Please join the Trevor Project in observing December 1st as the Annual World AIDS Day. Sort out the facts from the myths and get resources from the following links:

The World AIDS Campaign

World AIDS Day

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Get informed! Get tested! Get involved!

The Trevor Project Thanks You

In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday this Thursday, The Trevor Project would like to extend appreciation to all of our volunteers.

The Trevor Project has over 500 volunteers that help run and plan all of our many programs and events. Whether monitoring our TrevorSpace online community, answering calls on The Trevor Helpline, responding to “Dear Trevor” letters or ushering guests to their seats at our annual Cracked Xmas gala, volunteers are the backbone of our organization. Without them, it would be nearly impossible to support all the youth who contact us every day.

Once again, thank you to all of our volunteers. Have a safe and joyful holiday weekend.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for The Trevor Project, please visit the Volunteers Page of our Web site for more information or contact Erin English at Erin.English@TheTrevorProject.Org.

Best wishes,

The Trevor Project Staff

Arkansas 10 year old refuses to say the pledge of allegiance until LGBTQ people receive equality, despite taunts from his peers and teachers.

In August, Ceara Syurgis’s photo was not published in her senior yearbook because she opted to wear a tuxedo, the male’s required dress code, in her photo. Schools have been discussing topics of gender identity and expression in regard to school uniforms and dress codes. This New York Times article addresses some of these issues that have been becoming more frequent in the recent years, perhaps because students are becoming less shy to express themselves freely.

Cynthia Stewart will be allowed to bring her girlfriend to the Tharptown High School prom next March after school officials initially stated that lesbian couples were barred from the prom. After involving the American Civil Liberties Union, Tharptown High School officials in Alabama recanted their exclusion.

The Iowa Pride Network has released their findings from their 2009 survey relating to the experiences of LGBT youth in Iowa schools. The survey included questions regarding suicide for the first time and yielded shocking responses.

This reflection is courtesy of Grant Sloss
Participant in the 2009 LA AIDS Walk and
Trevor Project Volunteer Committee member

It’s easy to get complacent. As an active volunteer, I put in a few hours every month, breathe an exaggerated sigh and rush to pat myself on the back for making the world a better place. Sure, I haven’t solved everything (or really anything, other than the fairly simple problem of rounding up enough people to stick fake Trevor tattoos on Pride-goers), but I made a contribution. I was making a difference. I was leaving things a little better than I found them.

I was totally deluded. There is ALWAYS more to do.

Armed with this realization, and no small amount of goading from a pair of Trevor volunteers from Deloitte (thanks, Blake and Matt!), I rolled out of bed on a balmy Sunday morning and joined thousands of men, women, grandparents, parents, children and every other category of concerned citizen in AIDS Walk LA. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect (this was my maiden voyage), but among my concerns were the early hour (I hate the morning), the chaos (I hate crowds), and the potential for obnoxious protesters (I hate Hate). Mercifully, my Deloitte captors were on a gold team, meaning we were able to sidestep the chaos portion with our own sectioned territory. Said territory housed no small amount of coffee, tea, breakfast food and balloons, which didn’t sidestep the early hour entirely but at least made it (fine, made ME) a bit more tolerable. Team t-shirts were distributed, team photos were taken and Team Deloitte took to the streets, which were flooded with walkers and cheerleaders – young, old, some in uniform, some in drag, some in street clothes – but all luckily far cheerier than I. So cheery, in fact, that they almost completely drown out the protesters that appeared as we turned onto La Cienega.

Almost.

And ultimately, that was for the best. Because as lovely and vibrant as the cheerleaders were, they weren’t nearly as successful in firing up the AIDS walkers as the six or so misguided souls hoisting their hateful placards. (I may be speaking for myself, but…no. No, I’m not.) I’m still not entirely sure what they were doing there shouting Bible verses and Phelps-ian (Fred, not Michael) absurdities through their megaphones. I assume some sort of Bat signal goes out whenever Santa Monica Boulevard is blocked off and these people show up to exercise their First Amendment rights without knowing what they’re actually shouting about. Had they been paying attention, they’d have realized a fundraiser for AIDS research has nothing to do with religion, sexual orientation or anything else they were shaking their fists at. They’d have realized they were hurling hate speech at children young enough to fit into strollers. And their straight parents. And, in general, a group of people who, at least for the moment, had no political agenda.

