Hetrick-Martin Institute (Gay Rights)

Since its founding, Hetrick-Martin Institute has grown from a small, volunteer-led grass-roots advocacy organization into a leading professional provider of social support and programming for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ) youth. HMI youth members, ranging in age from 13 to 24, come from over 300 zip codes throughout all of New York City and the surrounding metropolitan area. They are of all colors and sizes, come from all kinds of backgrounds, and their enthusiasm and creativity is boundless.

HMI is also the host agency for the groundbreaking Harvey Milk High School, devoted to serving at-risk youth and founded in 1985 in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education, which administers the school and is responsible for admissions. 

As HMI continues to expand nationally, HMI: New Jersey serves as our first direct service site outside of the HMI headquarters in New York City. HMI: New Jersey is the first comprehensive LGBTQ youth out-of-school time program in New Jersey dedicated to providing youth who are at-risk of harassment, abuse, neglect, homelessness and disconnection with a safe, supportive environment in which to grow and thrive. 

Created in 2013, HMI’s Center for LGBTQ Youth Advocacy and Capacity Building, advocates on behalf of LGBTQ youth by influencing policy on local, national and international levels, while helping to build the capacity of decision-makers, individuals and institutions that serve this marginalized population. 

Learn more, https://www.hmi.org/

Americans for the Arts (Music & Arts in Our Public Schools)

Our mission is to build recognition and support for the extraordinary and dynamic value of the arts and to lead, serve, and advance the diverse networks of organizations and individuals who cultivate the arts in America.

Connecting your best ideas and leaders from the arts, communities, and business, together we can work to ensure that every American has access to the transformative power of the arts.

Learn more, visit https://www.americansforthearts.org/

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (Mentorship)

For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation’s largest donor- and volunteer-supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country. We develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people. 

Learn more, visit http://www.bbbs.org/