GLADD #SpiritDay 2020

My name is Jennings Wynn and I have been with Yello for 2.5 years in our Customer Success Organization. I co-chair our Employee Resource Group, YelloPride in addition to being a member of Yello’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.

For any of you that may not be aware GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has been celebrating #SpritDay during the month of October since it was started by Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan, in 2010. The day, which is a combination of fundraising and social media awareness, was started in response to a growing number of highly publicized suicides/suicide attempts by LGBTQIA teenagers that were caused by the extreme bullying they faced inside and outside of their homes. According to the The Trevor Project’s research, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in young people ages 10–24 and LGBTQIA youth are 5 times more likely to contemplate or commit self-harm.

On October 15th, 2020, Yello participated in #SpiritDay for the third year in a row making public our support of the day and the long-term stance against the bullying of Queer teens. As a self-proclaimed, effeminate queer person who has dealt with depression and anxiety related to my own struggles with bullying in my youth, this has been a very important day to me for many years. Seeing my teammates, leaders (and many of our client partners) enthusiastically wearing purple to show their support for my community is so important.

I, personally, feel there’s still a lot of work to do before the LGBTQIA+ (or Queer) community will feel truly equal. However, I know seeing something as simple as people wearing a purple shirt to send the message “You’re welcome here and you don’t deserve to be mistreated” would have meant the world to me during my own teenage years. It’s such a simple act that can create so much good and I’m thrilled to participate with my work family every year.