Communtiy Compass
Community Compass is a service of OITM. GLBT organizations from around the state are invited to provide brief — 200 words or less — descriptions of recent or upcoming activities and events. Send your submissions to us by email by the 15th of the month.
AIDS Project of Southern Vermont
Celebrate your valentine with dinner and a donation on Saturday, February 10, 2001. Last year’s Great Restaurant Event was such a success we wanted to repeat it again this year and make it even bigger. This wonderful evening is a time for people to celebrate together - and to benefit the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont.
Thanks to many area restaurants, the Project has created an opportunity for fun, food and philanthropy. This event, called “Don’t Eat Your Heart Out - Celebrate Your Valentine With Dinner and A Donation” just asks you to have a good time!
Here’s how it works: grab your sweetheart or get a group of friends together and invite them to join you for a festive dinner at your favorite restaurant. In turn, participating restaurants will donate 10% of their proceeds to the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont. You and the restaurants are working together to support the wonderful sense of community that symbolizes the Project. It’s that simple - eat out and help out!
At press time, participating restaurants included: Cafe Beyond, Peter Havens’, Putney Diner, T.J. Buckley’s, The Common Ground, Blue Benn Diner and Three Mountain Inn. For more information call 802-254-8263.
When you make your reservations be sure to let the restaurants know that you support the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont and are pleased that they do too.
Mountain Pride Media
This is a very special month for Mountain Pride Media. Out In The Mountains celebrates its 15th anniversary with this month’s issue. We are also thrilled to welcome and introduce Jason Whipple, the new Editor of Out In The Mountains. We encourage you to say hello to Jason. He can be reached at editor@mountainpridemedia.org. We are planning numerous opportunities throughout the coming year for you to join us in meeting Jason and other staff members as well as helping us celebrate OITM’s anniversary.
Mountain Pride Media would like to thank Bennett, Jim, Mack, Dan, and Roland for stopping in to help with the December stuffing. Our February Stuffing is scheduled for Thursday, February 22nd from 5ish to 8ish at our office in Richmond, Vermont (above the Daily Bread). Come out and help get Out In The Mountains into the community. We are still seeking a volunteer to deliver packaged copies of OITM to the Richmond Post Office on the Friday following the stuffing. If you are interested in helping out with the stuffing in any way send us an email at circulation@mountainpridemedia.org.
Mountain Pride Media will soon be starting up our Green Mountain Tour again. We have only a few more stops left to complete our county-by-county tour of Vermont. You can find more information about the Green Mountain Tour and other MPM initiatives on our newly redesigned web site - www.mountainpridemedia.org. All MPM sponsored events are also listed in our free Community Calendar, which is printed in OITM and on our web site.
Finally, Mountain Pride Media would like to invite you to get more involved in 2001. With a new editor in place and the kick-off of our 15th anniversary celebration, this is a great time to join us. We have numerous volunteer opportunities available, which can easily be accessed on our web site. If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to help make a difference in your community, consider contacting us today.
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
Some of the Vermont members of the New England Chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association met on Jan. 7 to talk about plans for the year. The group decided to hold monthly brunches around the state to raise the visibility of the organization. The first will be in Burlington on Feb. 11.
The next full chapter meeting will be held in Northampton, Mass. on March 3. Plans are also underway to launch a chapter Web site and to hold a reception in Hartford, CT in conjunction with the National Writers Workshop in early April.
Please check the OITM Calendar for details on events and see the Source Professional listings for contact information.
The NLGJA works within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of lesbian and gay issues and opposes newsroom bias toward gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people and all other minorities. The national organization’s Web site is www.nlgja.org. Anyone who supports the mission of NLGJA is invited to attend events or join the organization.
Pride VT
As winter again sinks its cold claws into our landscape, the Pride VT committee is working hard to stay warm and plan some great events for our community. This month’s meetings, open to any and all, are scheduled for Tuesdays, February 12 and 27. As always, the meetings will be held at the McClure Multi-Generational Center in Burlington, 241 N. Winooski Ave, from 7-9pm. For more information on meetings, please contact Brian Cina at 859-9238.
And for those looking for fun, family and funky shoes, be sure to come out to Yankee Lanes in Colchester at 17 Mountain View Drive for an evening of Cosmic Bowling. The night of pin striking is scheduled for Monday, February 5, from 9 to 11pm. All ages are welcome and encouraged to hone their rolling skills for $12 (2 games and shoe rental). For more information on bowling, please call Kenny Hirschmann at 288-1588.
