Donation in Honor of Heath

[KittyHawk]

Members generously contributed $1400 more than the cost of the Forum's Variety ad in Heath's memory in January, 2008.
This thread is to suggest and discuss possible charities that we might donate those funds to in honor of Heath.

[KittyHawk]

Here's a little background on a donation we're making with funds we raised from the sale of the Forum's book.

Our book Beyond Brokeback sold well beyond expectations: roughly 1,300 copies. We grossed about $6,800, some of which we plowed back into the marketing the book, some for running the forum the past 18 months (expanding the server size and memory a few times, to improve response time), and we have put some money aside to keep us running for the next year. That leaves us with about $3,600, which we are going to donate to a worthy charity. We also raised money for a tribute ad to Heath in Variety last year, and about $1,400 more came in than the ad cost. We said we would donate the rest to charity.

We asked members for their input on the book funds, and overwhelming consensus was toward helping struggling gay youth in some way. Several organizations were cited repeatedly, including GLSEN, GLAAD, PFLAG and The Point Foundation's scholarship funds for gay youth. We think any of those would be great beneficiaries--they all do great work for the gay community and gay/straight allies, and are closely aligned with the ideas of Brokeback. Of those, the two which most closely fit the central idea of helping struggling gay youth were GLSEN and The Point Foundation's scholarship fund. (Click either for their websites, to learn more.)

So, we will take money available from our book proceeds and split it 50/50 between the two groups, and cite the donations in honor of Heath. We would like to hear from the membership about how to use the $1,400 remaining from the Heath ad. We can increase the GLSEN and Point donations, or do something more specifically related to Heath. Let's hear your thoughts.

[jack]

dave, lydia, and all who will be thinking about this...

from the bottom of my heart, i truly hope we can put a significant donation to THE TREVOR PROJECT.  they have been at the forefront of the movement to prevent teen suicide, a veritable plague among our gay youth.

you can get more information here...

 http://www.thetrevorproject.org/home1.aspx

[KittyHawk]

Good suggestion, Jack. Thanks.

[janjo]

I'm sure any of the charities would use the money wisely, but as students and their problems are the main part of my working life The Point Foundation's scholarship fund sounds like a good bet to me. Even if only one student can be supported, educated, and kept with a roof over their heads it is money well spent and a life saved. There are unfortunately parents out there who are only too glad to reject their children and to put them out on the streets, being gay, being pregnant, having mental health difficulties are amongst many factors which are used as excuses.
Support for students at this stage in their lives can be transformative, so that's where my vote goes.

[jack]

happily, janjo, that goes hand in hand with pflag and the trevor project... saving and encouraging the next generation of young glbt kids.

[BayCityJohn]

Has anyone contacted the Point Foundation yet?

I know they had the Matthew Shepard Scholarship a couple of years ago, but I don't see it on the website anymore.

And I don't see it on the Matthew Shepard site either.

http://www.matthewshepard.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Youth_Scholarships_Main_Page

[KittyHawk]

No, I haven't contacted any of these organizations yet.

[BayCityJohn]

http://www.aifhls.com/

[Ministering angel]

I particularly like The Point Foundation's emphasis on the "T" part of GLBT. My experience has been that most groups are friendly and sincere but not very helpful when it comes to gender issues. I'd like to think we are breaking away from the binary view of sexuality and gender, but for those people who don't identify with, or fit within, the socially accepted norms, it's still a hard row to hoe.

[Sason]

I'm sure all those charities are worthy, and adding something else might just make it more difficult to decide... But I think also some consideration should be put into donating to an organization working in countries were homosexuality is still a crime, and in some countries even with death penalties.

[KittyHawk]

These are some really good ideas. There are so many worthwhile causes, it does make the decision difficult.

Any more thoughts?

- Lydia

[Stilllearning]

I'm sure all those charities are worthy, and adding something else might just make it more difficult to decide... But I think also some consideration should be put into donating to an organization working in countries were homosexuality is still a crime, and in some countries even with death penalties.

When I was doing a story for TDS in the spring, I ran across this organization Gays without borders - there web site says "An informal network of international GLBT grassroots activists working to make the world a safer place for GLBT people, and for full GLBT equality in all aspects of legal and social life…"

I know they were involved in helping a man from Iran I think it was, in his attempt to seek asylum in Europe last summer.  I think they help establish "safe houses" in Iraq too.

I don't know much about the organization ~ but their work seems very important

[KittyHawk]

That's quite an agenda he's laid out for Obama!
And it's an interesting weeb site I hadn't seen before, and such a worthy cause.
Thanks!

[Jenny]

I'm all in favor of supporting the next generation of gay youth, but I'm wondering about supporting them in Australia. Maybe that's too difficult, but from what I've read they certainly need it, and it would be especially appropriate for a donation in honor of Heath. OTOH, if we feel it's important to have his name associated with gay causes in America, I'd vote for money for the trevor project.

Another thought: I'm sure you don't want to deal with the complication of setting this up, but if there were some way for interested members to add to the donation, I think quite a few, especially those who have come here because of Heath since his death, might be interested in contributing. As well as some "older" members; I know I would be willing to make another contribution for this cause.