LII Venner (right) of PFLAG receives her Hometown Hero Honorable mention award from Andrea
Rogers, coordinator of the United Way's Volunteer Connection. The bear came with a $500 check.

PFLAG’s Lil Venner
Recognized by United Way

Home Town Hero Runner Up Nominated by Outright

BURLINGTON — Lil Venner has never
— quite — given up, though she has felt
discouraged at times, especially on those
nights when she sat alone at the menthly
PFLAG meeting. But, she said in a phone .
interview after the United Way of
Chittenden County’s volunteer recognition
breakfast at which she was recognized
with an “Honorable Mention” Hometown

Hero award, “Just when I’m ready to stop
doing this, someone contacts me who
needs to talk to another parent.”

Kate Jerman, co-director of the LGBT
youth organization Outright Vermont,
nominated Venner. “Some of the youth
here call her ‘the Cookie Lady’ — she
bakes for us on an almost weekly basis.

She’s always at Youth Pride to offer hugs.

Besides,” Jerman’ declares, “she is
PFLAG.”

PFLAG is the Parents, Friends and
Family of Lesbians and Gays. As out-
lined on the national group’s website,
“The idea for PFLAG began in 1972‘
when Jeanne Manford marched with her
gay son in New York’s Pride Day
parade,” carrying a sign reading, ‘Parents
of Gays: Unite in Support of Our
Children.’ “After many gay and lesbian
people ran up to Jeanne during the parade
and begged her to talk to their parents,
she decided to begin a support group. The
first formal meeting took place in March
1973 at a local church. Approximately 20
people attended.” I A

“I was so touched when Kate [Jerman]
began reading the nomination. I thought I
was going to get a free breakfast and then
go home. It was such an honor to actually
win an award, I’m still just kind of
mulling it over. I’m used to working in
the background. I don’t expect any return,

_ just knowing deep down that I’m making

a difference.”

Venner has some concerns about the
continuance of PFLAG, not that she’s
leaving any time soon. Those meetings
where no one else came are one concern,
although she said, “We’ve got some new
blood in, but there isn’t really anyone else
to grab the ball and run with it.”

Most of the parents find her through the
PFLAG national website (www.pflag.org).
Asked whether PFLAG is still needed

I

when it has become easier to “come out,”
especially in Vermont, where our civil
rights are legally protected, Venner doesn’t
hesitate to answer a clear yes.

“One woman came up to me [at the
award breakfast] and said, ‘You’re just
very important in my life. I was rejected
when I0 came out, and I have to know
there are parents who are accepting.’”
Recently, a lesbian family with children
new to the neighborhood told Venner that
their kindergarten—age child was subjected
to a homophobic remark at C.P. Smith
school. Venner encouraged her neighbor
to raise the issue at school and offered her
help as a parent advocate; her grandchil-
dren attend the same school.

Venner volunteers for several organi-
zations, and for some of her volunteer
colleagues elsewhere, her recognition for
PFLAG came as a revelation. It also
came with a $500 check for PFLAG,
which she promptly signed over to
Outright Vermont.

Organizations who are not members
of the United Way can nominate volun-
teers for recognition, Jerman explained.
Outright is not a member and has had two
of its nominees in a row achieve
“Honorable Mention” Hometown Hero
status. Last year, Dan Bems took the hon-
ors. “We don’t have the resources to do
the kind of volunteer recognition that
we’d like to, or that the United Way does.
We have two staff members —— we
wouldn’t be here without volunteers.” V

Unity Project Makes Final Grants

BURLINGTON/MIDDLEBURY —
The Samara Foundation and the
Vermont Community Foundation,
acting as the Unity Project, at press
time were expected to release the
list of the project’s final grants.
According to sources on the UP
Grants Committee, ten organizations
will receive a total of $74,000 in
this round of funding.

Outright Vermont, the R.U.l .2?
Queer Community Center, and
Mountain Pride Media, publisher of
Out in the Mountains, all located in
Burlington, each received $12,500,
$2,500 more than each had request-
ed. The three groups are part of the
Community Alliance Initiative and
saw that proposal rejected by the

grant committee earlier in the
process (see OITM, September,
“Community Alliance Initiative
Phase 2 Denied Funding”).

Outright’s grant is to “build _
capacity” for its mission of reaching
under-served lgbt populations, to
support its work in Vermont schools,
and to fund a social marketing cam-
paign.

R.U.l .2?’s award is to help the
center to develop materials and cur-
riculum addressing the health care
needs of queer elders, and support
its ability to provide consultation for
or collaboration with other lgbt
organizations.

Mountain Pride Media will use
the funding to develop youth-

focused information on the website
and in OIT M, including possibly, a
youth page. The project will require
both independent outreachand sup-
port for young writers, artists and '
photographers, and collaboration
with Outright and other groups.
The Vermont Freedom to Marry
Task Force was awarded $10,000 to
fund the creation of two short films
promoting acceptance of marriage

_ equality in Vermont.

The Unity Project funded
SafeSpace’s request for $6100 for a
media awareness campaign.
According to agency Director Kara
DeLeonardis, the grant was unex-
pected, since the group’s prelimi-
nary proposal for rural outreach had

been rejected. In addition, Ghost
Media of Brattleboro requested
funds under SafeSpace’s nonprofit
umbrella for a film on hate crimes.
According to DeLeonardis, Ghost
Media’s proposal was rejected. The
letter notifying SafeSpace of its
grant, DeLeonardis said, suggested
that the group was under no obliga-
tion to complete the project outlined
in the preliminary proposal.
SafeSpace will likely spend at least
part of the money on a public
awareness film.

Faerie Camp Destiny received
$5,000 toward construction of water
and sewer systems. Vermont
TransAction received $5,000 for

, community education about issues

facing the trans community. PRIDE
Vermont applied for and received
$4,000 for its 2006 celebration.

The Twin State Women’s
Network received $3,400 to support
its “Peer Natural Leader Program”
with respect to lesbians and gay men
with Hepatitis C. And the Howard
Center for Human Services received
$3,000 to establish a support group
for people with developmental dis-
abilities who identify as gay, les-
bian, bisexual, or transgender.

In addition, two “Community
Projects” were awarded “up to”
$8500 each: the Bennington Pride
Coalition for start-up funds for its
Community Action project to reduce

-homophobia through education; and

LGBT Windham County for the
creation of a community center
modeled on R.U.l .2?.
The Unity Project has said it will

disband after fulfilling its mandate
to disburse all its funds. V

Upper Valley Men’s Project Office Closes

WEST LEBANON, NH —
Although the Upper Valley Men’s
Project will continue, its office will
not. As of October 1, when the grant
that supported the office runs out,
the furnishings will be gone, the

lights will be turned off, and the
door will be locked.

Neither Fred Pond, acting secre-
tary, nor Donald Blake, the chair-
man and ‘acting treasurer, whose
names were on an email announcing

the closing, responded before press
time to several emails requesting an
interview.

, The decision to close the office
was made at the UVMP board of
directors meeting on August 9. The

office had been open Tuesdays from
5:30-8:00 pm. ’

, According to its website, “The
Upper Valley Men's Project is a sup-
port and social group. Our mission
is through educational, social, and
supportive events to establish a
healthy and active community for
gay, bisexual, transgendered, closet-

ed, and questioning men of the
Upper Valley to meet in a safe and
welcoming environment where All
are welcome.” That description was
adopted as the organization’s mis-
sion statement in November of
2003. V