Nominations for Colin Higgins Youth Courage Awards Now Accepted

Award-winners will receive $10,000 at an honoree awards ceremony in June

New York City,NY (PRWEB) January 22, 2013

Many LGBTQ youth struggle day to day living in environments that threaten their well-being, from enduring physical and emotional abuse from family members, to being kicked out of their homes, to seeking social services from providers that have no training on the issues facing LGBTQ youth, to confronting bullying and harassment in public schools coming from both students and the school administration. They find themselves ostracized, marginalized, and in psychological or even physical danger. The Colin Higgins Foundation is seeking nominations of LGBTQ youth activists that have transformed their experiences with discrimination into opportunities to inspire others by taking action, rallying support, and working to transform the systems and institutions that impact their lives. This year the Foundation will be awarding $10,000 grants to:

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Two-Spirit, Queer and Questioning youth activists (through age 18) who have bravely stood up to hostility and intolerance based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and triumphed over bigotry through working for LGBTQ rights and social justice.

The deadline for all nominations is 5pm PST, Thursday, February 28, 2013. Late nominations will not be accepted.

The online nomination form can be found at http://www.colinhiggins.org.

Colin Higgins Youth Courage Awards were established in 2000 to further the spirit and lifework of Colin Higgins. All of his films celebrate honesty and integrity in the face of adversity: Harold and Maude find love despite the objections of family and society, the heroes of Nine to Five find fulfillment and save the company by learning to appreciate their individual talents and differences, and the despised madam of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas transforms the lives of many through her kindness. Like the characters in his films, Colin Higgins Youth Courage Award recipients have endured overwhelming hardships due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, yet have handled themselves with the utmost grace.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/1/prweb10349552.htm