Show Your Stripes
At Insomniac festivals, Headliners are encouraged to express the truest versions of themselves. Events are judgment-free zones where creativity is key, self-expression is a core value, and being who you truly are, however freaky, is always encouraged.
Many kids in the real world, however, don’t get to experience this sense of creative freedom because they live in fear of being bullied. With a recent donation in Orlando, however, Insomniac is supporting programs focused on reducing bullying in Central Florida.
With Stand Up Orlando, the office of Mayor Buddy Dyer recently made anti-bullying programs a major focus. Insomniac donated $32,000 to the initiative.
This money will be used to pay the coordinator salary at the Zebra Coalition, a network of 24 Central Florida social service providers, government agencies, schools, colleges and universities that provide anti-bullying training in schools throughout Central Florida, as well as services to at-risk lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) youth.
“The Zebra Coalition was established in response to the growing number of LGBT+ youth experiencing homelessness, bullying, extreme physical and sexual abuse, isolation from their families, and a wide range of life challenges or setbacks,” says Director Dexter Foxworth.
Insomniac’s donation will cover the salary for the Coalition’s Outreach Coordinator position, which they lost earlier this year due to funding cuts. Before then, the coordinator’s outreach efforts had provided anti-bullying education and support to almost 9,000 individuals across Central Florida in the last year.
“The funding for this position,” Foxworth says, “will allow us to provide education resources, workshops and support to teachers, parents, students, faith-based organizations, businesses, after-school programs and many other community organizations in order to equip and educate our entire community on how to recognize bullying and how to support those being bullied—the bystanders and the bullies.”
For the past three years, the Zebra Coalition has partnered with Orange County Public Schools to provide an anti-bullying marketing campaign in every middle school, high school and charter school, as well as to provide education and workshops for faculty, staff and student groups on bullying prevention and LGBT+ cultural competency.
“Approximately 48 percent of the youth with whom we work with have been rejected by their families because of their orientation or identity,” says Foxworth.
Many youth that come to Zebra Coalition seek the organization out because they are experiencing serious challenges based on their romantic and sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. The impact that Zebra Coalition is making for such people can be life-changing.
“I think about one particular youth, ‘Adam,’ who was kicked out of his home by his adoptive family a few years ago because he identified as gay,” Foxworth says. “He had no one to turn to for support but reached out to a school counselor, who referred him to us.” With the Coalition’s help, “Adam” was given temporary housing and other support. The organization helped him enroll in college, where he is now finishing his senior year.
“For most of the youth that visit us,” Foxworth continues, “the Zebra Coalition is the first safe, supportive and welcoming environment they may have ever experienced.”
The countless people who have had transformative experiences at Insomniac events can surely understand the life-changing effects of finding this safe place.
“We recognize that the Electric Daisy Carnival is an all-inclusive event, where everyone can come as they are, and it’s a judgment-free zone,” says Kathy DeVault, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Orlando Mayor’s office. “That’s really what we want all of the city of Orlando to be—for people to be embraced as they are and accepted as they are.”
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