Today's Out Spotlight is not about one person but a group of people coming together to make a difference beyond the gay community. Today's Out Spotlight is Gay for Good.
Gay for Good's aims to energize and mobilize the LGBT community to interact with city communities by volunteering time to various social welfare and environmental service projects. It wants to bring goodwill and understanding between the LGBT and greater other city communities through regular collaborative volunteer service projects.
Back in the fall of 2008, during a usual Saturday morning hike in the hills of LA, friends Frank Roller and Steve Gratwick talked about wanting to do more volunteer work. At the time they were inspired by the triumvirate of events happening: then-president elect Obama’s volunteer initiative, the biopic “Milk” and the passage of California’s antigay Proposition 8. They wanted to find a way how to take LGBT people beyond the “gay community” and into the larger world to actively do some good.
A year and a half later along with Tony Biel,whose gay hiking group Take a Hike brought the two friends together, Gay for Good was founded. Since it started G4G has completed more than 18 day-long volunteer projects around LA, mostly focused on tangible environmental pursuits, like landscaping and cleanup. “Because of the hiking group and the location, we have a lot of people who enjoy the outdoors,”. Every month 50-150 gay men and a few women "get to meet people outside the bar scene, learn something new, and have a feeling of accomplishment for an environmentally positive job well done."Gay For Good is open to everyone. Each month G4G selects a non-profit organization to donate their time through a weekend service project. They also have regular pot-luck dinners or happy hours to connect and build friendships.
It's not about donating money but just time, energy and a positive attitude while at the same doing something valuable in cities and communities while meeting other great people in the LGBT community.To achieve this mission they:
Identify and connect with environmental and social welfare organizations in each city chapter (including organizations not traditionally associated with the LGBT community)
Support select organizations primarily through volunteer service (time), rather than financial contributions
Coordinate regular social events for G4G members to develop friendships and network
Foster and promote a spirit of positive, enthusiastic camaraderie both within the LGBT community and towards our partner organizations
Do something valuable for our community, city and country
Above all, make a positive difference and have fun!
G4G has grown beyond LA with chapters in San Francisco and San Diego, Boston, Chapters in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Chicago are in the works.
Some of G4G projects
Planted trees in fire-scorched Malibu in partnership with Tree People
Landscaped a senior community housing complex
Cleaned up a trail on Santa Catalina Island
Cleaned up LA’s Ballona Creek, which leads to the Pacific Ocean
Picked oranges to distribute at local food banks with Food Forward
Beach clean up in San Diego
Gathering supplies and staples for Rosie's Place (a shelter for homeless women) in Boston
G4G volunteers clean up Runyon Canyon Park in Los Angeles.
Gay For Good website
Gay For Good Twitter
Austin and Zak:
ReplyDeletehttp://twitpic.com/3ta374
Another informative Out Spotlight, Special. It's always great to be reminded how just a few people can make such a big difference within their communities.
ReplyDeleteThe website link is broken, so here are the G4G and LA Chapter links for those who are interested in more information:
All G4G Chapters
LA Chapter
Repost:
ReplyDeletePoor Atti is getting old. He can't keep up. I wonder how old Atticus is?
Hey, Tom. Atticus is only six years old and will turn seven this September. He was a six month old pup when Jake became his proud Papa in March, 2004.
http://imhereonordersfrommybird.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteThanks M and M. Poor Atti looks a little worn out in that photo. Maybe toooooo many snacks when Daddy was away in NYC and NC.
ReplyDeleteHey bluevelvet!!! What's up??
ReplyDeleteFrom the Urban Dict:
ReplyDelete"2. pines
The word penis with vowels places switched
forest speak for wang
something made of wood
fur pines are long hard hairy woods
just take the I and put it where the E goes. Then take the E and put it where the I goes:
pInEs
pEnIs
Thanks M&M for the links. I fixed the link in the post with the one you gave.
ReplyDeleteHow I heard about G4G is a friend from college was doing a G4G project with the San Diego chapter a couple of weeks ago and wrote about it.
