The Pennsylvania Youth Congress

Who We Are

PYC unites young LGBTQ leaders from across the commonwealth within their schools and communities in order to create a responsive and organized statewide movement. Through connecting and empowering strong advocates, PYC helps ensure that the issues facing young LGBTQ Pennsylvanians are addressed in local and state government.
Young LGBTQ Pennsylvanians have varied urgent needs. Many LGBTQ youth experience violence and discrimination in their schools and communities. Through PYC, young leaders are able to advocate for effective policy solutions at the local and state levels. From city councils to school boards to the General Assembly, PYC champions issues in government.
PYC was founded in 2011 as a coalition of high school and college LGBTQ student organizations. Over 50 LGBTQ student groups have become members of PYC. These student organizations have direct access to leadership development, networking, and important advocacy opportunities. To find out more about becoming a member organization of PYC, please click here!
As an intersectional movement of young Pennsylvanians, PYC advocates for communities where all can thrive. PYC was created to ensure all marginalized LGBTQ youth have power in their communities. To that end we aim to center those most impacted by the harm being addressed and that they are directing the work. Together, PYC leaders envision a commonwealth that has no room for prejudice or discrimination - where all people can thrive regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or other identities.
Since 2011, PYC has organized dozens of statewide forums for young LGBTQ leaders, including the Pennsylvania Youth Action Conference (YAC), which has become the largest annual gathering of young LGBTQ advocates in the state. From retreats in the northern tier to regional convenings, PYC believes in the critical importance of organizing in-person gatherings.
PYC firmly believes that young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow, but that they are also the leaders of today. By empowering and training each other with the skills necessary to successfully take on local and statewide community work, PYC is continually investing in generations of strong civic leaders. PYC alums have been hired for important staff positions at LGBTQ organizations and have even made history by being elected to local government.

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Our Press Room

Press Statements

PYC Celebrates Creation of PA Commission on LGBTQ Affairs

PYC Celebrates Creation of PA Commission on LGBTQ Affairs
August 7, 2018

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Youth Congress is thrilled with the creation of the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs. As Pennsylvania’s first and only statewide LGBTQ youth organization, PYC recognizes the importance of this commission’s work to provide a direct line for LGBTQ communities into state government.
In June 2015,

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PA Student-Directed Documentary on Rural Transgender Youth to Screen at Frameline42

PA Student-Directed Documentary on Rural Transgender Youth to Screen at Frameline42
June 6, 2018

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Temple University film student Hansen Bursic’s documentary The Toothmans has been selected to screen at Frameline42, the nation’s oldest and largest LGBT film festival. The event takes place every June in San Francisco and attracts upwards of 80,000 attendees, making it the largest LGBT film festival in

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Net Neutrality Repeal is an Attack on LGBTQ Youth

Net Neutrality Repeal is an Attack on LGBTQ Youth
December 14, 2017

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chose to repeal Net Neutrality – a principle that prevents internet service providers from slowing or blocking online content. This repeal is expected to have catastrophic effects across the nation, including on minority communities. The internet has been a safe space for LGBTQ people

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