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We are in the final countdown of 2021!!! Please catch up with our exciting news, and find out about the events happening around our communities during December and January! Don’t forget to pre-register for each youth GSA or adult SAFE meeting! We are unable to offer drop in meetings at this time, and our groups require preplanning. It’s suddenly DECEMBER!! We had a very busy November with our Spruce Grove GSA Society! Our Youth GSA group will be coming up on our four-year anniversary, January 2022! Four years of learning, growth, advocating, and of course FUN! We opened our adult group, SAFE, and we have had a few fantastic meetings. I look forward to the continued advocacy of the adults in our community! Whoop!!! If you have been following our social media posts…!!!!! OUR PICNIC TABLES ARE BACK!!! Two weeks ago, in the very early hours of Monday morning, before the insane snowstorm, our picnic tables were stolen from St. Andrew’s United Church. Our GSA fundraised for these through bottle drives, donations, and with the help of the Rotary Club of Spruce Grove. This was a devastating blow to our GSA youth, the folks at St. Andrew’s United Church, and our community. The picnic tables gave our GSA youth a place to continue to meet throughout the pandemic when everything was closed, it gave our community a space to sit and enjoy Spruce Grove while out walking, and it provided a spot for a picnic lunch. Our picnic tables found their way back home! They mysteriously appeared on the front lawn of St. Andrew’s United Church overnight. After a few phone calls, and watching the video at the church, we discovered that The City of Spruce Grove Public Works Department found them and returned them to us. We are overjoyed to have the picnic tables back!!! Thank you everyone!!! Winter break is almost upon us. Our youth GSA has one meeting left on December 10th. We will be doing some glass etching and staying late to watch a (To Be Determined) movie! We’re still waiting for the kids to choose. Then our youth GSA will be back in 2022 on January 14th & 28th! Our adult SAFE group will be meeting once more on December 15th. We will be back again in 2022 on January 19th! Please remember to pre-register for both youth and adult meetings. We have limited spaces available. We cannot run as a drop-in group for the time being. Earlier this month, Ash and I had the honour of being invited to join in on a zoom event hosted by the Affirming Ministry Committee of St. Andrew’s United Church. We were honoured to listen to the life story and be able to ask questions of the wonderful advocate Kenneth Felts, of Colorado Springs. Quite often we hear of coming out stories of our youth and young adults. But it is just as important to hear coming out stories from the elders in our community! You are never too old to come out. I encourage you to read Kenneth’s story. Ken Felts Came Out At 90 Years Old, And His Story Went Viral. Now The Next Chapter Is Just Beginning https://www.cpr.org/2020/08/12/ken-felts-coming-out-90-years-old/ Events & Activities! Spruce Grove Public Library Presents! Winter Holidays Celebration December 1st to December 31st This December join SGPL for a special event. SGPL will be offering a variety of seasonal activities. Also be sure to join in for story time videos, crafts, activities, and resources to celebrate winter holidays from across the world. Everyone is welcome! All ages!
Old Fashioned Christmas Winter Wonder Forest Zoominescence, a Festival of Light Festive Festival PJ Party TELUS World of Science Festival of Trees Jubilations Junior Glow Edmonton The Stony Plain Youth Centre
Alberta Parenting for the Future Association
5600 50 Street, Stony Plain Please follow this link to register: TRANS ID CLINIC
Please Help our GSA grow together! Some of the ways you can contribute: Monetary donations, donations of non-perishable snacks for our food pantry program, click on the donate button on our website, spend time with us at different events. Contributions of any size will be used to support youth through the purchase of materials that will be used at our meetings, as well as to fund events within the community. We are a 100% volunteer-run organization; all funds will go to ensuring we can continue to offer services to youth. Please Donate your bottles to the Spruce Grove GSA Society! We will gladly arrange to pick up bottles once a month. This will greatly help with our fundraising! Thank you to the folks who are currently donating to our GSA! Non-perishable food donations The past few years we have seen an increase with some youth, either in person or through social media, who might require a few extra snacks through the day or at school. Through a generous donation by the Rotary Club in Spruce Grove, our GSA has expanded to include a snack pantry for youth. If you are a youth looking for extra snacks throughout the week, or if you know of a youth who might need some snacks, please connect with us for a local drop off for snacks. All requests are 100% confidential. Medical supplies, teaching visits, affirming doula services Our board has approved the purchase of medical supplies required to assist our transgender youth ages 18-24. Please reach out to our GSA at sprucegrovegsa@gmail.com Information can be provided on supplies required. We are also excited to have Sara provide affirming doula services with our community! If you, or anyone you know is looking for care, education, or emotional support, please reach out to Sara at sara@risenhealth.ca More information is also available at Risen Health on their website - https://risenhealth.ca Support looks different for everyone and it is the doulas job to find what suits you and your family best. We are also looking for donations of gently used binders!!! Many of our youth are in need, and we would like to help them achieve this goal! Important Phone Numbers BriteLine 1-844-70(BRITE) 1-844-702-7483 https://www.briteline.ca Edmonton's FIRST Mental Health and Wellness Help Line A provincial support line for the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Times can be tough and now there is a dedicated line for our community. Reach out when you need help at 1-844-70(BRITE) Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868 Text CONNECT 686868 kidshelpphone.ca/what-is-kids-help-phone 24-hour, anonymous phone counseling for children and youth, 100% confidential they do not trace calls, they do not have call display, you do not have to tell them your name. Trans lifeline http://www.translifeline.org The Hotline: US: 1-877-565-8860 Canada: 1-877-330-6366 Need to talk? Call! Our peer support hotline is run by and for trans people. 211 Alberta Canadian Mental Health Association-Edmonton https://ab.211.ca https://edmonton.cmha.ca 211 (phone) 211(text) 24-hour distress line Resources for Albertans daily needs. When you see someone in distress, you can help before police or emergency services are needed by calling 211 and pressing 3 to dispatch the 24/7 Crisis Diversion Team. We respectfully thank, and acknowledge, that we are situated on the Indigenous land of Treaty 6 territory. The traditional lands of Cree, Michif Piyii (Métis), ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ ᐊᐢᑭᕀ Nêhiyaw-Askiy (Plains Cree), Denesuliné (Chipewyan), Saulteaux (Ojibwa/Anishinaabe), Nakota Sioux (Stoney/Assiniboine). We also wish to acknowledge all First Nations, Métis, and Inuit persons that reside away from their traditional communities, but who still live across Alberta. 
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