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.

Get Involved!

Join the Movement

Sign up to receive information on urgent LGBTQ Pennsylvania news and ways to get involved in our statewide LGBTQ youth movement

Pennsylvania News

PYC Condemns Horrific Anti-LGBTQ Comments from Sullivan County School Board Member

PYC Condemns Horrific Anti-LGBTQ Comments from Sullivan County School Board Member
November 17, 2020

School Board Member Compares an LGBTQ Educational Display to Holding a KKK Month or a White Supremacy Month LAPORTE, Pa. — During a Sullivan County School District meeting on Tuesday, November 10, 2020, school board member Timothy Nitcznski called for the removal of a display featuring LGBTQ pride flags defining […]

Full Statement
Take Action: Keep Gloria on 12th!

Take Action: Keep Gloria on 12th!
October 29, 2020

Gloria Casarez was a pioneering activist in Philadelphia who fought relentlessly for social, racial, gender, and economic justice. For decades she advocated for affordable housing, healthcare services, LGBTQ inclusion, to end homelessness, and more. Generations of LGBTQ Philadelphians are better because of her leadership. Our activism work at the Pennsylvania […]

Full Statement
The Fight for a Nondiscrimination Ordinance in Sharpsburg Has Only Begun

The Fight for a Nondiscrimination Ordinance in Sharpsburg Has Only Begun
October 27, 2020

On Thursday, October 22nd, the Sharpsburg Borough Council voted down an LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance in a 4-3 vote. There is now an effort to urge the council to reverse course and adopt the ordinance without delay. You can watch the meeting on the borough’s website here. Sharpsburg is a small-town […]

Full Statement