The Laurel Foundation

✨ Help Bring Creative Healing to Camp Mulberry! ✨

At Camp Mulberry, journaling is more than just writing on a page; it is a powerful tool for self-expression, reflection, healing, and processing emotions. For many of our transgender/gender-diverse youth, having a safe space to explore their thoughts and feelings can make a profound difference.

This summer, our campers will have the opportunity to create their own handmade, personalized journals, making each journal a special reflection of who they are. By designing something uniquely their own, youth can build a deeper connection to the journaling process and have a meaningful outlet to help them navigate emotions, celebrate growth, and tell their stories.

We are incredibly grateful to , a talented nonbinary artist, who will be joining us at Camp Mulberry to facilitate this beautiful and empowering workshop with our campers. 💛

We need your help with supplies to make this experience possible! Click the link below to our Amazon Wish List, and help make this program a success.
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/24QLO2V1NF2C3?ref_=wl_share

Thank you for helping us make camp a safe, affirming, and creative space for our campers. 🌈✨

Today is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, a day to recognize the scientists, healthcare workers, advocates, volunteers, and communities working toward a future without HIV/AIDS. ❤️

At The Laurel Foundation, we believe education, prevention, compassion, and access to care are critical in ending the HIV epidemic. Many of the youth we serve are disproportionately impacted by stigma, lack of resources, and barriers to healthcare, making awareness and prevention efforts more important than ever.

We honor everyone participating in HIV vaccine research and those helping to create a healthier and more equitable future for all. Together, through education, support, advocacy, and science, we move closer to an AIDS-free generation.

Yesterday, something unexpected happened at 's office… a beautiful peacock appeared outside our door. 🦚

Peacocks are symbols of hope, renewal, and showing your true colors boldly and proudly, and it felt like the perfect reminder of what camp is all about.

In just over a month, we will welcome youth to camp who are searching for acceptance, confidence, healing, and joy. Many of them arrive carrying anxiety, fear, isolation, or the feeling that they have to hide who they are. But through the love and support of our volunteers, counselors, and community, they leave camp stronger, more empowered, and ready to spread their wings.

It takes a village to create that magic.

As camp gets closer, we are still looking for volunteers, supporters, and helping hands to make this summer unforgettable for over 130 youth. Whether you give your time, donate supplies, or help spread the word, you become part of creating a safe space where young people can truly shine.

To volunteer, email us at [email protected]. To donate and help send kids to camp - click the link - https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=VVSJCZGNJUF96

Maybe that peacock was reminding us that something beautiful is coming. 💙

Join us this Saturday for the opening reception of Relative Strangers, a powerful solo exhibition by nonbinary artist , benefiting

Through their Discarded Snapshots series, explores memory, visibility, and photographic myth through a q***r lens, creating deeply moving works that challenge and inspire.

🖼️ Relative Strangers
📍 Craig Krull Gallery
📅 Exhibition Dates: May 16 – July 4, 2026
✨ Opening Reception: Saturday, May 16 | 5:00 – 7:00 PM
🗣️ Panel Discussion: Saturday, June 6 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Come experience this incredible exhibition while supporting The Laurel Foundation’s mission to empower vulnerable youth through mental health support, education, leadership development, and HIV prevention programs.

We hope to see you there! 💜 More information in bio.

Additionally, Saturday, June 6, 11:00 AM Ayin will be hosting a panel discussion at the gallery called: Queering the Family Album: an intimate conversation with Margot Anderson, Founder, The Laurel Foundation; Holly M., artist and educator; Philip Anderson, writer, critic, and contributor for CARLA (Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles); Matias Viegener, writer, artist, curator, and critic who teaches at CalArts; and exhibiting artist, Ayin Es, as we discuss themes of visibility, family dynamics, and trans identity in contemporary art.

See you there - these works are truly powerful pieces!

🌲 Summer Camp is almost here! 🌲

This summer, The Laurel Foundation will welcome 130 incredible campers to camp for a life-changing week of community, joy, healing, and adventure. 💜

We want to make this summer extra special for every camper, and we need your help!

Please support our Summer Camp Wish List and help us provide the supplies, activities, and essentials that make camp so meaningful for our youth.

