YNOT – CatalystCon, a conference focused on increasing understanding about and tolerance for diverse expressions of human sexuality, will host two fundraisers to benefit an educational website devoted to teens.
Established in 1998, Scarleteen is an independent, online, grassroots sexuality education and support organization. Adult websites often refer underage visitors to the website, doubtless accounting for some of the 750,000 unique visits Scarleteen.com receives monthly. Most of the site’s users are between the ages of 15 and 25.
In 2012, Scarleteen operated with a budget of only $45,000, all from tax-deductible donations. The organization hopes to raise at least $88,000 for 2013, in order to add services the user community has requested.
CatalystCon took up the challenge.
“As a mother myself, I know about the lack of valid sexual information available to children and teenagers,” says founder Dee Dennis. “Scarleteen fits perfectly with the CatalystCon message of ‘knowledge is power.’ I am thrilled to give CatalystCon attendees the opportunity to fund [Scarleteen’s] important work.”
Dennis has donated two tickets to a future CatalystCon Conference to be raffled off during CatalystCon East, which will take place March 15-17 in Arlington, Va. Tickets are $5 or five for $20 and will be available at the registration table throughout the entire weekend. The prize drawing will take place during the conference’s closing remarks, although attendees need not be present to win.
The second fundraiser is a special “masquerade” art project, sponsored by Artpulp.net. For a $5 donation, each participant will be provided with a mask and access to art supplies and encouraged to sculpt an identity. The identity might represent a mask the creator feels he or she must wear on a daily basis, the identity they feel they need to hide, or the identity of the creative and sexual force they have within. Each mask will represent an effort to open the lines of communication about sexuality and freedom.
The finished projects will be photographed at the conference and be displayed in an exclusive gallery at Artpulp.net/masks.
More information about the fundraisers may be found here.
“We’re so grateful to Dee Dennis and the attendees of CatalystCon for their generous help in sustaining our organization,” said Scarleteen founder and Executive Director Heather Corinna. “As one of the pioneering sources of sex education for young people that’s not just about risks but also about pleasure and the larger scope of sexuality, we’re delighted to be aligned with CatalystCon and the sex-positive community in our shared aim of understanding, framing and celebrating sexuality in a positive, affirming way.”
The CatalystCon conference was created to inspire exceptional conversations about sexuality. During CatalystCon East, more than 70 speakers from around the world will present 40 sessions covering a wide array of topics including Los Angeles’ controversial condoms-in-porn mandate, Measure B; sex-positive parenting; toxic toys; a humanistic perspective on male circumcision; the impact of religion and media on sexuality and body image; sexuality from a trans perspective, and how to help educators effectively teach sexual topics.
The list of sessions and discussion groups may be found here. The complete list of speakers, with biographies, may be found here.
For more information, visit CatalystCon.com.
