28 | Out in the Mountains |August 2000

community compass

Mountain Pride
Media

Mountain Pride Media con-
tinues to travel the state with
our Green Mountain Tour. This
tour brings Mountain Pride
Media to your neighborhood to
talk about what we are working
on, to meet board and staff
members, to talk about what
we could be doing better, and
to teach you some great media
writing skills. Thanks to Peg
Franzen and Joyce Wemtgen,
of Montpelier, who hosted our
tour on July 30. We will be in
Franklin County on August 6.
Look for details on the back
page of this issue or on the Web
site calendar, www.mountain-
pridemedia.org.

We had a great turnout at the

stuffing in June. Thanks to
Bruce, Dan, Doug, Richard,
Rick, and Kathy for helping us
get the July issue mailed out.
We always welcome people to
stop by our Richmond office
the last Thursday of every
month between 5 and 8 p.m. to
help get the paper out into our
community. We have a multi-
tude of other ways you can
help out. To find out about our
current volunteer opportunities
check out our Volunteers Page
online at www.mountainpride-
media.org/volunteer.htm.

Welcome to four new mem-
bers to our Board of Directors:
Brian Cote of Hinesburg, Pam
Kinniburgh of Worcester, Ernie
McLeod of Middlebury, and
Cele Burnett of Montpelier. A
special thanks to Judy Beaulac
of North Ferrisburg, who is
leaving the Board, for her ded-
ication and hard work while
serving on the Board of
Directors.

On Saturday, July 16, at the
home of Bennett Law in
Bethel, Mountain Pride Media
held its first annual Founder’s
Celebration. Nearly 100 volun-
teers and supporters of
Mountain Pride Media and Out
In The Mountains came togeth-
er to celebrate. A special thanks
to everyone who helped us
Contact some of our “missing”
volunteers from the earlier
days of Out In The Mountains.
Despite our best efforts, we
weren’t successful in tracking

everyone down, but the search

will continue as we prepare for
next year’s celebration. Thanks
to everyone who joined us for
this event, making it one of the
largest celebrations in
Mountain Pride Medias histo-
ry.

I-wally. thanks the Samurai

Foundation of Vermont for
their award of a $5,000.00
grant. We are extremely grate-
ful to everyone at Samara for
their continued support of
Mountain Pride Media and it’s
initiatives.

National Coming Out
Week Committee

Vermont’s National Coming
Out Week’s (NCOW) commit-
tee members have been work-
ing hard planning this year’s
celebration. The kick off
begins on Wednesday, October
11 with Blue Jeans Day, a
speakout, and a poetry slam.
The week of October 15 is
filled with events including
panels on civil unions and
GLBT politicians, “Straight
But Not Narrow” discussion, a
coffeehouse, and a dance on
Friday, October 20 to end the
week off right.

NCOW needs many volun-
teers to make this event run

smoothly: be it attending meet- .

ings and help plan and execute
events or helping out at a cer-
tain venue one day. NCOW is
also seeking performers for the
coffeehouse on Tuesday,
October 17 from 8-10PM.
Dramatic readings, poetry, and
skits are just some of the things
we are looking for. We have
five available positions open
and each position pays $50. If
you are interested or know
someone who might be, please
send a cassette tape or video-
tape of your talent to the
Coffeehouse Chair Dean Pratt
at PO Box 1012, Burlington,
VT 05402-1012. From the
submitted items, the committee
will fill the remaining posi-
tions. Notification will be sent
out by mid—September. For
more information on NCOW’s
events, visit our website at
www.uvm.edu/~ncow.

Pride Vermont

Pride Vermont 2001
Committee is already in
progress for fundraising for the
2001 celebration. A Labor Day
Pride Cruise will be held on
Saturday, September 2nd, 2000
with departure from the
Burlington Ferry Dock at 7pm.

The price is $20.00, and
includes the cruise, dancing,
entertainment, hors d’oeurves
and cash bar!

Tickets must be purchased
by August 26 either at the
Peace & Justice Center on
Church Street or by mail, Pride
Vermont. PO Box 1433.
Burlington. VT 05402

 

Samara Foundation
of Vermont

Samara Foundation of
Vermont has announced grants
totaling $25,000 to twelve
organizations serving the
Vermont gay community.
Samara Foundation first
awarded grants in 1998, and
has now awarded over $55,000
to fifteen groups throughout
the state.

