“My son is a fighter…he makes everyone smile.”  That’s what Benji’s mom wrote to us when she began to describe her 14-year-old son. Despite long-term complications since birth, including a diagnosis of cerebral palsy and receiving over 25 surgeries to manage abnormal amounts of fluid in his brain, Benji’s family has always figured out a…

Imagine for a moment that you have just left everything you have ever known – not by choice – but as a means of survival. The journey to escape has cost you so much already and if you are able to survive it, you arrive at the shores of a new country and at the…

“I feel “sister’ed up” in a way that shines light on my path ahead and helps me baby step forward…” wrote Tessa, a recent grant recipient. We first met Tessa through her lifelong friend, Bridget. Despite the ocean that lay between them, Bridget and Tessa couldn’t be closer. “It is one of the deepest, truest…

Dearest Together Rising Community,   We will make this message short and (very) sweet! Because of YOUR support – Together Rising community – we are donating $150,000 to OUTMemphis to support LGBTQ+ youth in the Mid-South!  Everyday, OUTMemphis is literally making a way out of no way by creating a pipeline out of Tennessee and the…

We need your help TODAY to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community who are under attack by nearly 500 new anti-LGBTQ bills this year alone. Please go to this link to help!   At Together Rising, we believe in bodily autonomy, but this right could end in Tennessee this Saturday, July 1, the date…

In recognition of June as #GunViolenceAwarenessMonth, our Executive Director, Dr. Sonya Anderson, bravely shares her own story of how gun violence changed her family’s life forever. Every single day in this country, families struggle from the scourge of gun violence. In fact, to date in this country, there have been more mass shootings than days…

In honor of Pride Month, we’re sharing Heather’s story and how YOU helped keep her family afloat. Heather bravely came out as gay a few years ago, which then led to the separation from her husband. Despite all the change that the separation caused, Heather maintained a close relationship with her mother-in-law whose death shortly…

In celebration of Juneteenth, our Executive Director, Dr. Sonya Anderson and our Board Member, Austin Channing Brown, have come together to talk about all things Black joy and love. Listen as Austin shares her deep belief about how joy can be an engine for the life she wants to lead, and as Sonya shares her…

At Together Rising, we believe that families belong together. We celebrate today’s Supreme Court decision as an overdue affirmation of the importance of keeping Indigenous families together. Decades-long federal practices of forcibly removing Indigenous children from their families—via adoption, foster care placements, and mandated boarding schools—have inflicted grave harm on Indigenous communities. Less than two…

We are delighted to kick off #PrideMonth by recognizing an incredible teacher and group of 8th graders committed to creating a more inclusive community at their San Diego school. Liana – a middle school math and special education teacher – recognized an opportunity to help build community and create a safe space for the amazing…