Meet Jim Obergefell: A Hero for Marriage Equality

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Raymond Braun and GLAAD Partner for Southern Stories Tour

Today YouTube content creator Raymond Braun posted a new video for GLAAD exploring the LGBT community in the Deep South as part of GLAAD’s Southern Stories Tour.  Raymond, in partnership with GLAAD, set out on a seven day tour through 10 cities in six Southern states with one overarching mission; to accelerate equality in a region that is severely lacking in equality and inclusion. Raymond captured personal stories from LGBT Southerners that have experienced the culture gap of acceptance that is still extremely evident in this region of our nation.

Watch Raymond as he explores the Deep South and showcases the strength of LGBT Southerners as they continue to fight for total acceptance and equality for their community.



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UNITE Magazine launches new LGBT publication in Virginia

Unite Virginia magazine, the first and only statewide LGBT publication in the Commonwealth, has officially launched both in print and online. Unite Virginia’s mission is to connect, inform and engage Virginia’s LGBT community and its allies. By highlighting the business interests of the historically underserved LGBT demographic, Unite Virginia provides the LGBT community a unified voice in Virginia’s broader economic narrative. Unite Virginia also incorporates a variety of lifestyle content—ranging from community conversations and political commentary to cultural articles and entertaining stories—which are designed to appeal to Virginia’s diverse population.

Unite Virginia is the latest addition to the UNITE family of LGBT publications that also includes editions in Nashville, Indianapolis and Cincinnati. Unite Virginia is the first member of the UNITE family to publish a statewide magazine.

Published by Justin Ayars, JD, Unite Virginia is distributed across Virginia and Washington D.C. The magazine is a partner of both the Virginia Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit corporation, and the Equality First Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.

“Although Virginia’s LGBT community is rapidly expanding its equality portfolio, it did not have a vehicle that united the community and permitted it to speak with a singular voice. We wanted to bring the UNITE brand to Virginia to connect the Commonwealth’s entire LGBT community and give it an economic voice,” states Ayars. “We are pleased that Unite Virginia now serves as the only publication that effectively integrates the story of the LGBT community into the narrative of Virginia’s diverse 21st century economy.”

Addressing the new venture in the Old Dominion, Joey Amato, Founder of UNITE Magazine, said, “Richmond is one of the most vibrant and amazing cities I’ve visited in the past year. Virginia’s people, culture, history, food and, of course, the LGBT business community are truly extraordinary. Justin and his team have created a wonderful statewide publication and I am so proud to have them in the UNITE family.”

To read the current issue, please click below:
http://unitemag.us6.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=e6f09b6d0ae3565f53bcb86d2&id=25826c1b54&e=974477d7bc


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Foundation for a National AIDS Monument Receives $500,000 Matching Gift From Cedars-Sinai

 The Foundation for a National AIDS Monument, a non-profit organization building an HIV/AIDS Monument to memorialize, by name and likeness, those who died as a result of HIV/AIDS, today announced a $500,000 gift from Cedars-Sinai, the largest gift made to the Foundation. Cedars Sinai will present a $250,000 check to the organization during an event to be held on June 18 at the West Hollywood Library. Cedars-Sinai will then match additional donations made to the organization up to another $250,000. To date, the Foundation has surpassed $1.2 million in contributions for the monument.

“The Foundation for a National AIDS Monument is immensely proud of our partnership with Cedars-Sinai and the generous contribution they have made to the AIDS Monument. Thanks to Cedars-Sinai's leadership, FAM has surpassed over $1.2 million in contributions in the first 6 months of our initial capital campaign and Cedar- Sinai's matching gift opportunity will lead to even more contributions in support of our work,” said Mark Lehman, chairman of the board of directors for the Foundation.

“Cedars-Sinai has a deep and meaningful place in the history of the AIDS epidemic in West Hollywood and throughout the country. This gift and matching grant helps FAM memorialize, pay tribute and educate the community regarding HIV/AIDS in an extraordinarily meaningful way."

To date, the Foundation has raised over $1 million in just six months from over 50 different donors. The physical monument is designed by renowned artist Daniel Tobin and will be located in the heart of West Hollywood. Both a physical structure and interactive experience, the monument will memorialize the AIDS crisis and celebrate the lives of those that have passed, honor the institutions and organizations building awareness and fighting for change and inform this and future generations to the current state of HIV/AIDS resources, prevention and care.

For more information, please log on to www.aidsmonument.org.

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