Samara Grants $40 Grand
Highest Total Grants For One Year

      According to a press release from the Samara Foundation of Vermont, it has awarded scholarships and grants totaling $40,000 to four high school seniors and 12 organizations serving the Vermont gay community. Samara first awarded grants in 1998 and now has distributed over $130,000 throughout the state. This year’s amount is the largest round of giving in the foundation’s history.
      Four Vermont high school seniors will be receiving $1,100 Samara Scholarships for 2002. The receiving seniors are Madeline Veitch of Putney; Gabriel Mulley of Norwich; Alyssa Miranda of Fairfax; and Tara Sun Vanacore of Bridport. The Samara Scholarship was established as an investment in the future of Vermont students who oppose discrimination and prejudice and who stand for the elimination of homophobia in our society. Eleven Vermont high school seniors have been recognized as Samara Scholars since the awards were established in 2000.
      Organizations funded in Samara Foundation’s Year 2002 granting cycle benefit the Vermont gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities in a wide range of areas including HIV prevention, youth services, education, media development, health and community service, social service, and initiatives to address same-sex domestic violence.
      HIV prevention outreach to men in Bennington County was the focus of a $3,000 grant awarded to the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont. Expanded youth services for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and questioning youth throughout Vermont are supported by two grants. Outright Vermont was awarded $7,000 to match gifts in their 2002 major donor campaign. Parks Place Community Center in Bellows Falls received $1,000 to host a program called Sharing Our Unique Truths (SHOUT), a four-day skill-based risk reduction workshop for “at-risk” girls aged 13 to 15.
      A $1,000 grant to the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and a $6,000 grant to Mountain Pride Media aim to support fair media coverage and enhance communication for the LGBT community of Vermont.
      A $3,000 grant was awarded to SafeSpace, a social service organization working to end physical, sexual and emotional violence in the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning people.
      Education, advocacy and outreach were the focus of three Samara grants this year. The Gay Lesbian Education and Resource Network (G/LEARN) in Norwich was awarded $1,500 to provide education and support to students, parents, and teachers about issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. $1,500 was also granted to the National Organization for Women: Vermont, to help produce a voter guide, showing how Vermont Senators and Legislators voted on issues relating to women, the LGBT community and civil rights. The Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force received $5,000 to support grassroots organizing and to insure that they will have a continuing presence at each of the local fairs in Vermont.
      The Vermont Diversity Health Project, a project of R.U.1.2? Community Center received $1,000 to help build and coordinate a network of Vermont-based GLBTQIA trainers and technical assistance providers for health and wellness professionals seeking to improve their services for GLBTQIA Vermonters. Celebration of our communities’ achievements was supported by a $3,500 grant to Pride Vermont. Faerie Camp Destiny was awarded $1,500 to assist with their community programs. The Samara Foundation, with offices in Burlington, is one of a network of gay and lesbian community foundations across the county. Samara Foundation is a charitable foundation whose mission is “to support and strengthen Vermont’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities today and build an endowment for tomorrow.”

For more information, visit Samara's website at
www.samarafoundation.org