PRESS RELEASE - March 23, 2023
Writer/Director/Actor Shelley Thompson is delighted to announce the creation of a new fund, to support trans youth, at Phoenix Youth Programs.

 

The DAWN Fund was launched on March 31, 2023, the International Trans Day of Visibility, with a series of screenings of Thompson’s feature film DAWN, HER DAD & THE TRACTOR, winner of the 2022 Nova Scotia Masterworks Prize. Now domiciled at the COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NOVA SCOTIA the fund is overseen by a committee of six individuals:  Julien Davis, Aimee MacDonald, Nolan Pike, Alex Hosein, VEronic Merryweather, and Shelley Thompson.

 

DAWN, HER DAD & THE TRACTOR tells the story of a young trans woman returning home after the death of her mother to make peace with her estranged father.  As Dawn and her dad begin to restore the old family tractor, they cautiously rebuild their relationship and come to understand the mechanics of the heart.  The story evolved from Thompson’s experience of living in a rural Nova Scotia setting and being a parent to a young trans man - singer-songwriter T. Thomason.

 

On March 31, 2023, funds raised at a number of screenings in schools, universities, churches and public libraries will bolster the fund. Thompson’s hope is to see every March 31st helping to build and continue the fund with educational screenings like those listed below.

  

You can make a donation to the DAWN fund