Proud Changemakers is a group made up purely of volunteers. So when Pride month and Volunteers Week collided we knew we had to make an episode celebrating the queer volunteers in our group and across civil society.

Here we have our Lucy Straker (she/they) and Catherine Goodall (she/her) talking about the benefits volunteering has especially for LGBTQIA+ folks. Choice, community and a chance to develop skills - that's what good volunteering can give you when done right.

Lucy and Catherine have spent a lot of time working on improving the landscape for volunteering over the years in their day jobs - which is why they (and a bunch of other lovely folks) decided to set up a volunteer based group called Proud Changemakers. And here they talk us through some of that knowledge.

Also we take a moment to thank all LGBTQIA+ volunteers across civil society who are making a massive difference even if they don't always know it.

If you would like to volunteer with Proud Changemakers we currently have two volunteer roles open:

• Deputy CEO (Governance)
• Marketing and communications lead

Find out more about the work we do and who we are here.

This episode was inspired by it being Volunteers Week. Find out more about that here.

Music was by ⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠

And how does it intersect with the queer community?

That's the challenge we set ourselves with this podcast. So join Graysen, Paige and Lucy as they discuss all the various terminology, the history of non monogamy, their personal experiences, the myths and assumptions, and finally how non monogamy sits within the LGBTQIA+ community.

If you have any questions for the team about this topic or anything else connected to the LGBTQIA+ community then get in touch. Our email is proudchangemakers@gmail.com or take a look at our socials and sign up to our newsletter at https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers

What do you know of Annie Hindle? Betsy Bonehill? Ella Shields and Hetty King? Maybe even Vesta Tilley?

Well they were all successful drag kings from history - or male impersonators as they were known then.

In this episode, SAYiT's Fiona Moorcroft (she/her) takes us through a brief history of these amazing humans and how they dominated the stage impersonating men of their eras - some more inclusively than others.

Photos of these drag kings will be shared on our socials so use this link to find your preferred social media outlet and take a look at these fabulous humans. Whilst you are there please do give us a follow.

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience as part of our LGBTQ+ History Month series in February 2024 at Weston Park Museum in Sheffield - which forms part of Sheffield Museums who are also a charity.

SAYiT, who researched and organised the talk, is an LGBTQIA+ youth charity in South Yorkshire.

If you enjoyed this episode why not rate, review and subscribe as this helps others find the podcast. Plus take a look at our other episodes - especially those from our LGBTQ+ History Month series. Thank you to Vitaly Levkin for the music and to all the Proud Changemakers out there.