Author details
- Name: Ethan Freedman
- Date: February 9, 2026
- Institution: Columbia University School of Social Work, New York
- Course context: Fundraising and Development (SOCWT712A), Prof. Gabrielle Gilliam
Acknowledgements
In introducing the following work, I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory on which we learn, work, and resource from at Columbia University School of Social Work is land of the Lenape and Wappinger indigenous peoples. Let us commit ourselves to the struggle against the forces that have dispossessed the Lenape, Wappinger, and other indigenous people of their lands.
I would also like to acknowledge Prof. Gabrielle Gilliam and their facilitation of SOCWT712A. With Prof. Baptist’s lecturers, recommended readings, and my additional thoughts – this piece took form. Moreover, all my peers in class who contributed to discussions and building ideas that related to the present topic. With these acknowledgements, I present my following work.
Year-end appeal letter
Dear Aidan,
Across the United States, access to accurate, inclusive, and evidence based health and sexuality information is being ripped away. Decisions made in local, state, and federal settings are shaping what millions of young people and adults are allowed to learn about their bodies, their health, and their rights.
At the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change), we believe that sex and health education is a principal issue. It is a cornerstone of public health, educational equity, and bodily autonomy that all feeds into the agency of individuals in our society. For more than six decades, SIECUS has led national efforts to advance evidence-based sex education policy, protect young people from misinformation, and ensure that educators, families, and policymakers have the tools they need to make informed decisions rooted in science and justice.
This work has never been more urgent. Across the country and globe, comprehensive sex education standards are under threat. They are being replaced by silence, stigma, or ideologically driven curricula that leave people of all ages without information and knowledge needed to stay healthy and safe.
The consequences of these events are very real: higher rates of preventable health outcomes, increased vulnerability to exploitation, and deepened inequities for LGBTQ+ youth, youth of color, and students in marginalized communities.
This is why we reach out to invite your support of SIECUS's work at this critical time. A year-end gift of any value helps SIECUS take on the world at differing capacities. A contribution of $250 dollars can help power national policy advocacy, research translation, and education support efforts to ensure that decision makers have access to accurate information, harmful policies are challenged, and comprehensive health and sexuality education remains grounded in evidence – not fear. Gifts of $100 dollars can help amplify our public education and communications work, while $500 dollars allows us to deepen our capacity to respond quickly to emerging policy threats across multiple states.
Your support directly fuels systemic change. Unlike service delivery alone, policy and advocacy work creates lasting impact that shapes standards, funding priorities, and public narratives affecting generations of people. Advocacy work depends on individual donors like yourself who provide flexible funding that aligns deeply with their own values.
As we approach the end of the year, we invite you to stand with SIECUS and affirm access to honest, inclusive, and medically accurate information about their bodies and health. Thank you for considering a gift in support of this essential work. Together, we can protect and advance health and sexuality education that is rooted in dignity, equity, and evidence.
With gratitude,
Ethan Freedman
Fundraising and Development Office
SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change
P.S. Year-end gifts are especially powerful: they allow us to enter the new year prepared to respond to policy developments as they arise. Your support now helps ensure we’re ready for what comes next.
Thank-you letter
Dear Aidan,
Thank you so much for your generous gift of $250 to SIECUS. We are deeply grateful for your support and your decision to stand with us at a pivotal moment for sex and health education policy and public health. Your generosity sends a powerful message that accurate, inclusive education matters – and that it is worth protecting.
Because of supporters like you Aidan, SIECUS is able to continue advancing evidence based health and sex education at the national level. Your gift helps strengthen our policy advocacy, research translation, and educator support efforts to ensure that lawmakers, schools, and communities have access to credible information and tools grounded in science, equity, and human dignity. This work has an impact well beyond any single classroom, ultimately shaping systems and standards that affect millions of young people and adults across the country.
Your support is an investment in long-term change. As we look ahead, SIECUS is committed to keeping you informed about how your generosity is shaping and making a difference. We aim to steward your gift with transparency and care, and thank you again for being a part of the SIECUS community and helping advance a future where all people have access to the information they need to thrive.
With sincere appreciation,
Ethan Freedman
Fundraising and Development Office
SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change