The Power of a Hug - Saving LGBTQ Lives Through Love

** In recognition of National Parent's Day, OGTV wans you to remember to give that special person in your life a hug and remind them how much you love them. **
“Mom, I’ve met someone, and I need you to be okay about it.”
These words, spoken by a child to a parent, are often the end of a lifelong bond. But according to author/activist Sara Cunningham, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Sara is the founder of the non-profit, Free Mom Hugs. Her journey began in conservative Oklahoma, when her son, Parker, came out as gay. As a woman of faith, she struggled with his admission. “I didn’t take the news very well,” she admitted, ”and I said and did some things I regret even to this day.”
She found strength through the love she had for her son to begin to examine the conflict between her religion and what she felt in her heart. Sara started to study, research, and reconcile her two worlds. She found herself on a journey “from the church to the Pride parade”, falling in love with the LGBTQ+ community.
In the process of navigating through beautiful, glitter-covered hugs as well as heart-breaking horror stories, the mission of Free Mom Hugs began. It is now a national organization made up of, and supporting parents of LGBTQ+ children and their allies. These parents are spreading love and understanding of the LGBTQ + community and "Building a Better Tomorrow, One Hug at a Time".
Their updated mission is to go Beyond the Hug, to educate and advocate. “When we know better, we can do better,” Sara teaches. Her passion is to change the narrative so that we as a society, not only learn to affirm the LGBTQ+ community but celebrate them.
To make this happen, Sara and Free Mom Hugs president Katrina Kolb hit the road for a cross country tour to spread their positive message. During a stop in Phoenix, Arizona for a get together with the Safe Out LGBTQ Youth Coalition, event coordinator Isaac Akapnitis summed up his appreciation for the impact Free Mom Hugs is having. “I think that the work of Sara and Katrina is incredible because they really are spreading messages of love and hope and positivity for LGBTQ+ youth.”
Come, join the tour, and see the power of conversation and personal experience in action.
Learn more at: www.freemomhug...
Follow Safe Out on Facebook at: / safeoutaz
To see more OnlyGood TV LGBTQ PRIDE videos, visit us at: bit.ly/OGTVPride
Produced by Dani Guitelman
Edited by Beth Gordon
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