On 23 May, the former NBA Hall of Famer and 16-year-old model took to Instagram to announce their new non-profit Translatable – which is supported by The Trevor Project and Human Rights Campaign.
“Translatable aims to serve as a community safe space for youth to express themselves through several creative outlets,” Zaya explained alongside her father.
“Here we focus on communities of colour, center the most marginalised and emphasise the importance of parents and family.”
Dwyane echoed similar sentiments, describing Translatable as a resource hub for parents, families and support systems of LGBTQIA+ youth.
“For our family, we were blessed to have a community of supporters and knowledgeable experts who could swiftly arm us with the tools we needed to support Zaya and her journey,” the basketball legend continued.
“We recognise the lack of digestible and relatable information available to youth and families, especially communities of colour, and to this day, we are still learning.”
Dwyane went on to praise Zaya for being his “biggest educator and inspiration for what it means to be true to you.”
“That’s why it’s so important to create a collaborative space for the community to participate in the conversation and express themselves freely,” he said.
Towards the end of their statement, Zaya teased that new content, resource guides and interactive features will be available on the Translatable website in the coming months.
On the same day as their exciting announcement, Dwyane opened up to The Associated Press about how the non-profit came to be while attending the Elevate Prize Foundation’s Make Good Famous Summit.
“The question was presented to her as, ‘If you have one thing that you want to see change in this community, what would it be?” the 42-year-old explained.
“And, for her, it goes right to parents. It goes right to the adults. It goes right to us. It’s not the kids. It’s us. And so she wanted to create a space that felt safe for parents and their kids. That’s what Translatable is, and it’s her baby.”
For more information about Translatable, click here.