Working to stop bullying, National Ally Week and navigating online LGBTQ resources

Weve all been saddened by the recent suicides of gay youth, especially as tragedy has piled atop tragedy. Each of them is a signal that we need to do more to put an end to these incidents that destroy the lives of both the children being bullied and children who bully.We believe the Internet can provide a safe space and resources for youth who are struggling Moncler Eric Jacket with their identity and looking for help. And weve been happy to see products like YouTube being used to deliver messages of hope. There are many organizations out there doing an extraordinary job providing resources for LGBTQ youth, and we wanted to highlight a few as part of GLSENs National Ally Week: Trevor Project, GroundSparks Respect for All Project, the YouTube It Gets Betterproject and the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. GLSENs Safe Space campaign page provides resources and support for educators, policy makers, community leaders and students to take action to make a positive difference. We recently made a $50,000 donation to the Trevor Project, in support of the Levis Challenge Grant announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Showthey will be matching up to $50,000 dollars in donations to the Trevor Project. Weve also donated to GroundSpark and GLSEN. We hope that other companies and individuals will consider doing the same.We also wanted to share a video some of our own Googlers made for the It Gets Betterproject documenting their own experiences Moncler Eric Jacket and sending messages of encouragement to LGBTQ youth.Finally, the Matthew Shepard Foundation has been in the forefront of LGBTQ issues educating the world and sharing the tragic story of Matthew Shepard. We asked Judy Shepard, Matthews mother, to share her thoughts with us on the recent tragedies and what we can do to help. Heres what she said:Its been devastating lately to see so many families losing their LGBT kids to suicide and frankly, incredibly frustrating to see so many cases that seem to be linked in some way to bullying. My husband Dennis and I started the Matthew Shepard Foundation in the hope that by helping youth connect with resources, supportive allies and positive messages about their future, that it might prevent tragic outcomes like suicides or hate crimes. Were just one part of a huge community of allies. And we are allies for all youth, whether theyre being singled out for their sexuality, or their race, or something else that makes them different. But if we cant get the word out to the young people who really need to hear from us, and cant make them more comfortable reaching out for help when theyre in crisis, then well continue to struggle to protect them.Ive been out speaking at schools for the last 12 years to give these students a little hope and Moncler Menuire Jacket show them there are people they can turn to even if their own families arent accepting. Ive also tried to open the eyes of the kids who are doing the bullying tooto show them the pain a victims family suffers. We lost a son, but the young men who killed Matthew are a sad example of how you can basically lose your life by victimizing people, too, almost as much as by being the victim. -Judy ShepardWe honor the memory of Matthew and of the children who lost their lives this fall, and our hearts go out to their families. We thank Judy for her words and encourage everyone to work to help our youth to find safety and a better way to engage in the worldincluding using the Internet for the amazing good it brings, and not to bully others.Posted by Megan Smith, Vice President, New Business Development Google Inc. and General Manager, Google.org and Laszlo Bock, VP of People Operations