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Our History
The story of PRISM
Learn about our journey from a high school club to an internationally recognized non-profit.
The Beginning
On March 29th, 2019, four students met in a classroom at Boca Raton Community High School. Feeling dejected by staff and student leadership at the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, they were deadset on getting a fresh start, creating a space where LGBTQ+ students could feel safe and affirmed. Pushed into a corner by school administration, we set our sights on expanding beyond the school to impact LGBTQ+ youth in South Florida.
Forming a Non-Profit
On April 27th, 2020, PRISM Boca High became PRISM FL, Inc in the wake of a global pandemic. As schools, restaurants, and businesses shut down, so too did nonprofits that had served our community for decades. The difference is that while others took to social media out of survival, the Internet was already our home.
Getting Into Advocacy
In January 2022, the Florida House of
Representatives introduced HB1557. While supposedly meant to give parents more involvement in their children’s education, it quickly found a new, much more accurate nickname: the “Don’t Say LGBTQ” bill. PRISM sprang into action, making several treks all the way up to the Capitol building in Tallahassee. But this was just the beginning.
Taking it to Schools
In April 2022, PRISM expanded its advocacy work on the local level when we joined the fight for comprehensive sex education in Miami-Dade County. Since then, we’ve continued fighting for inclusive schools and curricula in South Florida. In September of that same year, we rallied the community to push MDCPS to recognize October as LGBTQ+ History Month.
The Present
In the three years since our founding, PRISM has exploded into a thriving, diverse, youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has already transformed the way that youth interact with LGBT resources. And, with the start of the PRISM Student Ambassador Program, we came full circle: Boca Raton Community High School’s GSA became an inaugural member.