Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity

Formation	2005 as Jer's Vision
Legal status	No Longer in Operation (2024)
Purpose	Anti-Bullying, Gay rights in Canada
Headquarters	Ottawa, Ontario
Location	Canada;
Website	CCGSD-CCDGS

The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD) was a Canadian charitable organization that operated from 2005 to 2024. CCGSD worked towards stopping bullying, discrimination, and homophobia in schools and communities in Canada. CCGSD closed their operations in October 2024.^[1]

History

The CCGSD, originally known as Jer's Vision, was founded by a six-member board in 2005.^[2] Originally starting with a scholarship program, the organization grew to include a range of programs to address challenges related to bullying, homophobia, and transphobia in schools. ^[3]^[4]^[5]

The organization rebranded in March 2015 as the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD).

In October 2024, CCGSD announced they closed operations due to bankruptcy.^[6]

CCGSD's Work

The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity worked with schools to develop programs that engage students, staff, and the wider community to understand bullying, discrimination, homophobia and transphobia. This included presentations, workshops, conferences, training, professional development, and other efforts to support youth initiatives and clubs.

In 2007, youth from Jer's Vision were inspired by David Shepherd and Travis Price to start the International Day of Pink.^[7] The initiative supports youth actions to stop bullying in schools and communities.^[8]^[9]^[10] In 2012, over 8 million people participated in the International Day of Pink.^[11]

The Gay Sweater

On March 24, 2015, the CCGSD launched The Gay Sweater. The campaign, aimed at reclaiming the phrase "that's so gay" by creating an actual gay object - namely a sweater knit from yarn made from 100% human hair donated by the LGBT community - was timed to coincide with Toronto Fashion Week. The Gay Sweater received widespread coverage and the YouTube video had 45,000 views in the first 48 hours.^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]

References

^ https://web.archive.org/web/20241007121031/https://ccgsd-ccdgs.org//
^ "Jeremy Dias creates scholarship with rights settlement". Xtra.
^ "Sharing Jer's Vision". Xtra. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15.
^ "Jer's Vision Promotes Sexual Equality". The Ottawa Sun.
^ "I Used to Think I Won the Lottery for Losers". The Globe and Mail.
^ https://ccgsd-ccdgs.org/
^ "Bullied student tickled pink by schoolmates' T-shirt campaign". CBC. 19 September 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
^ "Day of Pink". Ottawa Family Living Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
^ "Jer's Vision and the Day of Pink". Xtra. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
^ "Day of Pink campaign comes to Ottawa". The Ottawa Citizen. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012. ^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "Pink Day anti-bullying campaign draws millions of participants worldwide". Yahoo! News The Daily Brew.
^ "'Gay sweater' made with 100% human hair takes back the phrase 'that's so gay' | CBC News".
^ Krishnan, Manisha (24 March 2015). "Gay Sweater challenges homophobic expressions | The Star". The Toronto Star.
^ "Point of pride: 'Gay' sweater takes aim at homophobic language". 24 March 2015.
^ "Charity's 'gay' sweater, spun from human hair, making Toronto Fashion Week debut | Metro". Archived from the original on 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
^ "National Post".

External links

Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity

[1] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20241007121031/https://ccgsd-ccdgs.org//

[2] "Jeremy Dias creates scholarship with rights settlement". Xtra.

[3] "Sharing Jer's Vision". Xtra. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15.

[4] "Jer's Vision Promotes Sexual Equality". The Ottawa Sun.

[5] "I Used to Think I Won the Lottery for Losers". The Globe and Mail.

[6] ttps://ccgsd-ccdgs.org/

[7] "Bullied student tickled pink by schoolmates' T-shirt campaign". CBC. 19 September 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2012.

[8] "Day of Pink". Ottawa Family Living Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2012.

[9] "Jer's Vision and the Day of Pink". Xtra. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.

[10] "Day of Pink campaign comes to Ottawa". The Ottawa Citizen. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012. ^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[11] "Pink Day anti-bullying campaign draws millions of participants worldwide". Yahoo! News The Daily Brew.

[12] "'Gay sweater' made with 100% human hair takes back the phrase 'that's so gay' | CBC News".

[13] Krishnan, Manisha (24 March 2015). "Gay Sweater challenges homophobic expressions | The Star". The Toronto Star.

[14] "Point of pride: 'Gay' sweater takes aim at homophobic language". 24 March 2015.

[15] "Charity's 'gay' sweater, spun from human hair, making Toronto Fashion Week debut | Metro". Archived from the original on 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2015-03-26.

[16] "National Post".

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