PYC is Pennsylvania's first and only statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth organization — and Pennsylvania's only PA-based statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization headquartered in Harrisburg
Our History
Founded in April 2011 by young LGBTQ Pennsylvania leaders, PYC works to advance meaningful local and statewide LGBTQ public policy through community mobilization and direct education with the public. PYC aims to provide information resources and statewide coordination support to LGBTQ communities across the commonwealth.
The Pennsylvania Youth Congress was initially established as the Pennsylvania Student Equality Coalition. Our name was changed in May 2015 to better reflect our work on state-level public policy.
Our founding framework and values come directly from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the leading youth arm of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. PYC explicitly works to support an inclusive and affirming youth community where all young leaders can efficiently communicate and collaborate.
Our Principles
We have chosen to develop a new vision for how we advance our work. Too often we see the organized movement become a series of non-profit organizations that are more concerned with limited resources than helping their communities on the ground. As a volunteer-based organization, we have no member dues and rely on donations and foundation support for our work. PYC is proud to have been founded as the nation's first youth-led statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization. While some national and state organizations may have youth "programs," they can lack direct engagement with young people. Time and again we observe advocacy organizations shutting out those who are not part of a privileged political class. PYC believes in empowering all young advocates with a platform to be the leaders of today. We are an organization willing to work with our partners and allies from all throughout Pennsylvania.
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We support having inclusive and diverse leadership. We explicitly do not align ourselves with any political party or politician. PYC is committed to integrity, honesty, and communication. We believe in addressing systems of power and oppression across social justice movements.
