts.

Volunteer

Become a volunteer at one of our upcoming events.

Sponsor

Support REC by sponsoring an event, from an individual or group level.

Our Podcast

Exploring current topics through the voices of those continuing Ruth Ellis’ legacy.

When people craved connection most during the COVID-19 pandemic, we launched the VOICES of Ruth Ellis Center podcast as a small but mighty way to stay in touch with our local, national, and global communities.

VOICES of Ruth Ellis Center looks at current issues through a new lens: candid interviews with REC staff, youth, community partners, funders, and thought leaders nationwide.

Catch the latest VOICES of Ruth Ellis Center on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Breaker, Overcast, RadioPublic, or Pocket Casts.

Listen Now

When it comes to LGBTQIA+ community some relationships are more “accepted” than not. This episode we cover Lesbian love and how it is received differently from the rest of the community.

February 2025

Happy New Year! This episode we discuss queer in education with our producer, Patrick, who not only produces our podcast but teaches too!

January 2025

Our Director of Development & Advancement Nazarina Mwakasege is BACK honey! This bonus episode discusses DEI through a global manufacturing lens with Global Director of Diversity & Inclusion Lamar Thomas of MAGNA International.

December 2024