Now that's an old blogger acct for me that I didn't even remember I had. Tome6 is my screen name for The Envelope. Jack should reckonize that.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of The Envelope things really seem to be tightening up for the Best Picture Oscar. The King's Speech has recently beat the early favorite and Golden Globe winner The Social Network in both the Directors Guild and Producers Guild Awards. It will be interesting to see what happens tonight in the SAG or Screen Actor Awards.
Blue Velvet said...
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite anti-Bush bumper stickers:
01-20-09: The End of an Error
Academy Awards 2011: The Unbearable Whiteness of the Oscars
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonder that the security guards at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences didn't stop Mo'nique and make her show ID when she arrived to help announce the Oscar nominations early Tuesday at the organization's Beverly Hills headquarters. After all, she was the only person of color involved with the extravaganza, since the 83rd annual Oscar nominations have the dubious distinction of being an all-white affair.
Setting aside the more obscure, technical categories, when it comes to the best picture award along with the major nominations for acting, writing and directing, there are, ahem, zero people of color in the Oscar race this year.
There are so few significant African American characters in any of the 10 films nominated for best picture that comedian Aziz Ansari did a bit about it at the Producer's Guild Awards on Saturday night, wondering why there couldn't have been at least one black kid checking his Facebook account in "The Social Network," adding that things were so white that in "127 Hours," when James Franco's hiker character cuts off his arm, it doesn't even turn black.
It's hard not to notice how few minorities had any visible roles in this year's most lauded films. "The Social Network" offers us a virtually lilywhite Harvard; "The Fighter" is set in a oh-so-white, blue-collar Boston neighborhood; "The King's Speech" depicts an all-white, upper-crust, 1930s-era London; "Toy Story 3," like most Pixar films, is set in a fantasy suburbia without any obvious references to minorities; while "True Grit" takes us back to the Old West, where the only black faces I can remember seeing are that of a manservant and a stable boy.
And if you're wondering about lead actor nominee Javier Bardem, he's from Spain.
@dizmihok. What's up homey. Long time. I just saw you on here from @ccollinsjr. Miss ya bro. -Austin about 1 hour ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
ReplyDelete@AUS10NICHOLS -- i never realised megan fox was in holiday in the sun with you! ----- NEITHER DID I !!!!!! about 7 hours ago via web
allisonmunn @AUS10NICHOLS Fred Schneider is the jam. about 17 hours ago via web in reply to AUS10NICHOLS Retweeted by AUS10NICHOLS and 1 other
For a minute there I thought you had an imposter Tom.
ReplyDeleteI really loved both The King's Speech and Social Network, but I really think Fincher deserved to win for director.
What a great idea for an organization. I wish they had something like that all over the country.
ReplyDeleteGee, just what the world needed, another photo of a couple of wasted closet cases.
ReplyDeleteThanks Special for this joyful Out Spotlight! The GLBT community really knows how to step up to the plate when it comes to building a sense of community and giving back.
ReplyDeleteJust tripped over a familiar name in today's news, and as we've noted before, he is defo some very good eye candy... besides having great acting chops. Our new Superman.
Super Henry Cavill
I don't know if that is really blue velvet. When Blue Velvet has commented they usually use their avatar.
ReplyDeleteBet Jake's doing what I'm doing -
ReplyDeletewatching the Lakers/Celtics game
of course!
GO CELTICS!
Just bumped into Jake Gyllenhaal and what looked like his mom at Whole Foods :-D
ReplyDelete24 minutes ago via web
Arianna_Belle
@tarastrong was just in line @whole foods behind Jake Gyllenhaal who helped his mom load everything on the counter 27 minutes ago via Echofon in reply to tarastrong
ReplyDeletetarastrong
Even if he is only 6, poor Atti does appear to be struggling. Maybe the walk was very long or the day extra warm. His back looks stiff.
