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Kids' books nonprofit helps communities empower, validate children with LGBTQ storytelling

Sometimes kids feel different without understanding why. Maybe they don't relate to the gender they were assigned at birth or they find themselves having feelings about members of their own gender. Perhaps the clothes they feel comfortable wearing makes people around them feel uncomfortable. Not having any guidance or support about these experiences can lead to isolation — or worse. According to the Trevor Project’s 2020 national survey on LGBTQ youth mental health, 40% of LGBTQ youth have "seriously considered" suicide and 48% of LGBTQ youth have engaged in self harm, while 60% of transgender and nonbinary youth have engaged in self harm and 68% of LGBTQ youth experience symptoms of anxiety or depression.

Morgan Walsh and Keiko Feldman, two Los Angeles-based mothers, are working to change that one school district at a time, reports the Desert Sun, which is a part of the USA TODAY Network.

The two started a nonprofit called Gender Nation that raises money through private donations to purchase inclusive, age-appropriate children’s books that reflect the broad spectrum of sexuality and gender identity. The books are then donated to public schools so gay or gender nonconforming kids can have the opportunity to read about others that are like them. The collection is intentional in cultural and racial diversity, and several of the books are in both Spanish and English.

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It all started with a Facebook page. Walsh says: "My oldest child, who at the time was in first grade, said to me: 'Mom, I don't know any other kids like me.' And I said: 'Do you want me to help you find some?' And so, I started a Facebook page called Gender Creative Kids, Los Angeles, hoping to find a community of other kids and parents that, like me, were raising gender non-conforming kids."

Walsh began buying children's books featuring LGBTQ-affirming stories and hosting get-togethers with the families they met online. The kids would read the books, and then people would share their stories on Facebook.

Cut to a couple of years later during the L.A. teachers strike. Walsh began getting requests on Facebook for book recommendations. She says: "And one night as my head was hitting the pillow, I thought, 'That's what we'll do. Schools are overburdened. Teachers are striking. What if we donate these books to public school libraries?' The next day, I called Keiko and said: 'This is what I think Gender Nation could be. Will you do it with me?' She said: 'One hundred percent, and I know which district to call first.' Our first donation was to the district in Glendale that Keiko's kids went through."

Keiko Feldman and Morgan Walsh are raising money through private donations to purchase inclusive, age-appropriate children’s books that reflect the broad spectrum of sexuality and gender identity.
Keiko Feldman and Morgan Walsh are raising money through private donations to purchase inclusive, age-appropriate children’s books that reflect the broad spectrum of sexuality and gender identity.

Feldman has her own connection to the LGBTQ community, having raised two sons, one who identifies as gay, the other who identifies as nonbinary. She saw Gender Nation's mission as a way to make "different" kids feel less different. "The goal is to normalize things by offering stories about kids like them, to bring them some sense of not being alone," she says. "That's our first priority. But we do know it also educates kids who may not be having those experiences, who just stumble upon the books in the library."

Gender Nation began donating to schools in 2019. By spring of 2021, more than 300 public schools in Glendale, San Diego and Ventura had received books, making them accessible to nearly 150,000 students.

And on Tuesday, May 18, Feldman delivered 250 books to the Palm Springs Unified School district headquarters for distribution in its schools.

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The pair had received an email from Annie Axsom, a fourth grade teacher at Cabot Yerxa Elementary School, asking if they would consider donating books to Palm Springs. Feldman said to her: "We're happy to donate to your school district, we just need to be in touch with someone who can approve it for all the schools." Axsom then reached out to the assistant superintendent and five minutes later, they had their approval. "Some of these districts are in areas where they're likely to get backlash from parents," Feldman says. "It takes a lot of courage for the administrators to say: 'This is in the best interest of our children.'"

The women are thrilled to know they're making an impact. Walsh says: "We hear so many times, 'If I only had these books when I was growing up, I might've had a little more, self-esteem, a little more comfort.'"

Gender Nation is only getting started. "We just got approved to put our books into all of L.A. Unified, which is 440 schools," Feldman says. "Once we do that in October, we will have reached a half million kids." The goal is to get books into school districts all around the state. To help make this happen, the organization is putting together an online fundraiser to close out Pride Month to help them continue this work that is so important to them.

"Developmental psychologists talk about the value of literature and the power it has in developing minds," Walsh says. "If we put our kids' brains in a box before they have the opportunity to explore, it's really unfair. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what the label or the identity is — what matters is that they have a safe experience being able to explore it and figure out what it is."

To learn more about Gender Nation or to make a donation, visit gendernation.org.

As the philanthropy and special sections editor at The Desert Sun, Winston Gieseke writes about nonprofits, fundraising and people who give back in the Coachella Valley. Reach him at winston.gieseke@desertsun.com.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Gender Nation helps communities validate kids with LGBTQ storytelling