Pride Whanganui joining first national GiveOUT Day fundraiser

People taking part in the annual Pride March around Whanganui's bridges in 2021. Photo / Neil Jones

Pride Whanganui is joining New Zealand's first-ever national fundraising drive for rainbow organisations.

GiveOUT Day provides projects, community groups and not-for-profit organisations an opportunity to build awareness of their causes, raise funds for services and expand their networks.

Locally, money raised from the initiative would go towards continuing to provide support, resources, information and advocacy for Whanganui rainbow communities, Pride Whanganui trustee Christina Emery said.

That included Pride's two youth groups, investing in professional development training for organisations and businesses, and stocking resources throughout Whanganui.

Emery said a big part of what Pride Whanganui did was suicide prevention.

"Aotearoa has the highest rate of youth suicide in the developed world and rates for LGBTTQI+ people are even higher."

LGBTTQI+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, takatāpui, queer, intersex, plus all other gender and sexual minorities.

Those in the rainbow community had a higher lifetime risk than their peers for mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, suicide and self-harm, substance misuse and eating disorders, Emery said.

"Research shows that there are different factors that contribute, such as growing up in
harmful environments, being rejected at home, school, church or by other communities, being bullied, the lack of access to safe or supportive spaces and the lack of mental health care."

Money raised on GiveOUT Day, October 20, will be doubled by partners such as Kiwibank, Southern Cross Health Insurance and PWC.

Donations can be made online from 7pm on Wednesday, October 19, until midnight on Monday, October 24, at www.giveout.org.nz or in person via donation
buckets at local businesses or at the Pride Whanganui pop-up stall at Majestic Square 10am-2pm on Thursday, October 20.