Our Crowdfunding Groups
The Sex Squad began when a group of UCLA students and staff were inspired by South African artist and AIDS activist Pieter-Dirk Uys to harness humor and personal storytelling in order to transform sexual health education for a new generation.
(Above left: Make Art/Stop AIDS, Art & Global Health Center-Africa)
(Above right: UCLA Sex Squad performing at a LAUSD High School)
Led by Sex Squad Founder Bobby Gordon, a group of committed artist-activists created funny, educational skits concerning STI and HIV/AIDS prevention, testing and treatment, consent, teen pregnancy, self-love and more. They partnered with the Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) HIV/AIDS Prevention unit and toured LAUSD high schools to share their spoken word, dance, and theater pieces with relatable, entertaining educational messages, and…
…it worked. And thus, the Sex Squad movement was born...
Over the last seven years the UCLA Sex Squad has grown to an annual 3-course series and community engagement program serving tens of thousands of teens in Los Angeles. Inspired by the success of the UCLA program, over the last several years Sex Squads launched in new locations: allowing new voices to take humorous and honest approaches to otherwise taboo topics.
(Above right and left: Fall 2016 UCLA Sex Squad)
Now, thousands of students in Los Angeles, North Carolina, and South Africa are receiving the benefits of the transformational Sex Squad educational process. With the help of the UCLA Art & Global Health Center, high school students at 5 partner sites have created their own Sex Squads to address issues of health and social justice on their campuses. But there are so many more to reach!
We want to reach each and every student in Los Angeles with our live programs! We know from our research that after watching our show, sexually active students were four times more likely to get tested for HIV, but we just can’t make it to every school.
So we’re making a new movie and digital platform featuring the UCLA and High School Sex Squads!
If we provided a free-of-cost film and digital toolkit for health teachers, community health educators and students, more than 60,000 9th graders in Los Angeles could engage with the Sex Squad’s innovative content. Last year Governor Jerry Brown signed the CA Healthy Youth Act into existence: making comprehensive sexual health education mandatory for students grade 7 through 12. Our digital toolkit could help provide these teachers with innovative arts-based content to create educational, relatable, and brave spaces in their classrooms.
(Above left: A still of The Most Protected Man from "Bringing Safe Sexy Back")
(Above right: Taft Sex Squad performing at the 2016 High School Sex Squad Festival)
Using the artistic and educational expertise from the UCLA Art & Global Health Center, we intend to create a NEW Sex Squad film! Building off of the success of the 2013 UCLA Sex Squad film, "Bringing Safe Sexy Back," and the 2015 “Come As You Are,” we will conduct a Spring 2017 course at UCLA where students, educators, professional filmmakers and artists will come together to create a resource that has the potential of exponential reach! Plus, we are making this movie the most inclusive yet: featuring the work of High School Sex Squads and Sex-Ed Squads at Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, and (coming soon) North Carolina Central University!
Fund the UCLA Sex Squad film today!
We have 30 days to raise $10,000 to support the UCLA Sex Squad’s arts-activist work in our Los Angeles community and beyond. Your help can provide this vital resource to the greater Los Angeles community and beyond. Plus, your gift will go twice as far!
Our amazing supporters, The David and Linda Shaheen Foundation, have made a challenge gift commitment to match each and every dollar contributed to this campaign up to $10,000! If we raise $10,000 through this SPARK campaign, we will receive $20,000!
With $20,000 we will reach our full movie budget and be able to create a new digital platform. We will hire curriculum writers and a web designer to make this digital content the most accessible, usable, and sexy sexual health resource on the web!
Please consider a tax-deductible gift to our UCLA Spark campaign. Every gift of any size matters (because Sex Squad is very inclusive)!
In order to meet our goal, we need to spread the word far and wide. Please share our project with friends and family on Twitter and Facebook. It’s the UCLA Art & Global Health Center’s 10 year anniversary this year so we’re celebrating it with an ask for $10,000 dollars for arts-activism: and we'll be trending with the hashtags #10for10 in honor of this landmark year as well as #SparkSexSquad and #SquadGoals (because don’t we all need a little more Sex Squad in our lives?).
Thank you so much for your gift and your support of the UCLA and High School Sex Squads!
Thanks for donation! Please check us out on Twitter and Facebook to see a shout out just for you!
Thanks for playing a part in our story. With this donation your name will be listed in the movie's credits – immortality for only $25! You'll also receive a thank you postcard from UCLA Sex Squad, and check out the UCLA Sex Squad’s Facebook/Twitter page for a shout-out.
Thanks for encouraging us in all the right ways! With this gift you'll receive a digital copy of the new Sex Squad movie and your name listed in the movie's credits. We'll also send a personalized thank you postcard from UCLA Sex Squad, and check out the UCLA Sex Squad’s Facebook/Twitter page for a special shout-out.
Thanks for helping to make the world a safer and sexier place. With this donation we'll gleefully gift you your very own UCLA Sex Squad t-shirt. You will also enjoy a VIP ticket package to UCLA Sex Squad’s Valentine’s Sex-travaganza show on February 10: includes 2 prime reserved seats, 2 glasses of wine*/or beverage of choice, a condom corsage, and a special after-show goodie (*must be 21 years or older.) Additional thanks include a digital copy of the new Sex Squad movie, your name listed in the movie's credits, a personalized thank you postcard from UCLA Sex Squad, and check out the UCLA Sex Squad’s Facebook/Twitter page for a special shout out! (tax deductible donation of $67)
Thank you for waving your magic wand and helping to make our dreams come true! With this donation you'll receive a Personalized Original Work of Art from the UCLA Art & Global Health Center staff – including, but not limited to, a framed poem from Bobby Gordon, a framed poem from Elisabeth Nails, a drawing by Gabrielle Bonder, a dance lesson with Veline Mojarro. You'll also be gifted a UCLA Sex Squad t-shirt, and enjoy a VIP ticket package to UCLA Sex Squad’s Valentine’s Sex-travaganza show on February 10: includes 2 prime reserved seats, 2 glasses of wine*/or beverage of choice, a condom corsage, and a special after-show goodie (*must be 21 years or older.) We'll also provide you with a digital copy of the new Sex Squad movie, your name will be listed in the movie's credits, and we'll be thrilled to send a personalized thank you postcard from UCLA Sex Squad. Stay tuned to the UCLA Sex Squad’s Facebook/Twitter page for an extra special shout-out! (tax deductible donation of $467)
WOW! Thanks for your generous support. With this donation, you become an Executive Producer with your name listed in the movie's credits. You will also be presented with an extra special Golden Condom Award. You will be honored with a Personalized Original Work of Art from the UCLA Art & Global Health Center staff – including, but not limited to, a framed poem from Bobby Gordon, a framed poem from Elisabeth Nails, a drawing by Gabrielle Bonder, a dance lesson with Veline Mojarro. In addition, you'll receive a UCLA Sex Squad t-shirt, a VIP ticket package to UCLA Sex Squad’s Valentine’s Sex-travaganza show on February 10: includes 2 prime reserved seats, 2 glasses of wine*/or beverage of choice, a condom corsage, and a special after-show goodie (*must be 21 yo.) We'll send you a digital copy of the new Sex Squad movie, a thank you postcard from UCLA Sex Squad, and check-out the UCLA Sex Squad’s Facebook/Twitter page for a Executive Producer shout-out! (a tax deductible donation of $967)