But this scenario didn’t call for logical, civilized discourse. When confronted with irrational rage, the walkers fought fire with fire, shouting down our far-outnumbered opponents – and gaining a nice boost as we breezed into our second mile. Thanks, guys! See you at the next one!

We marched onward through more mile markers – and more free refreshments. Honestly, the amount of freebies at this event cannot be (a) overstated, or (b) accurately quantified. If the protesters got us through mile one, the free juices, cookies, fruit and protein bars (and the hundreds of volunteers, many local schoolchildren, who dutifully and awesomely stood for hours handing them out) got us through the rest of the sun-scorched walk.

And we needed it. As an occasional and very amateur triathlete, I expected a six-mile walk to be a breeze. I was sorely, sorely wrong. Six miles, whether you’re running, jogging or walking, is still six miles to your muscles, which were surprisingly wiped by the time we pulled into the giant balloon arch at the Pacific Design Center full of cheering fans, friends and volunteers, all waiting to pat us on the back for our not-terribly-hard work. We hadn’t changed the world or solved anything by traipsing around West Hollywood. But it was a contribution. We’d made a (little) difference. And hopefully, we’d be leaving things a little better than we found them.

-Grant Sloss

Chris Bryant, a Member of Parliament, and his partner, Jared Cranney, will be the first gay couple to have a civil partnership ceremony at the Westminster Palace in 2010. The Westminster Palace houses the British Parliament. The ceremony will take place in the spring of 2010.

The legislative council in Tasmania, Australia has voted unanimously to allow two lesbian mothers to be placed retrospectively on a birth certificate from 2003. Gay and lesbian couples were first recognized in 2003 by Tasmanian law.

Detroit elected Charles Pugh to be the first gay black city council president in the city.

Question 1 passed in Maine, banning gays and lesbians from marrying in the state. The Los Angeles Times contributed an editorial addressing marriage equality after nation wide protests against the Maine decision last night.

Elke Kennedy, whose son was murdered two years ago in a hate crime, discussed the importance of the newly passed Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act which extended the definition of “hate crime” to include sexual-orientation and gender identity in an article published by CNN. Her son Sean was 18 years old when he suffered brain damage after being harassed and beaten outside of a bar in South Carolina. Sean’s killer, Stephen Moller, served only 12 months in prison before being released on parole. Had the Matthew Shepard Bill existed during his sentencing, the FBI could have conducted a federal investigation and thus lengthening Moller’s time in prison. 

Perhaps the NFL is taking homophobia more seriously. Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson is suspended from his NFL team for using anti-gay slurs on his Twitter account and to news reporters the following morning. 

The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (UK) met on October 27^th to discuss evidence for and against exclusion of “high-risk donors” for blood drives. The current policy prohibits men and women who have had sexual intercourse with a gay man from donating blood. Passed in the 1980s, this outdated policy was thought to protect blood recipients from contracting HIV. The United States and several other countries have similar bans, although other “high risk” demographics are not excluded, and all blood is screened for common infectious diseases. Advocates for lifting the ban argue that the blood donation shortage would be solved by allowing gay men and their female partners to donate blood. 

The Board of Trustees of Calvin College of Michigan, a member of the Christian Reform Church, sent out a memo to all faculty prohibiting professors and other faculty from teaching, writing, or advocating on behalf of homosexuality. About 130 of the 300 faculty members attended a meeting organized in response to the distribution of the memo. Many professors argue that the declaration would be a breach of academic freedom.

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Carnivale Rooftop Viewing Party

Saturday, October 31, 2009
Time: 7:00 – 11:30 p.m.

Rooftop of the LASC Parking Structure in West Hollywood

Get your ticket to West Hollywood’s exclusive
Halloween party and avoid bar lines!

Enjoy the best view to the biggest Halloween party in the world!

Hosted by KIIS FM, 98.7 FM, 104.3MY FM and HOT 92.3.

Special Performances by R&B Hip Hop Artist Ester Dean and Terra Incognita with more to be announced.

Special Guest DJ’s from 104.3MY FM and HOT 92.3.

VIP Cabanas for 12 – $1,500 each (limited quantities)
Each includes private cabana seating for up to 15 guests overlooking Santa Monica Blvd.
Cabanas also include hosted Grey Goose and Moet Champagne bottle service, in addition to full bar waiter service.

