Ali Forney Center Drags Event

Sasha Velour winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 9 & 30 iconic drag queens & kings will perform at a show benefiting the homeless LGBTQ youths of the Ali Forney Center on September 7th at Highline Ballroom in NYC at 6P. The evening’s goal is to raise $50,000 to support the Ali Forney Center’s (AFC) housing & supportive services for homeless LGBTQ youth. AFC addresses over 1,400 homeless youth each year is the nation’s largest & most comprehensive organization dedicated serving this population. This benefit performance also serves as the official launch of DRAGS, a coffee table book featuring portraits of NYC drag legends photographed by veteran photographer & director Gregory Kramer. Kramer has committed 100% of the proceeds of the book sales to benefit the young people who come to AFC for help. Carl Siciliano, AFC’s Executive Director stated, “I am humbled by the love & care Gregory & every person involved with this very special project has offered us. The young people we see at our shelters & Drop-in Center have experienced hate & rejection from the people who are supposed to love them unconditionally, it means so much to us that so many are lending their time, resources & talent to do something to show them they are valued and loved.” Tickets are available at all levels including Meet & Greet, VIP & General Admission & all ticket levels include an open vodka bar provided by Chopin Vodka.
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Gender Odyssey 16th Conference

The 16th annual Gender Odyssey conference takes place at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle, Washington from August 23rd to 27th. As the transgender community struggles for equal treatment & public education continues to make headlines around the country Gender Odyssey holds its annual international conference focused on the needs & interests of this diverse population. The conference provides an array of thought-provoking workshops, discussion groups, social events & more. This annual event attracts people from all over the world for an uplifting weekend of skill sharing & community. Over 1000 participants are expected to attend this year as visibility for transgender issues & communities have reached a historic high mark. Gender Odyssey’s primary objective is to offer tools to navigate obstacles & provide pathways to individual & community empowerment with conference tracks for professionals, families & transgender people of all ages. The five-day event will include Gender Odyssey Professional offering programming for medical caregivers, therapists, social workers, teachers, counselors, students & others seeking to advance their understanding of gender variance & transgender identities. The conference will also feature Gender Odyssey Family, an annual, dedicated conference for families who are working to navigate the day-to-day realities of raising a gender-diverse or transgender child. As one of the only opportunities in the country to find valuable resources, information & networking opportunities Gender Odyssey Family provides real tools for families to support their child’s gender self-discovery. GO Family will offer special programming for teens, as well as a day camp for the children attending.
For More Info: genderodyssey.org
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Schwarzenegger Speaks OUT

In light of the horrific events in Charlottesville, action speaks louder than words & Arnold Schwarzenegger has launched “Terminate Hate” with a viral video to fight white supremacists, neo-Nazis with a message to Trump stating, “While these so-called "white nationalists" are lucky to live in a country that defends their right to voice their awful, incorrect, hateful opinions, the rest of us must use our voices & resources to condemn hate & teach tolerance at every opportunity. My message to them is simple: you will not win. Our voices are louder & stronger. There is no white America - there is only the United States of America. You were not born with these hateful views - you can change, grow, and evolve & I suggest you start immediately. I'm sending $100,000 to an anti-hate organization I've worked with for decades - the Simon Wiesenthal Center, named after the great Nazi hunter who I was lucky to call a friend. I have spoken to its founder, Rabbi Marvin Hier & I know that my contribution can help advance the Center's mission of expanding tolerance through education & fighting hate all over America - in the streets & online. My dream is that all of you will join me in helping your favorite anti-hate organizations in any way you can. United, we are greater than the hatred we saw last weekend.” Schwarzenegger has collaboration with Represent Partners to create a apparel design that pays homage to his iconic role & condemns the hateful acts that took place this past weekend in Charlottesville, VA. The campaign started August 17th & will run until August 31st with 100% of the net proceeds benefitting The Museum of Tolerance. BUY TEE-SHIRT...
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Varsity Gay League Tenth Year

The Varsity Gay League is celebrating its tenth anniversary creating a social opportunity for our LGBTQ community & its allies with a space to create a support system while being athletic. Varsity Gay League has just expanded again opening in Denver, Dallas, Austin, Fort Lauderdale & Boston. The Varsity Gay League (VGL) was founded in Los Angeles in 2007 by Will Hackner & is the largest gay sports league in California with over 8,000 members since its implementation & has expanded to over 8 cities in the US to include San Diego, San Francisco, Long Beach, Sacramento, Austin, Orlando & Portland with plans to add other major cities to meet the demand. With Kickball as their main sport, the VGL also includes other sports in varying cities such as Bowling, Soccer, Tennis, Beach Volleyball, Flag Football, Dodgeball & Ultimate Frisbee among others. VGL offers year-round outside-the-box activities, games, mixers, fundraisers & sporting events. While there are other organizations across the country that provide activities, VGL hopes that all major LGBTQ hubs will have a sports & activities option for their communities. Their goal is to create a unified, national organization that works with each other in a positive way. VGL already has a host of amazing LGBTQ friendly sponsors, both locally & nationally & they intend to increase new sports programs in cities that exist & create new partnerships & programs that will allow VGL to connect to new audiences.
For More Info: varsitygayleague.com 
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God Save America

