Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) is pleased to announce that its Center Lane for LGBTQIA+ youth program has been awarded a two-year grant of $50,000 by the HVCS Legacy Fund in Westchester Community Foundation. These funds will enable the continued development of WJCS Center Lane’s Gender Euphoria programming, a series of community-building events and activities focused on helping our transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) youth affirm their identities while also having fun. Intended to reflect the joy, happiness, and enhanced quality of life a person experiences upon embracing their true gender identity, Center Lane’s Gender Euphoria aims to provide “gender joy” throughout the gender spectrum, however youth identifies, in their everyday lives.WJCS was the first and still is the only center in Westchester County for LGBTQIA+ youth. “At a time when the rights of transgender and gender non-conforming children are being attacked throughout the country, we are proud our Gender Euphoria program offers an opportunity for transgender young people to come together and build community. We thank the Westchester Community Foundation for its strong support,” said WJCS CEO Seth Diamond.Dr. Robyn Schlesinger, director of LGBTQIA+ Programs, Resources, Innovation, Development, and Engagement (PRIDE) for WJCS, stated, “We thank the Westchester Community Foundation for their extraordinary vision and this important grant to provide much-needed programming at WJCS Center Lane. We are especially grateful, considering the unprecedented challenges being faced by TGNC youth today. Gender Euphoria could not have come at a better time.”This grant was made possible by the Westchester Community Foundation, a division of The New York Community Trust, one of the largest community foundations in the country, with assets of approximately $3 billion. We envision healthy, equitable, and thriving communities throughout New York City, Long Island, Westchester, and beyond.
