Crew Advisory Committee (10-13 year olds)

The Crew Advisory Committee is a group for all people with LGBTQ parents or caregivers who are ages 10-13. Crew Advisory Committee members contribute to COLAGE’s work by ensuring all of the programs are in alignment with COLAGE’s mission to support youth and adult children in LGBTQIA+ families. Crew Advisory Committee members also organize their own virtual youth-led projects with peers and other volunteers across the country. Serving on the Crew Advisory Committee is a great way to meet and build connections with other 10-13 year old COLAGErs The Crew Advisory Committee meets once a month for 30 minute meetings.

Youth Action Board (14-18 year olds)

The Youth Action Board is the pathway to support leadership development for all people with LGBTQ parents or caregivers who are ages 14-18. Youth Action Board members oversee and have input in all of COLAGE’s work to make sure all of the programs are in alignment with COLAGE’s mission to support youth and adult children in LGBTQIA+ families. Youth Action Board members also organize their own virtual youth-led projects with peers and other volunteers across the country. Serving on the Youth Action Board is a great way to give back to COLAGErs, and help sustain a robust and nurturing community. The Youth Action Board meets twice a month for 45 minute meetings.

Facilitation Team (18+)

If you are a COLAGErs who is 18 or older, have skills in communication and leadership, and are interested in shaping COLAGE curriculum as well as building connections with youth and adult queerspawn, this is the place for you!  Volunteering time as a facilitator is an incredible opportunity to mentor COLAGErs, develop friendships with fellow faciliators, gain leadership experience, strengthen social justice facilitation skills, and learn to be a strong advocate for ourselves and our families. Participating as a facilitator will connect you to this network of facilitators and be a source of community for you. 

Affinity groups that you can facilitate:

• Adopted COLAGEr
• COLAGErs Born Through Assisted Reproduction
• COLAGEr Whose Parent Came Out
• People with Trans Parents
• COLAGEr of Color
• 2nd Gen COLAGEr
• COLAGEr with Disabilities 
• Straight/Culturally Queer COLAGEr
• Retro COLAGEr 
• Adult COLAGEr

Transformative Justice Committee

The COLAGE Transformative Justice Committee, founded 2020, is an organizational entity that serves the purpose of addressing harm including racism, transphobia, ableism, microaggressions, and other relational and structural harm.  As a social justice organization committed to substantive justice and change, COLAGE is dedicated to embodying the politics that we teach. This entity will serve as a formal body tasked with ensuring that our leaders and community members uphold COLAGE values of justice and equity for all.  As COLAGErs, we seek to create a space that protects one another from harm. We also know that inevitably we will cause injury to one another. While addressing harmful actions, the Transformative Justice Committee will adhere to the principles of transformative justice models, which treat every individual as a valuable – yet fallible – member of the community. The Committee will never implement measures that are punishment-oriented in nature, but instead strive for healing and accountability both individually and collectively. In practice, the people serving on this committee are committed to confidentiality and respecting all boundaries of the parties involved. As a formal infrastructure to hold harms accountable, the COLAGE Transformative Justice Committee reinforces our commitment to social justice that is substantive and enactable.  

Available committees you can serve on:

• Serving Committee: volunteers are on-call year round to hear the harms that are communicated and support the parties involved achieve accountability and resolution.
• Emotional Support Team: volunteers are on-call year round to hear the concerns of people in the community and support them with emotional processing of the harms they experienced or anything emotionally distressing related to COLAGE.
• Vision Committee: volunteer attend bi-annual meetings with the entire TJC and strategizing about the sustainability and growth of TJC.