ReplyDeleteFYI, someone on dc forum/the juicy bits posted links to "Provoke by Gregg Homme underwear" and "Dare by Gregg Homme underwear" commercials on youtube. I don't know where they are being shown, not in the US for sure, but they are the hottest commercials ever. Sexually provocative, gay male oriented and in one you can see the penis clearly outlined on a gorgeous man. The poster asked that these be the inspiration for a story with Jack and Ennis. Since both were filmed in a parking garage I imagined Jake being the panting unseen male heard in the background even without a story to back it up.
I wonder if the haircut is for Source Code promo. No announcements about a new role yet. I also noticed Jake is carrying a prescription bag in the Med office photo.
Even if he is only 6, poor Atti does appear to be struggling. Maybe the walk was very long or the day extra warm. His back looks stiff.
ReplyDeleteGerman Shepherds do have a genetic predisposition toward hip dysplasia, but I'm sure Jake has had his boy checked out. When Atti was on set with Jake during the filming of Source Code early last year, he looked healthy and spry playing ball with Daddy.
to prairiegirl regarding her work disability: wth does it matter what country handles you SDD? they only apply the rules they are given it would not be any different if it was not outsourced. Do you have a manager? because that is the only person who could make a call or at least support your case and decide if you can take some time off without reporting SDD. Otherwise those are the rules decided by YOUR AMERICAN employer, stop blaming the outsourcing company.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteYou know nothing about it. My managers cannot do anything about it. The outsourced companies, and there are two of them, make the decision. I have complied with all they have required as far as paperwork.
ReplyDeleteEnd of story. My people can do nothing about it once it goes past 3 days straight.
You don't care anyway. It's just an opportunity for you to troll a regular. Give me a break. And you better believe, if it was the other way around, you'd be griping, too, don't tell me you wouldn't.
Everyone stay safe today - bad weather is moving in!
I probably should go ahead and say before this blows up into something that Special will have to monitor, that I would’ve griped about the HR issue were it outsourced to an outside company in my buddy Tom’s state or the Grand Poobah Special’s state or the divine M&M’s state that my company would turn over my plant’s HR issues to.
ReplyDeleteAmerica does this within its own borders. It’s an irritant no matter where it takes place.
And it’s strictly an issue of business and money. So it shouldn’t be blown up into anything more than that.
Running late for work so no time to chat. But Destiny check out ONTD. New pictures of Bomer filming and in one his ass is to die for. You will know which picture immediately.
ReplyDeleteThanks M!
ReplyDeleteI know there are positive things about a global economy, but in these times of high unemployment it is really frustrating that so many companies ship so many jobs overseas just so they can make even bigger profits. So I have to agree with PG about the frustration of having to deal with people overseas on the phone, when in another time you could just pop into the HR office.
We can thank a Dem for that - Bill Clinton.
ReplyDeleteI do believe free trade is better for a country in the long run, the problem is an even playing field. NAFTA is small potatoes in the scheme of things when you consider most of the jobs have gone to Asia, not Mexico and Latin America. Then there is tax policy, which doesn't tax money that is earned and kept overseas.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, the Dems share some of the blame.
That is a great picture of Bomer M. He has a might fine ass for someone with a small build. You should have seen White Collar last week, he was in khaki pants and a wifebeater--I think they had him bend over slightly for a minute in the scene just to show off his backside. It was definitely an episode that showed off a lot of his physical assets and showed that he has great chemistry with both men and women.
ReplyDeleteDear Ted:
ReplyDeleteWhat can you tell me about the mega-hunk I've just discovered by the name of Austin Nichols? Why isn't he a superstar? He's über hot, he can act and he's genuinely funny on his Twitter. What's his story, morning glory?
—Gabby wants to know
Dear Hottie Alert:
My, what devious taste you have. Austin is a total doll, and he isn't bad to look at, either—as you obviously noticed. Considering Austin's besties with Jake Gyllenhaal, clearly he's got a little sneak to him. Then again, those two haven't been Laker buddies or biking pals in a while. Maybe they've both more been concentrating on what it takes to be a real-deal moneyed superstar? Jake's generous with his tips, after all.
Bitch Back
It WAS a good question, huh?
ReplyDelete;)
-OwlGirl aka Gabby