Words by Smiley Team
A youth worker from London has been blown away by people’s generosity in the run up to Christmas.
Tanya Compas is the founder of Exist Loudly, a creative youth organisation set up to support Black LGBTQ+ young people from London.
In 2019, after she was faced with the upset of spending her first Christmas estranged from her family, she decided to start an event called Queer Black Christmas, to re-create the festive season not just for herself, but other black LGBTQ+ young people as well.
“Christmas can be such a lonely and isolating time for Black LGBTQ+ young people and people of all ages, so Queer-Black Christmas became a space for young people to rediscover the joy of Christmas in a space where they didn’t have to hide their identity, or spend it isolated and alone," she said.
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“Last year I ran Queer Black Christmas once again, it was touch-and-go at times because of the pandemic, but we made it happen because the reality is that it’s a lifeline for so many Black LGBTQ+ youth.”
Sadly, this year, a major partner who had promised a huge budget to make this year’s Queer Black Christmas better than ever, pulled out at the last minute, leaving Tanya in the lurch.
She said: “I am genuinely angry, upset and tired. I’ve been working with them for over a month now, I reached out for the bare minimum, they offered the world and less than a week before the event, I have been told they’re pulling out, without any care for our young people.”
Tanya decided to set up a GoFundMe page, to try and raise enough money to deliver the event on her own - and has already met her £6,500 fundraising target.
One person said: “Chosen family has been part of the Queer tradition forever, God bless you for keeping the tradition alive and giving people the joy of Christmas.”
Another person who donated wrote: “You’re great and I hope Queer Black Christmas this year is the best ever.”
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Writing on Twitter, Tanya said: “I have been so overwhelmed by all the support and messages. We’ve fundraised over £6K in less than 24 hours and that’s just wild to me.
“You lot always pull through when it comes to my youth work and I can’t express my gratitude enough. Trust me when I say this Queer Black Christmas will be the most phenomenal yet. Mark my words.”
You can continue to donate to Queer Black Christmas on its GoFundMePage. Find out more about Exist Loudly through its Instagram community.
