*Wear It Purple® Day – August 30 – is all about supporting and celebrating LGBTQIA+ young people, so schools and classrooms are the perfect setting to go purple.*

It's been a challenging year for LGBTQIA+ young people, with so many stories in the news and media about discrimination – often specifically about, and targeting queer youth. It's more important than ever to stand out against discrimination and bullying, and to champion inclusion.

Whether you'll be celebrating and getting involved in the classroom, as a Pride group, as a teaching staff, or as a whole school, there are LOADS of ways to do it – and every activity, event or morning tea shares that message, and builds important visibility.

Here are some super fun ways of getting YOUR school involved:

Raise the rainbow flag

Raising the flag is an incredibly impactful to showcase your school's allyship and support of the LGBTQIA+ community, and encourage an inclusive and supportive environment for queer youth. And having an official flag raising ceremony is a super quick and easy way to celebrate Wear It Purple® Day.

In fact, we know first-hand the impact of seeing the rainbow flag flying proudly – and that's why we're giving away 300 FREE rainbow flag Pride Packs to 300 schools around the country.

You read that right – they're free! All you need to pay is postage. They'll be available on 17 July at 10am, until sold out. Set your alarms, they WILL move quickly.

Where to grab yours

The more purple, the better!

One of the most important parts of Wear It Purple® Day is the visibility that going purple creates. Make your event or activity visually striking with purple goodies from the Minus18 store – and then use them to champion inclusion all year round!

Every single Minus18 Pride Pack is filled with education cards, posters with useful information, and messages of positivity for LGBTQIA+ young people.

Shop Wear it Purple Day

Engage in education

Hosting a Wear It Purple® Day activity at school, in your classroom, or in your organisation? Not only is our digital Wear It Purple® Day toolkit filled with activity tips and resources, if you're a school – we also have exclusive access to an educational video starring the Minus18 Education Team for you.

Explore the importance of inclusion and visibility, in a video created specifically with students in mind.

And for all teachers, school staff, education professionals, community orgs and even parents and carers – we're hosting a digital professional training event, all about Supporting LGBTQIA+ Young People. Expect Minus18's renowned Education Team to guide you through LGBTQIA+ identities, inclusive language, and a how-to guide to pronouns. If you have any young people in your life, this one is for you.

Reserve your spot

For LGBTQIA+ young people

Wear It Purple® Day is all about supporting queer youth – so we'd be remiss not to be hosting a spectacular event for queer youth, right? Minus18's Wear It Purple® Pride Party is a chance for LGBTQIA+ young people to celebrate together, no matter their location.

Firstly? We're hosting a joyous, in-person Pride Party at the Victorian Pride Centre. Young people aged 12 to 19 can expect music, drag, new friends, and LOADS of activities primed for making friends.

We'll ALSO be hosting a digital Pride Party for young people to attend from wherever they might be – anywhere in the country. Part live-stream, part exclusive digital good time, this is going to be a digital event not to be missed.

Free tickets

Make it a fundraiser

Adding a fundraising element to your Wear It Purple® Day is an instant way of adding tangible, lasting impact to your event or activity. Whether it's a fundraiser bake sale, gold coin donation on casual day, an online crowdraiser, or something completely different, it all makes a difference.

However you get involved on August 30, make sure that the important work, education, and advocacy doesn't stop on August 31.

If you choose to fundraise in support of Minus18, we can't thank you enough. Every donation (including that of fundraisers!) is tax-deductible, and helps ensure our events and resources remain free for young people.

Either make a donation directly, or add a fundraising element to your activity or event or social hang. Set up a fundraiser via GiveNow, Tiltify, or similar platforms – or find out more about fundraising below.

Find out more about fundraising

Encourage your Pride Group to get involved

If your school has a pride group, this is the perfect opportunity to get them involved! By allowing students to assist and plan how YOUR school engages and activates on Wear It Purple Day, it may encourage other students to get more involved!

Keep it simple, keep it fun!

Celebrating Wear It Purple Day at school is a great way to educate students and staff about LGBTQIA+ identities, and encourage a safe, inclusive and supportive environment at your school.

Whether it’s donating, fundraising, activating virtually or in real life, any action is a positive step towards inclusivity and LGBTQIA+ youth recognition. School-based activation is a great step to make young rainbow people feel supported and safe in an environment that they exist in.

Any donations, or fundraisers made by schools go directly to supporting LGBTQIA+ youth in Australia, and every little bit counts and helps foster a safer, more supportive and more inclusive environment for young queer people.

Download your Wear It Purple® 2024 How-To-Guide

Used under license from Wear It Purple Incorporated - wearitpurple.org