Philly Family Pride, a nonprofit agency dedicated to bringing together LGBT-headed families in the Philadelphia region, will host its third annual Family Matters Conference this month.
The conference will take place at Arcadia University, in Glenside, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 20. This marks the first time Arcadia has hosted the event.
“Our annual conference is a really great day for LGBT parents and prospective parents to get together,” said Stephanie Haynes, PFP community coordinator. “In the past, it has been a great opportunity to network.”
The conference will feature 13 workshops and a panel featuring teenager and adult children of LGBT parents.
This year the conference will have three themes: Welcoming Schools, Growing Your Family and Knowing Your Rights.
Welcoming Schools will include programs on how to prevent children from being bullied in schools, home schooling for LGBT children and school settings for gender non-conforming children. The program will also focus on the partnerships between educators and families.
“We are hoping it gives parents some tools on how schools should handle the issues,” Haynes said.
Growing Your Family will focus on prospective families and allow them to learn how others created their families.
Knowing Your Rights will overview how same-sex marriages translate in certain states and the difference between marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships as well as inform guests about their legal rights regarding estate-planning and other protections.
The conference’s legal clinic will also allow guests to sit with a Mazzoni Center attorney to ask questions pertaining to their legal rights.
The conference will feature keynote speaker Dr. Graciela Slesaranksy-Poe, who is an associate professor at Arcadia University’s School of Education.
“For the past two years, Graciela has been one of the most popular presenters. She is fantastic,” Haynes said.
Slesaransky-Poe will speak on creating a safe and welcoming environment for children at their schools.
“The issue of welcoming schools was so well-attended in the past that we decided to expand that into a theme,” Haynes said. “This is for families that are either thinking about sending their kids to school or already have kids in schools.”
In the past, the conference has been held at Bryn Mawr College and Widener University, but Haynes said the organization likes to move the conference around so it is more accessible for all members of the community.
“Arcadia University has been awesome, especially the School of Education,” Haynes said.
Arcadia provided the space for the conference.
Haynes hopes the conference allows prospective parents to learn how other people created their families.
“It really seems valuable to them. They come and see all the people with kids,” Haynes said.
Educators are invited to attend two workshops for free from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. They can also attend lunch and the panel as well. Educators who attend the workshops will get ACT continuing-education credit.
Whole Foods-Jenkintown will provide breakfast, and lunch will also be provided.
Admission to the conference is through registration only.
The fee is $15 for PFP members and $25 for non-members before Oct. 8. and will go up $5 after. Free childcare will also be provided for children ages 3-11. Toddlers and infants are welcomed to accompany their parents throughout the day.
For more information, visit www.phillyfamilypride.org or email Haynes at [email protected].