The youth we work with are lights in the darkness. Help them shine bright!

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Hello John,

Hanukkah has always had a special place in my heart. As a child, I remember gathering at the front entry of our house, all decked out with as many hanukkiahs as could fit, singing the blessings all together. As I’ve gotten older, Hanukkah as the Festival of Lights has more and more impact.

This is Episode Three of our Joyathon — join me as I talk about the joy of being queer and Jewish.

What does it mean to celebrate light? Especially in the darkest part of the year?

For eight nights, we add a candle to the Hanukkiah, until there are nine bright lights on the final evening. Each candle increases the light we are able to see. As we end 2024, I think about the dark times our queer community has been living in. The fights we have endured, the losses that will follow us our whole lives.

As It Gets Better continues our Joy Rebellion, I see each queer young person as those lights in the darkness. I think about my conversation with Ellie [[link removed]], another queer Jewish person and one of It Gets Better’s Youth Voices, and I see the light. I see the younger version of myself that I wish knew being both queer and Jewish was possible and that I could be happy. I am so proud of the work we do here that creates these ripples of light throughout the country, empowering LGBTQ+ youth who in turn empower each other.

One of the elements of Hanukkah is always pride. We are told to put our hanukkiahs in a place where people from the street can see the light spilling out to them. I like to picture my life from the street in those moments, seeing two Jewish queer people in love lighting their hanukkiahs — seeing that Jewish pride and queer pride are two sides of the same coin.

Donate today. Let's show this generation of queer young people that there is space for all of their identities to not just coexist... but to be celebrated! [[link removed]]

As the days get shorter, and the nights darker, I implore all of you to seek the light. Find those candles in your life until you have a set so bright even the people outside can see. It’s those moments that make life better.

Happy Hanukkah,

Ariella Assouline

Manager, Programs and Operations

It Gets Better

P.S. - Donate $75 or more before December 31 [[link removed]] and we will send you a copy of Perfectly Queer, our one-of-a-kind interactive card game designed to help young queer people talk openly about their sexuality and gender identity with allies and loved ones.

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