R.U.1.2? Community Center
The Vermont Diversity Health Project is a committee of R.U.1.2?, started by the Vermont Department of Health in collaboration with community members and groups. R.U.1.2? took the project on as our own in July of 2000. Since then things have really taken off.
As a result of a lot of hard work from everyone, VDHP has received a grant to the tune of $7000.00 for a resource guide. The resource guide will be for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning community and will help identify GLBTQ friendly healthcare practitioners. We have compiled a comprehensive survey and will be sending it out to several hundred practitioners to find out their stance on issues pertinent to GLBTQ community. We are expecting a positive response and are very excited to get started. We are hoping to have the Resource guide laid out, printed and ready to distribute at Pride this year.
We are in the process of hiring a part time staff member who will be doing most of the legwork for the guide. This part time staff member will be working at the R.U.1.2? headquarters which means R.U.1.2? has it’s first official office employee! Thanks to the Health Department for supporting us in this endeavor and to Tage Lilja for writing the grant.
For more information about VDHP or the R.U.1.2? community center, call 860-RU12 (7812).
Samara Foundation
Samara Foundation welcomes Year 2001 grant applications. A letter of intent, postmarked no later than March 1, 2001, is the first step in the Samara grant application process. All letters of intent are reviewed by the Samara grants advisory committee. Selected applicants are notified by April 6 to submit complete grant applications by May 7 for further competitive review. Grant awards are announced during the month of June.
For complete granting guidelines and application information, including grant applications please call the Samara office at 802-860-6236 or send e-mail to info@samarafoundation.org . If you have any questions about your organization’s or project’s eligibility, please call Bill Lippert at 802-860-6236, or Howdy Russell, grants committee chair, at 802-482-4242.
Samara Scholarships for Year 2001 will be processed through the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC). Samara Scholarships are listed in VSAC’s Scholarships (for the College Year 2001-2002). For a copy call 800-642-3177. Applications must be postmarked by March 25, 2001.
T.H.E. Men’s Program
At their November meeting, the board of directors of the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont approved the new name and revised mission statement of our Brattleboro-based HIV Prevention Program for men who have sex with men.
Our new name is “T.H.E. Men’s Program - Total HIV Education”. Our revised mission statement reads as follows: “T.H.E. Men’s Program works in the greater southeast Vermont region to reduce the risk of HIV between men who have sex with men. We build communities of men - men who increasingly care about each other, work together for community health, and practice HIV prevention behaviors.”
Both the name and the mission statement were developed with extensive feedback from the men in the community, our advisory board, staff at the Project, and members of the board of directors. Our goals were to create a distinct identity for our program and to state our mission in a way that was at once inclusive, holistic, targeted and measurable.
T.H.E. Men’s Program continues to provide one-on-one peer counseling, social activities, our free monthly newsletter, risk reduction workshops, and volunteer opportunities. You can reach us at 802-254-8263, men@sover.net, or by writing to T.H.E. Men’s Program, P.O. Box 1486, Brattleboro, VT 05302. Glenn Johnson, Coordinator
Vermont CARES Vermont CARES, in conjunction with The New England Culinary Institute, will be hosting a Live and Silent Auction on Saturday March 3, 2001 at the Inn at Essex. Come join us for a dessert reception and great auction, all to benefit Vermont CARES. There will be wonderful items to bid on including an Interior Design Package, a two-night stay including meals at the Topnotch Resort and Spa, beautiful arts and crafts from Vermont Artists, and 2 tickets to the Will and Grace show just to name a few. It ought to be a fabulous time! If you are interested in attnding or would like to volunteer for the event please contact Vermont CARES at 863-2437.
Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force
In 2001, Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force will continue to focus on its mission of public education regarding the rightness of, and need for, full equality for same-sex couples. While the Vermonters for Civil Union Legislative Defense Fund (VCULDF) will focus on the challenges of the 2001 legislative session, VFMTF’s emphasis will continue to be on reaching Vermonters in all walks of life, telling our stories, putting a human face on the unfamiliar. The political side is only one part of the struggle. Widespread popular support is equally critical to the goal of achieving and sustaining equal rights.
We have lots of ideas for increasing public support in 2001, many of which boil down, in one way or another, to four simple words: neighbors talking with neighbors. No centralized design can bring the kind of understanding required; local interaction is the only way. More than ever, you can make a difference. If you’d like to work with us, or you’ve been working with us and taken a break, please give us a call at 388-2633 or send us an email at coord@vtfreetomarry.org to let us know of your new or renewed interest. We’ll be in touch!