New GoFundMe Campaign Aims to Send LGBTQ Youth to 'Fun Home'

A new GoFundMe campaign by Dennis Wickline seeks to raise money to send LGBTQ youth to see the Broadway musical "Fun Home," at about $1500 a pop.

"Growing up around live theater, I have been very fortune to have opportunities to experience some exquisite pieces of art. But none has ever affected me the way 'Fun Home' has," wrote Wickline. "This coming of age piece follows Alison through her dysfunctional childhood and awkward young adulthood as seen through the eyes of her adult self. From her pre-teen years dealing with her father's struggles to hide his sexuality, through college years accepting her own and coming out to her parents, this show delivered a powerful message to me that I have not been able to shake: 'You are not alone'."

In an effort to share this same message with LGBTQ youth, Wickline said that as a gay man, he, "just kept thinking that if this show had been around when I was coming to terms with myself and my sexuality, it would have been comforting to know that I was not alone and that what I was experiencing and WHO I was, was IN FACT... normal. Fortunately for me, I grew up with an incredible support system of people who supported me and loved me for who I am. Sadly, even in this day and age, many youths are not so fortunate."

So Wickline teamed up with youth organizations such as Hatch Youth Montrose Center in Houston, Passages Youth Center in Kansas City, and Time Out Youth Organization in Charlotte to send their youth to see "Fun Home" while it's on tour this year.

He said that even a small donation would help send a message to vulnerable kids that they were not alone. Wickline is starting small, but raising money to send 10 students and 2 chaperones from Hatch Youth Montrose Center�this May.

The campaign was launched today, March 22, and has already raised $130 in less than an hour.