Gays to Help the Disadvantaged and Sick

[allanrbrts]

Source: My So Called Gay Life

The Empowering Spirits Foundation (ESF), a national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization will hold its “Proud Hearts Reach Out” service events across the nation on October 10-11, 2009, in conjunction with Coming Out Day and the Equality March on Washington.

The ESF has partnered with Habitat for Humanity, the American Cancer Society, the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society, MyOutSpirit.com, and others to engage in service oriented events designed to allow LGBT individuals to work side-by-side with non-LGBT members in an effort to open up communication between both sides.

“ESF is proud to be working with various organizations to address many of the major issues facing Americans today; affordable housing, inadequate healthcare, and a lack of funds for neighborhood revitalization,” said A. Latham Staples, President and C.E.O. of the ESF. “Regardless of whether you are gay or straight, these issues affect everyone. And for those in the LGBT community who are unable to attend the national march, this is a great opportunity to help others in need, and in doing so we can engage in dialogue through this non-partisan manner in an effort to promote understanding and equality.”

“Whether you’re Jewish, Christian, or Buddhist, every spiritual tradition requires you to serve the community,” added Clayton Gibson, founder of MyOutSpirit.com, a social networking site for LGBT spiritual individuals. “It’s no different for the LGBT community. We are a part of this community, our families are here. Our well-being and our lives are intertwined with everyone else in the community. And our spirituality demands that when we can help, we do so, while our integrity demands that we aid without hiding who we are.”

Read more: http://blog.mysocalledgaylife.com/?p=2221

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Gay organization announces national service event in 36 states.

[ki83760]

1. And people say gays are evil

[defendandprotect]

2. k i c k

[donco6]

3. I already do this.

I'm a member of Rotary. We have some conservative members, but in general the group is very apolitical. I'm out there and no one cares. We raise money to eradicate polio, and local things like scholarships for kids. We keep nothing. We just had a Ducky Derby and raised several thousand dollars for Shelterboxes (http://www.shelterbox.org/)

I was also a Lion's Club member and that was fun, too.

Being part of a service group is a great way to meet people, be involved in your community, and help bring about worthwhile causes. Whether it's this new group, or one of the established ones, I've found them to be accepting (at least where I am in a large city).

[sui generis]

4. as if we didn't already?

Ever been to an AIDS hospice? Most have not. Given to or volunteered for charities that benefit ASO's, homelessness, food shelters? Most non-gays have not really gotten personally involved, unless it was through their church or a dollar ticket at the checkout counter in the grocery store.

Serving the community? How about taking care of our friends in the AIDS wards in the 80's and early 90's when nobody would touch them for fear of getting cooties?

And on the non-AIDS stories, I'm regularly carting my 85 year old neighbor to chemo around my work schedule because his daughter lives in another state and he has no other relatives here - and have cooked for and taken care of virtually everyone in my neighborhood in their final years (no it wasn't my cooking that killed 'em), pulled their pets out of trees, took them to the doctor, picked them up from surgery, the hospital, and even accompanied them to their final resting places.

And I am not the only "good neighbor" by any means - we've split up these duties with the other gay couples living on our street, and have even gotten the notice and attention of the mayor's office for our neighborhood.

I told DU a while ago that my rugby team and friends all went in once a quarter to deliver turkeys, food and non-perishables to our local food pantry. A few people got it. Some people viewed it as self-aggrandizing, and one or two actually took it as an idea for volunteering and teaching within their own families.

This is not new for any of us. What's new is that it comes as a surprise to anyone else. Those of us who have been around for a while know some things the rest of the world does not, most notably that the extent of peoples' apathy can at times be also the measure of their care.