One month until Action Camp!

“Action Camp is the one thing I look forward to every year. It is the most affirming space I have experienced.”- 2025 Action Camper

As we enter July, we may be winding down the annual celebration of LGBTQ+ liberation, but PHIMC is louder and prouder than ever!

Action Camp, 2025

Organized by PHIMC's Alliance program and Youth Services’ Pride Youth Program since 2018, Action Camp is a five-day sleepaway camp which brings together young leaders from across Illinois to learn from one another and shape the safer schools movement. Young people at Action Camp see their identities reflected back at them, sharpen their critical lenses, strengthen their own anti-oppressive frameworks, share skills, and create space where all identities are safe, supported, affirmed, and celebrated.

PHIMC is proud that no camper is ever turned away for lack of funds. This is due to the support of generous donors who understand what a difference Action Camp makes in the lives of LGBTQ+ young people. We invite you to support Action Camp 2026 with a donation of $20, $50, $100, $250, $500, or $1,000 to help us reach our goal of $20,000.  

This year’s campers will convene under two competing truths – that Illinois continues to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ folks and that the nation continues to find ways to restrict them.  

• In Illinois, we have a new set of laws that strengthen the rights of LGBTQ+ folks by preventing out-of-state parties from using Illinois prescription databases to punish individuals receiving gender-affirming care, removing testosterone from the state's Prescription Monitoring Program, and launching a statewide hotline for free LGBTQ+ legal advice: Tel. 1.855.805.9200, or www.ilprideconnect.org 

• At the federal level, we are angered and disappointed by Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling that allows states to ban transgender women and girls from female school athletic teams. It is a discriminatory and cruel ruling that reinforces negative and false beliefs about our transgender sisters. Thankfully, trans and nonbinary students are still protected under Illinois law. 

This is a critical time for LGBTQ+ youth in America, as they navigate a patchwork of contradicting laws governing their lives. We, however, know that Action Camp helps prepare them for these moments because they tell us in their own words. 

"Action Camp helped me to build confidence in myself, it provided me a space to explore my identity, and it gave me a community of lasting relationships." - 2025 Action Camper

Any donation amount helps us to create the most affirming, magical experience possible with and for our young people. Thank you for reading to the end!

Sincerely,

Julio Flores

Program Director - Alliance

Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago

Pronouns: he/him

Be sure to follow us on social media!

Instagram | LinkedIn