Manitou Springs High School’s GSTA club hosted a movie night on April 3, the movie took place in the media center. They planned the event to fundraise money for the organization Inside Out Youth Services.
The club showed Pixar’s “Luca”. They decided to play this movie because of how it is family friendly and enjoyed by most people. They also decided to play the movie because of its relevance to the queer community. “There are some subtle queer undertones,” Katelynn Tillery, the GSTA club advisor, said. “A lot of members of the queer community kind of flocked to that movie.”
The club wanted to host a movie night because they felt it was an activity that would attract and interest all students within the community. “We wanted to do a movie night because it’s more of a general thing that we can target towards the whole audience of our school, and not just specific people,” Lee Hagerty (10), the president of GSTA, said. “We wanted to be more involved in the different activities that our school does.”
The idea for the club to host a movie night originated in the past, but the club had never got around to it due to hectic planning. After a lot of work, they were finally able to make it happen this year. “We originally wanted it to be in the beginning of March, and then it just kind of took a while to hear back from the admin,” Tillery said. “Then we wanted to do it during Stampede Week, but I didn’t even know that Stampede Week was a thing. So we were trying to figure out when would be early enough in the year to still do it, and that’s how we just fell on the week after break.”
The organization that the profits from the event went to is called the Inside Out Youth Services. They provide spaces and plan events for LGBTQIA2+ youth in Colorado Springs. This organization was already known about by most members in the club due to its prominence in the community. “When we were thinking about who we wanted to donate to, that was just the obvious answer,” Tillery said. “They are the largest and maybe the only organization that’s specifically for our local area and community.”
The club feels that this organization is important because It provides essential resources and helps students and youth feel like they belong. “The number one killer for queer kids is suicide, and studies show that suicide rates are drastically reduced in queer youth when they have even one supportive adult in their life,” Tillery said. “We are able to partner or support an organization that can help them connect with people their age, mentors, clothing, help them with feeling safe at school and drastically reduce the risk of suicide, which I think is so so important for anyone. That’s why we feel so strongly about supporting them.”
Hagerty also feels that this organization strongly represents the club’s values that they prioritize within the school. “Our club focuses a lot on community and minorities,” Hagerty said. “So the certain organization we donate to is centered to help that community, and we feel like it’s gonna really improve the spirit of our club and the whole idea of community and our values.”
Ultimately the club did not make any profits from their movie night. Tillery, however, is not upset about any loss of money because it was the club’s first fundraiser. “Our club president’s main goal for this club was to really get more active, not just in the school community, but in the local community as well,” Tillery said. It was less about the money that we made and more about just putting something on for the school community and offering a space for those who wanted to come and enjoy the movie.”
Tillery says the club hopes to plan more fundraisers and events in the future, but they will need to start planning more ahead of time. “That has been our goal all year round,” Tillery said. “We wanted to plan something for Valentine’s Day, but it was too late; and we wanted to do something last year for Halloween, but it was too late. It’s really just about getting it planned ahead of time and also advertising it to help people know that it’s happening.”
Margo Ramos (9) feels that the club’s movie night went very well and gave them an opportunity to participate in school events and fundraising. “I think the movie night was successful,” Ramos said. “Not many people came, but we do appreciate who did come. I think overall, the peers and every member enjoyed it because it wasn’t really stressful, since it was a very laid back day for all of us.”
