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Local Nonprofit to Launch Program for LGBTQ+ Teens in Worcester Area

By TWIW Staff | August 2, 2019
Last Updated: February 2, 2021

WORCESTER —The stars continue to trail into Worcester, this time to help launch a program that is targeted at supporting the LGBTQ+ community in Central Massachusetts. 

In September, Worcester-based nonprofit Love Your Labels is launching Threads: Woven Together, a fashion design and youth identity development program taught by Project Runway Allstar’s Sam Donovan and Love Your Labels’ education team. 

In the program, students use fashion design as a lens to discuss personal expression, gender and sexuality, and help youth on their journey of self discovery. The program will lead to a final fashion show event in which youth exhibit the designs they’ve constructed over the course of the program.

“Fashion can feel like a prison if you don’t feel like what you’re wearing reflects who you are,” said Donovan in a statement. “I’m excited to give these young people skills they can use to explore and express their own identities in such a tangible way.”

This program is for youth ages 13-18 years old in the Greater Worcester and Central Mass. region. The first program will kick off on Sept. 25 and run for eight weeks on Wednesdays from 6-8:30 PM at Creative Hub Worcester’s Youth Arts Space at 653 Main St., Worcester.

“We’re working to realize a society where queer and marginalized youth don’t have to live through a time when the discovery of who they are is something that brings fear and shame,” said Joshua Croke, cofounder and president of Love Your Labels, in a statement. “We realize that systems-level change is going to take time. Our Threads program is working to help youth build resilience in environments that work against them and give them the capacity to support others fighting for acceptance. We’re creating a safe space for young people to talk about their journey, about who they are and who they’re becoming through the creative lens of fashion.”

The deadline to apply for the program is Sunday, Aug. 25. 

To learn more about Love Your Labels, visit LoveYourLabels.org.


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