Every donation makes a difference and helps create unforgettable memories for the kids we serve. ✨

Thank you for helping us make camp magical! 🌈

Wish List Link:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3NUYTN1YVD4Q6?ref_=wl_share

May is MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH! Youth today are facing unprecedented mental health challenges, and too many are struggling in silence. The Laurel Foundation is working with the Born This Way Foundation and JACK.ORG to give youth and adults the tools to support people through mental health challenges with a free online certificate course – Be There Certificate. LINK BELOW.

https://laurel-foundation.org/generation-be-there-3/

The Be There Certificate empowers you with the skills and confidence to recognize when someone is hurting, start meaningful conversations, and connect them to support. By becoming part of , you’re not just learning, you’re taking action to create a community where no young person feels alone. One caring, informed person can make all the difference.

Be that person. Join The Laurel Foundation in taking this 2-hour self-paced evidence-based course by May 31 and support those who truly need your help. So whether you are 13 and want to support your friends, a caregiver who wants to support those dear to them, or 65 and want to help those around you, this online course will give you the tools to BE THERE. Become a part of BE THERE.

For every 30 persons (13+) who complete the course by May 31, 2026, sonomaprivatewealth.com will donate $5,000 to support The Laurel Foundation’s mental health programs.

LINK to take the BE THERE CERTIFICATE

https://laurel-foundation.org/generation-be-there-3/

Thank you, Pediatric AIDS Coalition at UCLA, for supporting The Laurel Foundation and helping us serve youth impacted by HIV/AIDS while educating young people about HIV prevention. Together, we are working toward an AIDS-free future.

Congratulations on another incredible Dance Marathon! We are proud to partner with you and grateful for your commitment to this important work. 💙

Pediatric AIDS Coalition 2026 Dance Marathon raises $53K for AIDS, HIV awareness - Daily Bruin Slow claps echoed throughout the Ackerman Grand Ballroom minutes before midnight as Dance Marathon attendees chanted the lyrics to “Steal My Girl” by One Direction. The Pediatric AIDS Coalition at UCLA concluded the 10-hour event at 12:18 a.m.

The Laurel Foundation is excited to announce that this summer, we will be hosting a celebratory Camp Laurel Family Camp for children and youth (aged 3-17) affected by HIV/AIDS and their immediate families for the
final time.

This moment marks both a reflection on the profound impact of Camp Laurel over the past 34 years and an important transition in our work. The success of HIV treatment, education, and access to care in the United States has led to significantly lower rates of new HIV infections, an achievement made possible by decades of advocacy, community support, and resilience from the families we serve.

As we look ahead, The Laurel Foundation is evolving our programs to focus on youth who are at risk of HIV, centering prevention, education, mental health support, and community connection. This shift reflects our continued commitment to our founding mission and our belief that the path to an AIDS-free world lies in prevention, early intervention, and empowering young people with the tools they need to thrive.

We hope you will join us September 4–7, 2026, in Angelus Oaks for a meaningful weekend of community, support, celebration, and, of course, camp fun.

Space is limited; applications will open on February 23, 2026. We look forward to coming together to honor our shared history.

Applications open this Monday for RETURNING CAMPERS AND FAMILIES AND VOLUNTEERS.

https://thelaurelfdn.my.site.com/portal/s/login/?language=en_US

Dear Friends of The Laurel Foundation,

As this year comes to a close, I’m writing to you with both gratitude and urgency.

Tonight is the final opportunity in 2025 to make a tax-deductible gift, and more importantly, to change the life of a young person who desperately needs a safe place to belong.

At The Laurel Foundation, we serve youth who are navigating fear, isolation, and uncertainty—many of whom are transgender or gender-diverse, at risk of HIV, and facing systems that too often fail to protect or affirm them. From our founding, we have remained deeply committed to ending AIDS by educating, empowering, and supporting young people with the tools, confidence, and community they need to live healthy, authentic lives.

For these youth, camp is not a luxury. It is a lifeline.

It costs $2,600 to host one camper for one life-changing week at our programs. That single week can mean the difference between a young person feeling alone or feeling hope. Between silence and finding their voice. Between surviving—and truly believing they matter.

Your support makes this possible.

No matter the amount, your gift helps us provide cost-free programs, mental health support, HIV education, mentorship, and a safe, affirming community to youth who need it most. Every dollar goes directly toward creating spaces where young people can heal, grow, feel valued, and imagine a healthier, brighter future in 2026.

Your donation is 100% tax-deductible, and tonight is the last chance this year to make that impact.

Please consider making a gift before midnight. Every contribution matters, and every contribution changes a life.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for believing in our mission, our youth, and the power of compassion.

With deepest gratitude,

The Laurel Foundation

Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year!

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=VVSJCZGNJUF96

Natalie Sofer Events