The Pennsylvania Youth Congress ADVANCING FREEDOM AND JUSTICE FOR YOUNG LGBTQ+ PENNSYLVANIANS YOUTH VOICES Speaking Our Truth to Power CREATING A Vibrant Community of Young Leaders STEP INTO The Future of LGBTQ+ Activism

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, <a href="https://payouthcongress.org/get-involved/member-organizations/">please click here</a>!
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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Pennsylvania News

A Pride Month Welcome from Preston

A Pride Month Welcome from Preston
June 3, 2021

Dear PYC Friends, Happy Pride Month! Pride season is personal to each of us; it recognizes the urgency of our activism today while celebrating the beauty, strength, and love within ourselves and our journeys. I grew up in Lancaster County, in green hills and small towns steeped in the sweet […]

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Preston Heldibridle Named Next Executive Director of PYC!

Preston Heldibridle Named Next Executive Director of PYC!
May 7, 2021

Dear Friends, I am thrilled to share that Preston Heldibridle will be the next Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Youth Congress. It has been the honor of my life to support our strong community advocacy work throughout the commonwealth these past ten years. We’ve helped empower hundreds of effective young […]

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State LGBTQ Youth Organization Responds to Press Conference Attacking Transgender Children and Youth

State LGBTQ Youth Organization Responds to Press Conference Attacking Transgender Children and Youth
April 2, 2021

The Real Story is the Growing Support and Understanding of Young Transgender Pennsylvanians HARRISBURG, Pa. — On Monday, April 5, 2021, five state Representatives will lead a press conference promoting their introduction of a dangerous bill targeting transgender children. The Pennsylvania Youth Congress unequivocally opposes this legislation, which would ban […]

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