From: communications@pflag.org Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 10:42:15 -0500 Subject: PFLAG President to Meet With Clinton Today Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 22, 1997 CONTACT: Ryan LaLonde rlalonde@pflag.org 202/638-4200 PFLAG PRESIDENT TO MEET WITH CLINTON TODAY Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) President Nancy McDonald hopes to bring the views of nearly 70,000 PFLAG households from across the country to President Bill Clinton during a White House meeting today, July 22. "We are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors and friends who want to live in a society where everyone is valued," said McDonald, a community educator who lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "We are seeking to create 'safe space' for everyone, and especially in our schools and communities. I hope that Clinton and his Administration will join us in this work," she said. PFLAG President McDonald is scheduled to meet with Clinton in today's private meeting alongside a dozen gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community activists. PFLAG, a national family organization currently serving more than 400 communities, has been headed by McDonald since October 1996. She coordinated the group's public educational program, Project Open Mind, during its initial launch in Tulsa, and is the founder of the city's PFLAG chapter. McDonald is an education consultant, having previously worked in the Tulsa Public Schools developing and coordinating the School Volunteer Program and Partnerships in Education with Business and Industry. Her many honors include being named Tulsa Woman of the Year and Administrator of the Year by Tulsa Classroom Teachers. She and her husband of 35 years have five children and five grandchildren. Leaders of PFLAG, which was created almost 20 years ago out of a mother's pain and anger as she watched her gay son be beaten on a television newscast, pledged this past spring at the historic President's Summit for America's Future to provide "safe spaces" for 10,000 more gay, lesbian and bisexual youth and their families by the year 2002. This is in light of the fact that every day 13 Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 commit suicide, and it is estimated that perhaps 30% of these young people are gay or lesbian. McDonald is available for interviews today and tomorrow after the White House meeting with Clinton. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian and bisexual persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure civil rights. PFLAG provides an opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity. Serving more than 69,000 members, PFLAG affiliates are located in more than 400 communities across the United States, and in 11 other countries.