Organizations funded in
Samara Foundation’s Year
2000 granting cycle benefit the
Vermont gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgendered communi-
ties in a wide range of areas
including youth services, AIDS
education and support, media
development, community cele-
bration, education regarding
the new Civil Union law,
development of a community
center in Burlington, and initia-
tives to address same sex
domestic violence.

Expanded youth services for
gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans-
gendered and questioning
youth throughout Vermont are
supported by three grants.
Outright Vermont, serving
youth through support groups
and educational activities, was
awarded $4,000 as a ‘challenge
grant,’ requiring matched
donations. Newly funded youth
initiatives include the Gay-
Straight Alliance at Lyndon
State College - $625, to orga-
nize a statewide Gay-Straight
Alliance conference, and a St.
Johnsbury support group spon-
sored by Creative Works of
Springfield College - $350,
for youth questioning their sex-
uality.

Reducing same sex domes-
tic violence is the focus of two
new grants to the Women’s
Crisis Center in Brattleboro
and the Women’s Rape Crisis
Center in Burlington, working
with the Chittenden County

Domestic Violence Task Force. '

Each organization has been
awarded $2,000. Funds are tar-
geted for the creation of a
‘warm line,’ production of edu-
cational materials and staff
training.

A $2,000 membership ‘chal— _

lenge grant’ to the Burlington
RU12? Community Center,
and a $5,000 grant to
Mountain Pride Media for
the statewide gay community
newspaper, Out In The
Mountains, aim to offer
greater social support and com-

Community Compass is a service of OITM.

GLBT organizations from around the state

are invited

‘[0 provide 200~WO|"d descriptions Of recent OI"

upcoming activities and events.

Send your submissions to us by email to editor@moun-

tainpridemedia.org
by the 15th of the month.

munication for gay individuals
in Vermont.

The Vermont Freedom to
Marry Task Force received
$3,500 to continue statewide
education regarding the new
Civil Union law, while celebra-
tions of our community’s
achievements were supported
by a $2,000 grant to PRIDE
2000 and a $500 grant to the
Green Mountain Freedom
Band.

A special support group for
transgendered people in
Chittenden County, and out-
reach to men in Bennington
County, were the focus of two
AIDS service organization
grants. Vermont CARES and
the Brattleboro Area AIDS
Project each were awarded
$1,500.

“We are thrilled to offer
financial support for so many
important projects that pro-
mote tolerance throughout
Vermont while strengthening
services for the gay communi-
ty,” stated Linda Markin,
President of the Samara
Foundation board of directors.

The Samara Foundation,
with offices in Burlington, is
one of a network of gay & les-
bian community foundations
across the country. Samara
Foundation is a charitable
foundation whose mission is
“to support and strengthen
Vermont’s gay, lesbian, bisexu-
al and transgendered commu-
nities today and build an
endowment for tomorrow.”

For further information
about giving or granting oppor-

tunities contact Bill Lippert,
Executive Director, Samara
Foundation of Vermont, P.O.
Box 1263, Burlington, VT
05402. Call 802-860-6236 or
email at info@samarafounda-
tion.org.

Theatre on a
Shoestring

dsp, inc., a division of
Theatre on a Shoestring, is a
local producer of social issue
videos as well as Vermont’s
newest actor’s agency. We are
always looking for GLBT indi-
viduals to appear in our videos,
with such topics as AIDS in
Society, Homophobia, and
Abuse. These videos are pro-
duced to be educational;
important information about
resources out there that can be
of assistance is included in
each project.

We are proud to announce a
new venture: civil union type-
setting. Competitively priced
with fast tumarounds, we can
typeset your ceremony‘s pro-
grams, invitations, table tents,
etc. We have even placed a $10
off coupon in this issue to be
used for your joyous occasion.
Let us relieve you of some of
the stress that comes with plan-
ning an event of this impor-
tance. We support civil unions,
equal rights for the GLBT
community, and diversity. Give
us a call for a free estimate.

V

  
 

The Vermont Coalition for
Lesbian and Gay Rights

will be hosting the
2000 Conference/ Town Meeting

at the Vermont Technical College
on October 21, 2000

Be a part of the
planning committee.
Be a co—sponsor of the day.

Call Virginia Renfrew at
802-438-4333 or email
at renfrew@sover.net