It has come to this. The president of the United States has scolded U.S citizens for fighting against Nazis. Unfortunately this is just the beginning of the new civil war in this country. Since this administration has taken office hate groups in the USA have increased by 52%. With Trump continuing to defend hate groups responsible for the violent clashes that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend Vanita Gupta, President & CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights stated, “President Trump has forfeited any claim to the moral leadership a president must command. His facts are wrong, his moral compass is missing & his continued refusal to recognize & call out evil & hate is a disgrace to our nation. Now the rest of us must uphold America's ideals of fairness, justice & inclusion, because Donald Trump has proven he will not. Those who do not clearly, firmly & unequivocally choose to side against hatred, racial bigotry & intolerance are complicit.” Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-04) concluded, “As we once again hear Donald Trump defend those responsible for the deadly riot in Charlottesville & receive praise by hate groups like the KKK & neo-Nazis, the time has come for Republicans & Democrats to put aside our political differences & philosophical debates for a higher cause. For the sake of the soul of our country, we must come together to restore our national dignity that has been robbed by Donald Trump’s presence in the White House. My Republican friends, I implore you to work with us within our capacity as elected officials to remove this man as our commander-in-chief & help us move forward from this dark period in our nation’s history.” Trump’s attempt to divide & conquer has clearly just begun. (Image Credit Adam Maida)
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Help Is On The Way Benefit Gala

The Richmond / Ermet AID Foundation is having its star-studded AIDS benefit concert & gala Help Is On The Way 23 – Puttin’ On The Glitz on Sunday August 20th at the Herbst Theatre 401 Van Ness Ave in San Francisco. "Help is on the Way" is Northern California's largest annual benefit concert benefiting HIV/AIDS & hunger programs. It's an elegant evening of wonderful music, delicious food & beverages tastings & most important in these difficult times, fun. Kenneth Henderson, Executive Director of the Richmond/Ermet AID Foundation stated, “People think the AIDS epidemic is over & we don't need to pay attention to it anymore. Events like "Help is on the Way" serve not only to raise funds for local AIDS services but to remind people that there's still a need for funding them. More people are living with HIV & AIDS than ever before in history.” Some of the celebrities who will be performing include, LEVI KRESS, TRENT HARMON, JESSICA SANCHEZ, MAUREEN McGOVERN, DAVID BURNHAM, LISA VROMAN, CAROLE COOK, GARRETT CLAYTON, MADDIE BAILLIO, PAULA WEST, JASON BROCK, LISA VIGGIANO & EILEEN & LEAH BOURGADE. The event kicks off with a VIP Gala Reception at 5P in the Green Room, Silent Auction 5P in the Main Lobby, Gala Reception 6P in the Green Room, Performance from 7:30P to 9:45P in the Herbst Theatre & the After Party with cast at Club REAF from 9:45P to 11:30P with music by DJ’s GoBANG! There are all different levels of tickets for part or all of the festivities benefiting Meals on Wheels of San Francisco & the Positive Resource Center.
For More Info & Tix: reaf-sf.org
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LGBT Respond To Hate Attack

This deadly white supremacist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia was an assault on all minorities including our LGBTQ community. Stacey Long Simmons, Esq., Director of the Advocacy & Action Department of the National LGBTQ Task Force stated, “The violence we are witnessing is horrifying, but is merely the latest manifestation of the growing racist, anti-immigration, anti-Semitic, sexist & anti-LGBTQ hate in our midst. The continuing escalation of hate & white nationalist sentiment we are experiencing during the Trump administration has come to this - targeted violence in the streets of Virginia led by the Klu Klux Klan & Neo-Nazi organizations. The National LGBTQ Task Force will not stand by & watch the very fabric of this nation torn apart by hate. We will stand with our immigrant, Muslim, African-American, Latino, AAPI, disabled & all marginalized people targeted by the hate & discrimination coming from all directions, from the White House to the streets of Charlottesville." Candace Bond-Theriault, the Senior Policy Counsel, Reproductive Health, Rights & Justice & the Democracy Project Director concluded, “As a Black queer Virginian I am a swell of emotions. I am angry…I know that White Supremacy & hatred run rampant in my state. Growing up in southern, Virginia, I have witnessed racism firsthand more times than I can count. But even in the face of this extreme demonstration of hatred, I believe in the wise words of Martin Luther King Jr. that “Hate can’t drive out hate. Only love can do that.” In this moment we must keep each other close, hold on to each other and spread love. Today I choose the emotion of love, for myself & my fellow black queer Virginians because love is a radical act of rebellion.”
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