By: To paraphrase The Jackson 5: When you wish you could give more than just presents from a store, why don’t you donate to sex-positive organizations around the DMV this Giving Tuesday?
Since 2012, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving has been declared a day where people around the world focus on giving back. This can mean volunteering your time, supporting small businesses, helping a stranger or neighbor and generally paying it forward, and, of course, donating to orgs that need it most.
To help you get started on that last one, we’ve made you a list (and checked it twice, naturally) of area nonprofits that are out here fighting for better sex ed, repro rights, and overall sexual freedom. They deserve these coins.
1. Casa Ruby
Recently at risk of shutting down after nine years, Casa Ruby is a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community. Owned and operated by Ruby Corado, a bilingual, transgender woman of color, this org provides sexual health services aimed at helping LGBTQ+ people at high risk of STIs. Also available here are offerings like domestic violence support, housing, and immigration assistance.
2. Woodhull Freedom Foundation
The only national human rights organization solely dedicated to protecting sexual freedom, Woodhull has been advocating for people in the DMV since 2003. No matter the cause — from gender identity to sexual orientation to issues of consent to reproductive health and more — your donation will help ensure this nonprofit’s work can continue.
3. Planned Parenthood
As a whole, Planned Parenthoods across the country have been under attack for decades, largely by right-wing politicians and their followers. The incessant campaigns to defund this organization, if successful, will cause millions of people to lose access to affordable reproductive health care — think birth control, STI testing, cancer screenings, and abortion services. Help protect the sexual rights and well-being of people in our area by donating to the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood, Planned Parenthood of Maryland, or Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.
4. Healthy Teen Network
With a focus on adolescents, Healthy Teen Network is all about empowering teens to “live their authentic sexualities.” Using evidence-based, scientific principles, this nonprofit teaches young people about reproductive health, affirms sex positivity, and shows them how to build healthy relationships. They even host an annual conference for people who work with teens, featuring speakers on all sorts of topics like culturally relevant sex ed the the importance of pronouns in gender expression.
5. Cultures of Consent
Cultures of Consent concentrates its efforts on educating people about rape culture, consensual sex, and sex-positive relationships. Begun in 2013 under the name People Against Rape Culture, COC’s programs are catered to various audiences and make sex education fun — we’re talking sex positive trivia nights and a class that takes a deep dive into the porn industry, for starters.
6. SIECUS Sex Ed for Social Change
Since 1964, SIECUS has been battling to improve sex education across the nation. Their goal is simple, really — to make positive, factual sex ed accessible to all people via advocacy, partnerships, and policymaking. SIECUS has even created a community action toolkit to help individuals join the cause to fight on behalf of all humans’ right to sexual liberty.
7. Advocates for Youth
Partnering with younger generations as well as youth-centered organizations and adult allies is the best way to ensure the progression of sex positivity, well-being, and education for future humans. Backed by 75,000 youth around the world, this Washington, D.C.-based outfit hosts programs meant to end the stigma of abortion, normalize condom use among college students, increase awareness of HIV and AIDS, and fight against racist health disparities, among other things
8. Collective Action for Safe Spaces
Led by a group of Black trans, queer, and nonbinary people, CASS’s mission is to fight against the patriarchal systems of oppression that seek to harm any person who’s not a cis white male. Donating to this org will help them run more educational programming and support survivors of sex-based assault.
Andrea Butler
Her friends call her “Ms. Correcto,” as Andréa Butler lives for editing and writing. Adept at crafting witty turns of phrase, as well as informative, clever, and compelling copy on various topics, she has penned articles for sites, such as LivingSocial, Onboardly, Talbot Digital, Xickle, Rachel Ray, and more over the past 10 years. She currently enjoys the life of a freelancer, writing all day in her pjs.
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