Lancaster County Chooses Love requires the completion of volunteer onboarding training because many of the LGBTQ+ community members have experienced discrimination, misunderstanding, or harm in other spaces, and we want to ensure that every volunteer is fully prepared to support them with respect and dignity. The training covers:
- LGBTQ+ Terminology – to give volunteers the tools to understand and respectfully engage with diverse identities.
- Pronouns and Inclusive Language – to help create a welcoming atmosphere where people feel seen, respected, and affirmed.
- Code of Conduct – to establish shared expectations for professionalism, compassion, and accountability.
By completing this training, volunteers help ensure that Lancaster County Chooses Love is a place where everyone feels safe, valued, and supported. It also empowers volunteers to engage confidently, knowing they are aligned with our mission and best practices in serving the LGBTQ+ community.
Target audiences
- Volunteers
Curriculum
- 4 Sections
- 6 Lessons
- 35 Minutes
- Introduction1 ItemA welcome message from Jessica Purdy (she/her), Executive Partner of Culture and Operations.
- LGBTQ+ Language Basics2 ItemsThis chapter introduces key LGBTQ+ terminology and concepts to help volunteers communicate respectfully and confidently with community members. Through lessons on LGBTQ+ terminology, pronouns, and inclusive language, volunteers will learn foundational definitions, understand the importance of affirming language, and develop practical skills for fostering welcoming, inclusive, and respectful interactions.
- Treating Each Other with Dignity and Respect3 ItemsThis chapter explores the behaviors and expectations that help create a safe, welcoming, and respectful environment for everyone at Lancaster County Chooses Love. Through lessons on respecting boundaries, understanding and preventing microaggressions and misgendering, and the Volunteer Code of Conduct, volunteers will learn how their words and actions can impact others.
- What Have You Learned1 ItemThis chapter provides a brief knowledge check designed to help volunteers confirm their understanding and ensure they feel prepared to represent Lancaster County Chooses Love in a way that promotes respect, inclusion, and psychological safety for all.
Instructor
Jessica Jaymes Purdy (she/her) is an LGBTQ+ advocate, organizational culture strategist, educator, and nonprofit leader specializing in diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, accessibility, organizational culture, and workplace engagement.
As Executive Partner of Culture and Operations for Lancaster County Chooses Love, Jessica oversees organizational culture, policy development, volunteer engagement, and the Inclusion Institute, where she designs and delivers professional education programs focused on LGBTQ+ cultural competency, transgender inclusion, accessibility, equity, and belonging.
Jessica brings more than two decades of leadership experience spanning nonprofit leadership, human resources, organizational development, community engagement, and adult education. Through her work as Founder and CEO of FIC Human Resource Partners, she has developed innovative frameworks and assessment tools used by organizations to improve workplace culture, employee engagement, leadership effectiveness, and inclusion outcomes.
Her expertise is informed by both professional practice and lived experience as a panromantic, asexual transgender woman, allowing her to provide authentic, evidence-informed instruction that bridges policy, practice, and human impact.
