Proud Changemakers is a group made up purely of volunteers. So when Pride month and Volunteers Week collided we knew we had to make an episode celebrating the queer volunteers in our group and across civil society.

Here we have our Lucy Straker (she/they) and Catherine Goodall (she/her) talking about the benefits volunteering has especially for LGBTQIA+ folks. Choice, community and a chance to develop skills - that's what good volunteering can give you when done right.

Lucy and Catherine have spent a lot of time working on improving the landscape for volunteering over the years in their day jobs - which is why they (and a bunch of other lovely folks) decided to set up a volunteer based group called Proud Changemakers. And here they talk us through some of that knowledge.

Also we take a moment to thank all LGBTQIA+ volunteers across civil society who are making a massive difference even if they don't always know it.

If you would like to volunteer with Proud Changemakers we currently have two volunteer roles open:

• Deputy CEO (Governance)
• Marketing and communications lead

Find out more about the work we do and who we are here.

This episode was inspired by it being Volunteers Week. Find out more about that here.

Music was by ⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠

And how does it intersect with the queer community?

That's the challenge we set ourselves with this podcast. So join Graysen, Paige and Lucy as they discuss all the various terminology, the history of non monogamy, their personal experiences, the myths and assumptions, and finally how non monogamy sits within the LGBTQIA+ community.

If you have any questions for the team about this topic or anything else connected to the LGBTQIA+ community then get in touch. Our email is proudchangemakers@gmail.com or take a look at our socials and sign up to our newsletter at https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers

What do you know of Annie Hindle? Betsy Bonehill? Ella Shields and Hetty King? Maybe even Vesta Tilley?

Well they were all successful drag kings from history - or male impersonators as they were known then.

In this episode, SAYiT's Fiona Moorcroft (she/her) takes us through a brief history of these amazing humans and how they dominated the stage impersonating men of their eras - some more inclusively than others.

Photos of these drag kings will be shared on our socials so use this link to find your preferred social media outlet and take a look at these fabulous humans. Whilst you are there please do give us a follow.

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience as part of our LGBTQ+ History Month series in February 2024 at Weston Park Museum in Sheffield - which forms part of Sheffield Museums who are also a charity.

SAYiT, who researched and organised the talk, is an LGBTQIA+ youth charity in South Yorkshire.

If you enjoyed this episode why not rate, review and subscribe as this helps others find the podcast. Plus take a look at our other episodes - especially those from our LGBTQ+ History Month series. Thank you to Vitaly Levkin for the music and to all the Proud Changemakers out there.

To celebrate Lesbian Visibility Week 2024 (happening from 22-28 April), two of our Proud Changemakers - Paige Hughes (she/her) and Lucy Straker (she/they) are bringing to you an episode all about lesbians.

So that’s the word lesbian, how it came to be (looking at lesbian history from Sappho, to Anne Lister through to Ellen DeGeneres and beyond), what being gay/a lesbian means to us and what we've learnt and experienced along the way.

We aim to be educational, spicy and humorous - plus throw in a few mic drop moments too. We do discuss our personal experiences, different types of lesbian pop culture and the tensions within the LGBTQIA+ community.

Please note that Proud Changemakers is a trans inclusive organisation and always will be.

Trigger warning - there are a couple of references to a gender based attack but no details are shared.

"Lesbian identity is strong and activist orientated. At it's heart it’s inclusive, radical and anti-patriarchy. I think it’s pretty beautiful." Paige Hughes (she/her)

Paige is a strategist and consultant for charities, placemakers and small businesses. She has 10+ years of experience in business development, marketing and communications. Paige has a degree in Politics from the University of Leeds, and an MSc in Place Management and Leadership, delivered by the Institute of Place Management at Manchester Metropolitan University,

Until recently, Paige was the Head of Business Development and Engagement for national membership organisation, CharityComms and now works freelance with charities, place-makers and small business owners, balancing strategic consultancy, creative coaching and hands-on delivery. See her website here.

Paige has had multiple volunteering roles, including a Trustee for a charity that supports people with Autism, mentorship and coaching for young professionals, a group lead at an LGBTQ charity, and has been a national EDI lead.

"I have negative connotations with the word lesbian as it has regularly been used in a derogatory way towards me. So I have always had a stronger connection to the word gay so that’s the one I use to describe myself." Lucy Straker (she/they)

⁠Lucy ⁠is the Campaigns Manager for Brake, the road safety charity. Here Lucy leads on the charity’s national campaigns which can include calling for new legislation to support all road users, raising public awareness of road dangers or advocating for road crash victims.

Lucy is also a public speaker and trainer on creating inclusive workplaces specifically regarding the LGBTQIA+ community. Lucy has co-founded and led a number of inclusion networks and activism groups across the voluntary sector during their 17 years of communications and campaigning work in the sector.

