TYFA is proud to announce our support and participation in the 2008 Philadelphia TransHealth Conference (THC), Family and Youth Programming, Friday, May 30 and Saturday, May 31.

History of the TransHealth Conference Family and Youth Programming:

In 2005, a group of parents from PFLAG Philadelphia got together and created a panel workshop to tell the community about their journey. The response was overwhelming. The following year, parents and family members from around the nation attended.

In 2006, the community met the next generation, the trans-youth, and for the first time, the youth got to meet other kids just like them.

In 2007, THC became the first conference in the nation to offer programming dedicated to teens and youth. Since then, Family Programming and Youth Programming have become separate committees and entire tracks of programming have been created to meet their needs.

This year the conference is rich with offerings of interest to TYFA parents, children, teens and allies. For the TYFA parents (some older kids and teens may enjoy these too) there are many exciting offerings. Communication, Schools, Acceptance, Transition, Hopes and Fears, and Media are just a few of the topics which will be offered for the Family Programming.

So what do you do with the little ones while you are off soaking up the wonderful workshops? The THC Youth Programming Committee has created a wonderful environment for you to safely leave your children while attending workshops. They are going to provide entertainment, arts and crafts and other interactive activities to keep those young minds engaged and encourage interaction. Some of the fun features for the young ones will include: Jack the Balloon Man and Puppet Uprising. The Child Activity Center will be open from 8:30 to 5:00 Friday and Saturday.

How do you keep those older kids (13+) and teens occupied? Take a look at the workshops being offered just for them:
Youth and Teen Activities and Workshop Descriptions

TYFA will also be holding our annual board meeting on Friday, May 30th so you will have the opportunity to meet all of our board members at the conference. These are the folks we expect to be in attendance on Friday so stop by our display table and say hi to the TYFA members who are coming in from all over the country:

Executive Director, Kim Pearson, AZ
President, Shannon Garcia, IN
Secretary/Treasurer, Amy G., MI
Curriculum Development Director,
Bruce Parker, II, LA
Director, Jamison Green, CA
Director, “Just Evelyn”, CO
Director, Andrea James, CA
Advisor, Moonhawk River Stone, NY
Advisor, Dr. Kelley Winters, CO
Family Ally, Lisa C. Gilinger, CA
Family Ally, Jenna Meyer, NJ
Family Ally, Zander Keig, CA
Youth Ally, Shawn-Dedric Pearson, AZ

We hope you will all be able to join us for what we feel is the most family centered, feature rich conference for our TYFA kids and families that has ever been offered anywhere in the country. The participation of professionals from such organizations as the Mazzoni Center, TransYouth Family Allies (TYFA), Moonhawk River Stone (MS-LMHC), Mountain Meadow, TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation, YES Institute and others who are changing the world for gender variant and transgender children will mark the 2008 Philadelphia TransHealth Conference as a one of a kind history making event that you will not want to miss.

All the TYFA volunteers hope you are having a relaxing Spring Break and we look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia.

Namaste,

Kim Pearson
Executive Director
TransYouth Family Allies
kimp@imatyfa.org

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 at 4:25 pm and is filed under News and Announcements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.