For the sixth year in a row, we are thrilled to have Target support of Spirit Day by going purple as a presenting partner! Target is supporting Spirit Day with engaging and impactful digital content to help turn the world purple, standing with the LGBTQ community to fight back against bullying.
Influencer Parker Kit Hill has joined GLAAD and Target to create 2020’s official Spirit Day Dance. Just posted on his Instagram (@ParkerKitHill), Parker dances to “Just Do You” by India.Arie and is encouraging his – and our – followers to go purple and make their own dance videos to spread the Spirit Day message.
Parker’s fierce dance is setting the empowering mood for this year’s Spirit Day, where millions around the world will be going purple in support of LGBTQ Youth on October 15. We caught up with Parker to chat about why Spirit Day is so important to him, he said: “Bullying should be a thing of the past. I want to represent the people who feel like they’ll never be accepted. Tune out the noise, and focus on trying to inspire the people around you.”
Target has also created custom stickers for your Instagram stories to add a bit of extra spirit to your posts. Be sure to use these stickers to show your Spirit Day support!
“For the past six years, Target has been an instrumental partner in amplifying Spirit Day’s message of inclusion and acceptance,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “From creating new ways to encourage people to support Spirit Day on Instagram, to centering the stories of LGBTQ youth overcoming bullying, Target continues to ensure that LGBTQ youth everywhere receive loud messages of support, not only on Spirit Day, but around the year.”
In addition to their great work spreading the Spirit Day message to their followers, the team at Target hosted a panel for employees which included GLAAD’s Chief Communications Officer Rich Ferraro as well as GLAAD Campus Ambassadors Sage Dolan-Sandrino and Map Pesquiera. The panel discussed Spirit Day, the challenges LGBTQ youth face in 2020, and ways to support young people this year and moving forward. You can find resources on how to support LGBTQ youth here.
About Spirit Day:
Each year, millions go purple for GLAAD’s Spirit Day to support LGBTQ youth in a united stand against bullying. Started in 2010 by high school student Brittany McMillan in response to numerous young LGBTQ lives lost to suicide, Spirit Day now draws the participation of celebrities, schools, faith institutions, national landmarks, corporations, media outlets, sports leagues, and advocates around the world, all joining together to stand against bullying and support LGBTQ youth.
Presenting partners Delta Air Lines, Kellogg Company, and Target, official partners Amazon, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development and the New York City Council, and Skittles, as well as community partners Kirkland & Ellis, NBA & WNBA will all participate in 2020 Spirit Day.
In 2020, Spirit Day takes on a renewed importance due to the unprecedented challenges facing LGBTQ youth. This year, many LGBTQ youth are beginning the school year at home and are unable to attend in-person meetings of Gay-Straight Alliances, Gender-Sexuality Alliances or on-campus college LGBTQ organizations. Some LGBTQ youth may be confined to a home environment that may be unsupportive or abusive. Calls to The Trevor Project’s hotline for LGBTQ youth have at times more than doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
This year, Spirit Day is on October 15, 2020. Take the Spirit Day pledge to show LGBTQ youth you’ve got their backs at glaad.org/spiritday. Follow @GLAAD on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to keep up to date with #SpiritDay news.