He She Ze & We

#GiveOutDay2024

He She Ze & We (HSZ&W) is the leading organization in Virginia for people to go to learn more about gender diversity and how to be an ally. We have been doing scrappy grassroots work in the community since 2012. 

Mission: HSZ&W supports Transgender and Nonbinary people by empowering their families, allies, and communities to create life-saving, inclusive environments.

Click here to hear a HSZ&W Story: Justin 

HSZ&W is based out of Richmond, VA. Established as a 501c3 nonprofit organization in 2020, they hired the 1st Executive Director in March 2022 and second full-time staff member in 2023. Building a team of paid staff and building our network of dedicated volunteers has helped HSZ&W increase services, education, outreach, and advocacy to meet the needs of over 1000 families.  

Through our virtual education and in-person programming, HSZ&W connects statewide and beyond with families in 8 regions in VA and 16 other states so far. 

Guest Speaker Panel for VCU med students

Ally & Community Education: Knowledge leads to understanding and acceptance

HSZ&W's professional development training program increases Transgender awareness and cultural competency of the community at large. In addition to monthly Orientation for all new families, in the last year HSZ&W provided 30+ training sessions to a variety of audiences: agencies, corporations, schools, future foster parents, medical students and mental health providers. We are building our team of educators so we can answer the call for more training opportunities. 

Outreach and Community Building

We continue our outreach efforts to be able to reach more families in diverse communities. Our base of support has grown immensely and we are currently building our committees: advocacy, communications, development, and events to organize our efforts to meet the needs of the community we serve.

Thank you to everyone that supports our work year by volunteering or generous financial support. Thank you to the beautiful HSZ&W families that show up, help one another, and give back. WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR OUR COMMUNITY OF ALLIES AND SUPPORTERS! 

There is so much more work to do! We need you more now than ever before!

Your financial support is critical! HELP US PROTECT TRANS AND NONBINARY YOUTH!  Our goal is to hire one more new full time employee plus contract multiple people to take responsibility of coordinating volunteers and organizing Family Connections programming. Your donations will help us do more EDUCATION, SUPPORT, ADVOCACY, AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH!

To learn more about HSZ&W, watch this on camera interview with VPM

He She Ze and We is working to empower families, allies, and communities with: 

1.     12 + Parent/Caregiver Educational Support Meetings (in person and virtual) EACH MONTH
2.     Interfaith and BIPOC monthly meetings
3.     Orientation for new families monthly
4.     Monthly Family Connections Program across Virginia: Central, Hampton Roads, Blue Ridge, Hill City, SW, and NOVA
5.     One-to-One Consultations with our Executive Director, Shannon McKay  
6.     Trusted Quality Resources
7.     Guest Speaker Series--the most impactful education we can provide    
8.     Ally & Community Professional Development Trainings
9.     Advocacy with our community partners on Local, State, and National Levels  
10.    Community Building Social Events and Volunteerism

Thank you for contributing toward our work to Support Trans Youth!

Will you show up for us by donating and sharing our cause with your friends and family? Would you consider a monthly donation? Does your company have a match program? Here are just a few of the ways your donations will help:

$25 supports educational programming... that helps a parent decide to use their child's new pronouns

$50 supports a guest speaker... their story convinces a grandparent to start using chosen name

$100 supports a personal consultation... with a parent needing guidance for next steps

$150 supports outreach at Pridefest... where a trans teen grabs a card to give to their parents when they decide to come out. 

$250 supports a lending library... so that families have access to quality resources.  

$500 supports a guest speaker night...so that trans folks and their families feel hopeful through the experiences of "possibility models".

$1000 supports training with a school or business... to learn how to support their trans students, teachers or staff. 

$2000 supports Family Connections for one month... where families with gender-diverse school-age kids gather to socialize and build community.