Admission Ticket $60 - Includes Hosted Bar

CLICK HERE to get your ticket before they sell out!

Proceeds benefit The Trevor Project.

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OUT and Macy’s
Men’s Fashion Show

Thursday, October 29, 2009
Time: 7:00 p.m.

Macy’s Men Store
at the Beverly Center
8500 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

Featuring a presentation
by fashion expert Nick Verreos

Special prize giveaways
Cocktails & Hors d’oeuvres
Music by Dominic Prietto

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Cracked Xmas 12 Kickoff Party

Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Nobu
903 N. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90069

Join us for hosted Absolut cocktails at NOBU to kick off Cracked Xmas 12!

We will be announcing more honoree news and updating you on our celebrity attendees.

You can also enter our Qantas Airways raffle for two round trip tickets to Sydney, Australia. Just $50 per raffle entry!

To RSVP: Email wing-sum.doud@thetrevorproject.org and include your first and last name, plus the number of guests and their full names you are RSVPing for.

CLICK HERE to purchase a table or ticket to Cracked Xmas 12.

Dear Friends,

The Trevor Project is participating in America’s Giving Challenge through the Facebook Causes Application. We are encouraging all our supporters to consider making a donation on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. If we receive the most unique daily contributions, we could win an additional $1,000!

Here’s how it works: Daily prizes of $1,000 are awarded to the cause that receives the greatest amount of donations ($10 or more) in a single day.

Here’s where you come in:

1. Please donate on Wednesday, October 28 by visiting http://www.causes.com/TheTrevorProject.
2. Tell your friends! Go to The Trevor Project’s Cause page and click on the green “Tell Friends” button. But don’t stop there—make phone calls, put www.causes.com/TheTrevorProject in your away message, and find other creative ways to encourage your friends to donate.

America’s Giving Challenge was created to empower individuals to join together and make a difference for the issues and organizations they care about most. Your donation, when put together with so many other people’s donations, will make a huge difference for The Trevor Project and our vital resources.

Thank you!

The Trevor Project

United States Senate approved the Matthew Shepard Act on October 22, 2009 and President Obama has vowed to sign it! The bill will extend the current definition of federal hate crimes to include attacks based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Grant Pippert, a football coach from an Aurora Public High School is under investigation after reportedly punishing two players by forcing them to hold hands while running during a team practice. As a response, teammates yelled homophobic and derogatory slurs at the two players. Pippert could face warning, suspension, or firing according to Aurora Public School’s spokesperson.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and The Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) begin to move forward to include protections and services for LGBT people in the United States. Under President Obama’s Administration, the HUD has extended their definition of “family” to explicitly include LGBT people, as well as including protections against discrimination based on “sexual orientation or gender identity” for home owners, renters, and mortgage applicants. The HSS will open the first national Resource Center for LGBT Elders in order to provide LGBT specific resources to approximately 1.5 to 4 million aging Americans.

Students across the United States are participating in the fifth annual Ally Week hosted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Students will sign pledges in order to help eliminate anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools.

The Trevor Project wants to hear your story! Record a video and upload it to http://memelabs.com/thetrevorproject  before November 15, 2009 and you could win a prize! 

Every day, counselors on The Trevor Helpline talk with young people from across the country struggling with issues surrounding sexual orientation, gender identity, family/peer rejection and feelings of hopelessness. But for every youth in crisis, there are many more who have found acceptance from a friend, teacher or loved one. If you’ve ever been harassed, bullied or singled out for being a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ) young person, what support have you found? How did the people in your life react when you came out to them? While our experiences may differ, we can draw strength by sharing and listening to each other’s stories.    

We invite you to create a short video telling the world about your experiences as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning youth within your family, school, and/or communities.

This can include, but is not limited to coming out stories, a “dear diary” personal reflection, a difficult time in your life and how you overcame it, how you helped a friend who was suicidal, a testimonial for an organization, group or person who supported you (i.e. youth group, gay-straight alliance, teacher, friend, etc.) and/or advocacy work you have done within the LGBTQ community.

Videos can be submitted through November 15, 2009. The grand prize is a digital camcorder and your video premiered at The Trevor Project’s largest annual event on December 6 in Los Angeles. Four runner-ups will receive digital cameras.

Please read all the rules and regulations at http://memelabs.com/thetrevorproject.