Happy Pride! From VidDay to you.
Whether virtual or in-person — parades, festivals, or concerts are happening all across the globe. There's always some way for you to get involved and learn some important history and lessons along the way.
For Pride month this year, VidDay is getting involved by donating to the Rainbow Railroad.
Why Give Back?
COVID-19 has made many peoples living situations unsafe.
This is especially true for many LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) people. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us all the significant inequalities that we as a society face, from access to health care, risk of stigmatization, and hate speech directed towards minorities, like LGBTQ+ people. This is why we want to help in any way that we can.
The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the risk of domestic abuse and violence from those forced to be in lockdown and quarantine with abusive family members or partners.
Now more than ever, we need to give back and help those who are in need. Giving back to the environment, communities, and social causes is within our company's DNA, so for this June, VidDay will be donating to the Rainbow Railroad.
Who is Rainbow Railroad?
Rainbow Railroad is a global organization that helps LGTBQ+ people facing persecution based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics — founded in 2006 by a group of activists and human rights defenders.
Since their founding, they've helped over 1,600 LGBTQ+ people find safety.
Unfortunately, at this moment, there are more displaced people than ever before. LGBTQ+ people are uniquely vulnerable due to systemic, state-enabled homophobia and transphobia. Because of certain governments, LGTBQ+ people living in certain countries may be displaced in their own country and unable to escape without harm.
Rainbow Railroad’s mission is to help individuals escape violence and persecution in their home countries and bring them to a new country where they can live in safety.
Where Do They Work?
Rainbow Railroad has helped LGBTQ+ people located in the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, South & Central America, Africa, Middle East, and South & Central Asia relocate to safer countries.
After the revelations about the anti-gay purges and concentration camps in Chechnya, Rainbow Railroad began emergency efforts to help LGBTQ+ people escape the region by collaborating with the Russian LGBT Network.
How Can I Help?
The easiest way to help is by donating to the cause.
Every year Rainbow Railroad receives over 3,000 requests for help from people whose lives are in danger. While they cannot help everyone who reaches out, with their partners' service and generous donations from people like us, they can provide results.
Free Videos for Pride Groups or Organizations
With VidDay, you can easily crowdsource video messages and pictures to have compiled into a beautiful video. Whether it’s making a virtual Pride, rally testimonials, or raise awareness — we are more than happy to offer our platform to help in any way possible.
Send us an email anytime to [email protected] ♥