Big Issues

It’s Not Too Late To Throw A Picnic To Help Young LGBTIQ+ Australians

Picnic for Pinnacle is an adorable picnic fundraiser that encourages friends, family and workplaces to raise much-needed funds for young LGTBIQ+ Australians who have been disadvantaged because of their identity.

by Merryana Salem  14 February 2021
Picnic for Pinnacle

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Not that you need extra incentives to host a picnic, but if you do before the end of March you’d be helping the Pinnacle Foundation raise money to keep young LGBTIQ+ Australians in education.

Picnic for Pinnacle is an adorable picnic fundraiser that encourages friends, family and workplaces to raise much-needed funds for young LGTBIQ+ Australians who have been disadvantaged because of their identity to reclaim their path. The Pinnacle Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation providing scholarships, mentoring and opportunities for young LGBTIQ+ Australians to create a more inclusive society with more visible LGBTIQ+ role models.

Marriage equality wasn’t the one-stop-shop for ending the growing inequity of LGBTIQ+ Australians. Health Australia research has concluded that young adults in the LGBTIQ+ communities are still between five and 11 times more likely to attempt self-harm or experience psychological distress directly related to experiences of stigma, prejudice, discrimination, bullying or abuse.

Picnic for Pinnacle is running until March 31. It’s a great way to continue Pride celebrations throughout Australia, especially with so many Mardis Gra events cancelled or reduced due to Covid-19. It’s also a very pleasant and delicious way show your allyship for your LGBTIQ+ loved ones.

So, how do you partake in Picnic for Pinnacle? Their website has all the details, including how to register your picnic, posters to put up to prote your picnic, and even recipie tips and ideas.

The first step is to decide whether you’re going to host a picnic privately or for your workplace. There are slightly different registration and donation processes for both. So, make sure you know before you sign up and register your picnic.

Step 2? Set a donation goal, date and location for your picnic. Remember you need to host your picnic between now and March 31 to get your donations in on time.

The third step is inviting your fellow picnicers. Picnic for Pinnacle’s site has invitation templates, posters for your workplace and sign up sheets to help with that too.

Step 4 is food planning. You can check out the picnic recipes on Picnic for Pinnacle’s site, or maybe you wanna uber eats your picnic, or have everyone bring a little something.

Finally, host your picnic and collect donations. Pretty straight forward, eat and be merry and collect funds for a great cause!

Also, take photos of your picnic and post them on Instagram and tag @pinnaclefoundation using the hashtag #PicnicForPinnacle for your chance to win fantastic prizes!

Please, check out Picnic for Pinnacle’s website for all the details and remember to host your picnic between now and the end of March!

Merryana Salem is a proud Wonnarua and Lebanese–Australian writer, critic, teacher, researcher and podcaster on most social media as @akajustmerry. If you want, check out her podcast, GayV Club where she gushes about LGBT rep in media with her best friend. Either way, she hopes you ate something nice today.