Supergirl character inspires fans to donate to LGBT homeless charity
Supergirl’s Maggie Sawyer may not be on the show anymore but she’s still making quite the impact.
The DC Comics character, who was written out of Supergirl earlier in Season 3, has been inspiring many to donate money to a fan-made fundraiser in aid of homeless LGBT youth.
In The CW series, Maggie (Floriana Lima) was first introduced as a National City police detective but soon became a love interest of Supergirl’s sister Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh). It’s safe to say that queer fans were thrilled to finally see themselves represented on a popular, family-friendly television series.
However, it hit viewers hard when Maggie eventually opened up to Alex about her past and how she was outed as a lesbian when she was just 14 years old.
Maggie told Alex that when her parents heard the news, they disowned her and kicked her out of the family home. While hers was a fictitious backstory, her childhood is one that too many LGBT people can sadly relate to.
Maggie Sawyer (played by Floriana Lima, right) was a hugely popular character on the show. Particularly when she and Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh, left) became romantically involved (The CW)
In the US, it is believed that around 640,000 youths, who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, are living on the streets. It is estimated that the figure makes up 40% of all homeless adolescents. It has also been widely reported that LGBT youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their straight, cisgender peers.
Encouraged and angered by Maggie’s heartache – and those staggering statistics – Supergirl fans created the Maggie Sawyer Matters page and started raising funds for True Colors Fund, a non-profit organisation co-founded by Cyndi Lauper in 2008.
The charity works to educate people on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues as well as end homelessness among disadvantaged youths.
So far, the campaign – which was only started on April 12 – has raised $8,533.
Donor Vanessa Napoleone wrote on the Maggie Sawyer Matter page: “I would’ve never been able to accept myself or admit to myself that I like girls if it weren’t for Maggie and Alex’s relationship.”
Meanwhile, an anonymous poster shared why they gave to the cause: “I want all the Maggie Sawyers of the world to know that they deserve that kind of life too. You matter, and you deserve love, happiness, and safety. You deserve a happy ending, even if we didn’t get to see Maggie get hers. I don’t have much to donate, but I’m proud to contribute and help our LGBT youth.”
The campaign has only been live for 12 days but has already made over $8,500 (TrueColorsFund.org)
“What an amazing cause,” Berenice D wrote. “Maggie Sawyer came into my life when I didn’t know I needed her most. A lot of people may say it’s just a show character but she is way more than that. Thanks to her I’ve been almost 8 months clean. I will never ever forget what she did for me.”
Elsewhere, Peruvian donor Mar Otiniano said: “Coming out to my mom was the hardest thing I’ve ever done… she ignored me for months, now she pretends I didn’t come out. It’s hard, but I cannot change how she thinks. Maggie Sawyer matters, cause no one deserves to be kicked out of their home because of who you are, you deserve love, support and happiness.”
