Date: Wed, 6 Aug 1997 16:36:50 -0700 From: richter@eecs.berkeley.edu (Jean Richter) Subject: 8/6/97 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. CA: Gay youth fundraiser in Los Angeles; LYRIC is seeking volunteers 2. VA: Successful high school safe zones program 3. WA: Church supports distributing books on LGB families to school libraries ======================================================================== ****************************************************************************** ****** For Immediate Release 8/6/97 "MONEY FOR YOUTH" PARTY RAISES FUNDS FOR SCHOLARSHIPS AND YOUTH CONFERENCE In the past, some A-list parties in L.A. have raised money for AIDS and political campaigns. These days, youth needs are a new and pressing cause for fundraising, as college tuitions soar and some newly-out youth find families unwilling to pay for their education. On August 2, at the elegant Hollywood Hills homes of Chris Price, with its view over the glittering L.A. nightscape, 250 notable Angelenos gathered to raise money for the upcoming Models of Pride Youth Conference (October 25) and the new Models of Excellence Scholarship Fund. Both are activities of the Gay and Lesbian Education Commission of the Los Angeles Unfied School District. The scholarship fund is part of GLEC's Project 10. Guests were welcomed by 10 youth hosts, including L.A. youth commissioner Louis Harvey, who were there to speak to the guests about the important of community-based economic support for LGBT youth educational needs. Adult hosts included notables like David Mixner, Rev. Nancy Wilson of MCC, Virginia Uribe, filmmaker Nicole Conn, L.A. Board of Education member Jeff Horton. Each of the adult hosts committed to buy a $50 ticket, and bring in two or three other ticket-buyers. The party is a no-promoter-fee affair with minimal costs, making it possible to donate most of the proceeds. The crowd was an eclectic mix of educators, activists, youth workers, business and film-industry people. The party was organized by a working group consisting of GLEC commissioner Patricia Nell Warren, financial adviser David Hunt, attorney Stephen Monkarsh and businessman Chris Price, who are committed to raising L.A. community consciousness on youth educational needs. Several new members have joined the group, who are already into planning for next year. Patricia Nell Warren Media Outreach Gay and Lesbian Education Commission Los Angeles Unified School District =================================================================== Date: Wed, 06 Aug 1997 14:05:35 -0800 From: LYRIC Organization: Lavender Youth Recreation & Information Center Subject: LYRIC is looking for queer youth volunteers! The Lavender Youth Recreation & Information Center in San Francisco is getting ready to train new volunteers in a variety of positions! Upcoming trainings include rap group & workshop facilitators, Talkkline Listeners, Classroom Speakers and Event Planners. LYRIC is a peer-based agency for queer & questioning youth under 24 which offers drop-in, activities, major events and referrals for young people throughout the Bay Area. Contact info for all trainings is listed at the end of this announcement! Our upcoming volunteer trainings are as follows: Young men's rap group/workshop facilitators: Call Alfonso or James for more info. about this training, which takes place August 23-24. Another training may happen this October, too! Get trained to lead groups and workshops for other bi, gay, questioning and trans youth. Young women's rap group facilitators and event planner: Call Rebecca for more info. about this training, to be held in early September. All lesbian, bisexual and questioning women and transgender youth under 24 are encouraged to call. Talkline Listeners: Call Anne or Zak to sign-up for this October training. Listeners give referrals and resources, and provide support, to queer and questioning youth who call or e-mail the Talkline. Help other youth and have fun! Speakers Bureau volunteers: Call Rachel for info. about this training, which takes place Sept. 23, 25, and 27th. You'll learn public speaking skills and talk with classes, community organizations and the media about being young and queer. To sign up and get info, get in touch with us in one of the following ways: Call the Talkline at 800/246-PRIDE (Bay Area) or 415/431-8812 (TDD), or e-mail the Talkline at . You can also contact the Talkline just to chat with another young person. Call the LYRIC office at 415/703-6150, or email the office at . Get involved and meet lots of new people, learn skills and share your experiences with other queer youth. Call us now! ============================================================ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 10:37:04 -0400 To: Multiple recipients of list , Subject: RE: Safe Zones programs Dear David and all of Schools, I implemented two years ago a program at the high school I attended (while I was still a student there) called "Project Safe Haven" which involved little decals for teachers to place on the doors to their rooms or offices. The decal specifically stated that the area in which the decal was displayed was safe for gay, lesbian, bisexual and questioning students. Several teachers immediately displayed them, and the principal accepted a sticker, though I never learned if he displayed it (several other people told me he did). The school, surprisingly, is in Prince William county in Northern Virginia, a generally conservative area. The name of the school is Stonewall Jackson HS, and as far as I know the program is still in place. I did personally speak with each teacher about what I hoped the program would entail and I did my best to answer any questions they had. Our school paper ran an article about the project in which I explained it (and came out to the school at large). I was amazed by the positive response from both students and teachers at the school. Anyhow, just thought I'd let you know about that program... I don't think it ever received any "airtime" (at least not that I was a part of) because the only responses were from neutral to positive. Tashi Deleg, =============================================================== Date: Tue, 05 Aug 1997 19:04:27 +0000 From: Linda Gasparovic Organization: The Creative Spot Subject: Church support of school books on diversity Here is the draft of our congregation's most recent letter-writing efforts (preceeded by Rev. Jan Bolerjack's reading of one of the controversial books to the children during the Sunday morning service at "Children's Time"). It was signed after the service by members and attendees and forwarded to the School Board. Five of our members (including our pastor Jan) are slated to speak at their upcoming meeting Aug. 13 (and several more of us plan to attend to lend our moral support!) We, of course, would welcome other friendly faces in the audience at this meeting. Linda ------------------------------ August 1, 1997 Linda Harris School Board President Seattle Public Schools 815 4th Ave. North Seattle, WA 98109 Dear Ms. Harris: We, the members and friends of Ravenna United Methodist Church, are writing in support of the Seattle School Board's decision to include age appropriate books about gay and lesbian families in our Seattle Public School libraries. As a church, we are committed to supporting all children within our community regardless of the family structures in which they are raised. Children from single parent, multicultural, multiracial, or same-sex families need to see the same respect shown to their families as is shown to the "more traditional" families. We want all children to feel a sense of pride in their families and in their heritage. One way to accomplish this is to provide our children access to books and materials that show children being raised in a variety of different settings. Thank you for taking the steps necessary to ensure that children from gay and lesbian families can find themselves represented on the shelves of their school libraries. Sincerely, (Ravenna United Methodist Church individual member/friends signatures) ============================================================ Jean Richter -- richter@eecs.berkeley.edu The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) CHECK OUT OUR INFO-LOADED WEB PAGE AT: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/