What are your thoughts around the word lesbian, its culture, identity etc? Reach out, get in touch - and you could be on our next lesbian pod! https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers

Music was by ⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠

This was recorded at the offices of SAYiT - an LGBTQIA+ youth charity in Sheffield and includes the expert knowledge of Dr Naomi Sutton (she/her), Liz Wilson (she/her) and Dr Jo Bassett (she/her) discussing why we need to remove the fear, stigma and general lack of understanding of HIV.

Dr Naomi Sutton - "My issue is the word AIDS. I really don't like that word because of the campaign. I think we really need to start saying people with HIV. Language is really important"

Liz Wilson - "There were two things going on that made it hard to tackle. The fear and stigma around HIV itself and the way that the government dealt with it, I think, encouraged that fear and stigma."

Dr Jo Bassett on taking Prep - "There's a lot of education around that really needs to get out there".

In this episode we talk about the how the UK responded in the 1980s when AIDS/HIV first came into our society, and then move onto how some of that misinformation remains even today when we now know so much more about it.

If you have any questions about topics raised in this episode, or you would like to join us for another episode on this topic or something else related to the LGBTQIA+ community then get in touch with us at https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers. We always love to hear from you.

Please remember to rate, review and subscribe as it helps others find the podcast.

Please show your support to SAYiT who are a fabulous charity who have helped us tremendously in our first year. https://www.sayit.org.uk/

Music was by ⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠

Proud Changemakers exists to empower the LGBTQIA+ voluntary sector and civil society leaders of tomorrow. The community supports and champions LGBTQIA+ and other leaders and civil society organisations. Proud Changemakers is a community, a network and a group, organised and coordinated by volunteers. This is a new, emerging and developing community, which welcomes new members, connections, funders and supporters.

Trigger warning - this episode contains references to transphobia

We spoke with a lovely bunch of humans on how some charities are dealing with transphobic hate - either because they are trans-focused charities or they are simply including trans people in their dialogue.

Speaking up in support of the trans community is important - but staying spoken when the vocal minority use online platforms to target you, is even more important.

In this episode, our host Graysen Whittaker (he/they) starts by speaking to fellow Proud Changemaker and former CEO of Birthrights, Amy Whitelock Gibbs (she/her) about how the organisation stood its ground when faced with transphobic hate. This was after they changed their language to reference women and pregnant people.

We then hear from Zoe Amar (she/her), of Zoe Amar Digital, about how she supported Amy during this period of crisis communications.

Plus we get valuable insight from Carrie Lyell (they/them), Head of Digital and Communications at Mermaids, and Chay Brown (he/him), Director of Healthcare and Operations at Transactual on how they are managing the hate they receive online.

We hope that by listening to this, more charities, people, organisations, groups will speak up and stay spoken for the trans community who deserve better than to face this abuse on a regular basis and on such mainstream platforms.

We plan to do more episodes like this with some other fab charities who are doing excellent work in this area. So if you are one of those charities or know one - do get in touch at proudchangemakers@gmail.com.

We are also on socials at:

• X - @proud_change
• LinkedIn
• Instagram - @proud_change

Or head to our link.tree for all the ways you can get to us.

Come and listen to the latest of our LGBTQ+ History Month episodes!

For this we recorded a panel discussion hosted by our friends at SAYiT at Sheffield Central Library between a group of LGBTQIA+ folks who attended school during Section 28. The discussion covers topics such as how each one of the panel navigated understanding their sexual orientation at a time when having any affiliation with the LGBTQIA+ community was socially rejected, where they each found their connections to the community - books, the club scene, dancing, music, theatre, the arts etc. and then asked the all important question - who did you pretend to fancy to appear heterosexual? ]

There are a couple of trigger warnings - there is a story about being outed to parents by the school which is upsetting and there stories shared which demonstrate biphobia within the community (a topic we will be talking more about very soon).

A big thank you to SAYiT - a charity based in Sheffield which works with young people aged 8-25 and professionals to provide practical support to LGBTQ+ young people, host parent and carer groups, and trains organisations improve knowledge and address discrimination. You can find out more about SAYiT here.

The podcast was produced, edited and hosted by the Proud Changemakers team who are all lovely volunteers and whose names are Amy Whitelock Gibbs (she/her), Becky Emery (she/her), Catherine Goodall (she/her), Cathy Swift (she/her), Claudia Baldacchino (they/them), Ellis Black (they/them), Graysen Whittaker (he/they), Lucy Straker (she/they) and Paige Hughes (she/her).

Please rate, review, subscribe, email us, follow us, report us, ask us out for coffee, whatever. We love to chat (that's why we run a podcast) and we also do so much more than this.

Email is proudchangemakers@gmail.com and click here to find others ways to see us, engage with us etc. Find out what we do by getting in touch! And remember no matter what life throws at you - be proud, stand together and make change.

Music was by ⁠⁠⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠.