Community 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.
Samara
Money Available
Samara Foundation of Vermont announces
the opening of its grants cycle for the year 2005. Founded in 1992, the
Samara Foundation of Vermont grants funds to tax-exempt organizations
that work to enhance the quality of life for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) Vermonters. Since first establishing its grants program
in 1998, Samara Foundation of Vermont has given over $175,000 throughout
the state.
Grant applicants for year 2005 must submit
a letter of intent postmarked by March 2, 2005. The Samara Grants Advisory
Committee will do an initial screening and then invite submission of full
grant applications to be postmarked by April 29, 2005. Year 2005 Samara
Foundation grants will be announced during the month of June.
Please visit our website at www.samarafoundation.org
for guidelines, or for more information, contact Zpora Perry, Administrative
Coordinator, Samara Foundation of Vermont, P.O. Box 1263, 90 Main Street,
Burlington, Vermont 05402-1263. Telephone 802-860-6236 or via email at
info@samarafoundation.org
Volunteers Spin OITM's
World!
Out in the Mountains and its related
website are valuable community services that link the LGBTQA communities
throughout the State of Vermont and adjoining areas.
Volunteers keep these ongoing projects strong
and each month we extend warm thanks to each person who has given personally
of her or his time to serve our community.
This month we thank: "Stuffing Night"
Volunteers: Bob Wolff, Yelena, Joe Nusbaum, Joe Rivera, Greg Weaver, Kate
MacTavish, and Euan Bear. Webmaster: Tania Kupczak – working from
Seattle for over a year! Route Drivers who deliver the paper throughout
the state: Fran Moravcsik, Yelena, Danny, Bennett Law, Tim, Keith Ribnick,
Oliver, Keith Goslant, Patrick, Amy (Thanks, Jess, for standing in for
Amy this month!), Liz, Rick, Cheri, Linn, Daryl, Cynthia, Kathy, Thom
Fleury, Nat, Lisa, and Rick Wold.
In addition, we welcome volunteer, activist,
feminist, community organizer, and yes Graphic Designer, Peggy Luhrs to
the graphic design crew! We're glad that you're sharing your expertise
with us.
Thank you all! You make this service possible!
If you're not on this list and want to get
involved, there are myriad ways to do so. From detailed office work, writing
stories, taking photos to fun stuffing nights – we've got a task
to match your interest or skill. Let any MPM/OITM person know or call
802.861.6486!
Leslie Feinberg to Keynote UVM Trans Conf.
The Free To Be student organization of the
University of Vermont has announced the third annual Translating Identity
Conference (TIC), a one-day conference focusing on gender and gender identities.
The conference will take place on Saturday, March 5, beginning with registration
and breakfast at 8 a.m.
This year's keynote speaker is Leslie Feinberg,
author of Transgender Warriors, Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue,
and the underground classic Stone Butch Blues. Ze came of age
as a young butch in Buffalo, New York, before the Stonewall Rebellion.
Feinberg has also won the ALA Gay and Lesbian Literature Award, and the
Lambda Literary Award. Ze is a journalist and typesetter by trade and
includes union activism among zir causes.
The student organizers hope to reach out
to the UVM and broader communities and educate everyone about trans and
gender issues and their intersections with other identities such as race,
class, and religion.
In previous years, TIC has drawn more than 300 students, trans activists,
allies, and community members. This year organizers are planning more
workshops than ever before.
Also featured will be local poet,
activist, and essayist Eli Clare. Clare, a self-described "rabble
rouser," is the author of Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness,
and Liberation.
The workshop presenters at this year's
conference range from professional administrators to nationally known
activists and scholars. Some panels will be directed towards transgender
people, their partners, and allies, while others will be for those who
are fairly unfamiliar with the transgender movement and the topic of gender
identity. Some sessions will deal with transgender health concerns. Organizers
hope to offer CEU credits for healthcare professionals.
TIC has received support from Outright Vermont and the R.U.1.2? Queer
Community Center, UVM's LGBTQA Services and the university President's
Office.
Conference registration and attendance will
be free and open to the public, and breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Since space is limited, online registration is recommended.
For more information or to register for
the conference, check the website: www.uvm.edu/~tic,
email tic@uvm.edu, or call 802-656-0699.