TRANS:THRIVE CLIENTS CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING

On Thanksgiving, Trans:Thrive played host to "Transgiving," the first Thanksgiving celebration thrown on Thanksgiving day for Trans:Thrive clients. Between 30 and 40 people were expected for this first ever event, but over 50 showed up. "It was a Transgiving miracle that we still had enough food to feed everyone, but we ended up with a lot of leftovers that we were able to send people home with," said Erin Armstrong, Trans:Thrive Program Specialist and co-organizer with Niko Kowell, Trans:Thrive Program Assistant.

"The Holidays can be a really hard time for any one in the LGBT community," says Erin. "After coming out many people are ostracized by their family and aren't able to go home for the Holidays. As a result they often end up feeling left out and alone during a time of year that is all about coming together. In many of these cases, places like Trans:Thrive become a persons chosen family, and events like this give us the chance to come together and celebrate that.

"This event was very special to me personally because after I transitioned I was one of those people that weren't able to go home for the Holidays. A very close friend of mine decided to put together a big Thanksgiving event for all of the transgender people in the area who were in a similar position; she called it Transgiving. That Thanksgiving holiday was one of my favorite Holiday experiences, so I jumped at the opportunity to continue the tradition."

Volunteers worked the night before and early on Thanksgiving, cooking three turkeys, two hams, 30 lbs of mashed potatoes, 8 delicious pies and much more, as well as setting up the space. Erin said, "Transgiving this year exceeded all of my wildest expectations and was an extremely moving experience for me personally."