COLAGE News Blog

Family Week Provincetown 2009 Jul 30 09

In just a few days, Family Week Provincetown, 2009 kicks off another amazing week of youth and family programming. During this week long celebration for LGBTQ families, COLAGE connects children of LGBTQ parents to a community of peers who share our experiences; through this youth develop pride, friendships, leadership skills and have a lot of fun!

You can preview the COLAGE Family Week schedule for this summer online at:
http://www.colage.org/programs/events/ptown.htm. Once you arrive in Provincetown, please make sure to pick up your COLAGE Program Book for the most detailed and up-to-date listing of all our Family Week events.

Registration for COLAGE begins on Saturday, August 1st from 3:00-6:00 pm in front of the Crown and Anchor located at 247 Commercial Street. Please stop by to check in and get your full COLAGE Program Book for the week. For families arriving late to Provincetown, registration will continue Sunday morning from 9 am – 11:00 am at the Crown and Anchor and at the COLAGE Kickoff.

Come to the COLAGE Kickoff on Sunday, August 2nd from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm to meet our team and to fill out paperwork required for youth participation in COLAGE activities. This year our Kickoff is at Provincetown High School located at 12 Winslow Street. (These forms include a liability waiver and your Provincetown contact information in case of emergencies so please bring this information with you). This is also the best time to meet other parents and youth, meet the COLAGE Staff and find out all that is in store for you during this fabulous week.

Please note, during our first weekend together, we’ll be sharing Provincetown with the Pan Mass Challenge- over 5000 cyclists and their fans will be in town, so know that the streets may be more crowded than usual and allot extra time to get to each location.

Stay tuned for more updates, photos and exciting news from Family Week in Provincetown! We look forward to another fabulous and enriching event!

Florida Action Alert: Repeal the Adoption Ban Jul 21 09

Wednesday, July 22nd has been declared "Exploring Adoption Day" in Florida. Use this opportunity to help repeal the FL anti-LGBT adoption ban!

COLAGE applauds the introduction of HB 3 - Adoption, for the 2010 legislative session in Florida, introduced by Representative Mary Brandenburg, D - West Palm Beach, that is a full repeal of Florida's ban on adoption by its gay and lesbian citizens. Senator Nan Rich has a companion bill in drafting at this date.

Governor Crist has declared Wednesday, July 22, 2009 as Explore Adoption Day and we must contact Governor Crist and the legislature to Explore Adoption by repealing the ban.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Make calls to the following elected officials to share your story and ask for support in repealing the anti-LGBT adoption ban:

Governor Charlie Crist (850) 488-7146 or email Charlie.Crist@myflorida.com

House Speaker Larry Cretul 850-488-1450 or 352-873-6564 or email Larry.Cretul@myfloridahouse.gov

Senate President Jeff Atwater 850-487-5100 or 561-625-5101 or email atwater.jeff.web@flsenate.gov

To find your Florida Representative visit this site – www.myfloridahouse.gov and for your Florida Senator – www.flsenate.gov

WHEN YOU CALL:
Please ask the Governor to support the repeal of the adoption ban on LGBT Floridians and ask him to encourage the legislative leadership to pass the repeal. Please ask the House Speaker and the Senate President to support the repeal and encourage Committee hearings for the bills.
Please ask your representative and senator to support the repeal, and to become a co-sponsor

* Share the fact that a recent poll, released January 22, 2009 by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, found that a clear majority of Floridians, 55% to 39%, believe the Florida legislature should repeal the ban. http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1297.xml?ReleaseID=1250

* Share your own story as a person with an LGBTQ parent. You might talk about how growing up with a family that is discriminated against, for example by this adoption law, can be challenging or isolating. Or how as you respect and support your parents,you know our families are discriminated against because our families aren't seen as 'normal'. This means that sometimes we and our families don't receive the equal respect, rights and validation as other families in FL. Make your message as personal as you can!

After you call your elected officials, let COLAGE know! Email us and tell us how you spoke out to make change on the adoption ban in Florida.

ABC Primetime Profiles a Trans Family Tonight Jul 21 09

COLAGE invites you to tune in tonight as ABC Primetime tells the story of Chole and Rene Prince and their two sons, Logan and Barry as part of their Family Secrets series. You can read this family's story and preview video of Logan and Barry online here: http://abcnews.go.com/primetime.

Gender transition can be hard for families and for children. Trying to explain the change in his family, Barry, age "She had a girl inside her. So she went on a surgery to get, get it out." You can learn a lot more about COLAGE's Kids of Trans program online here: http://www.colage.org/programs/trans/.

After viewing this special tonight, share your reactions with COLAGE! Email kidsoftrans@colage.org and share your questions, thoughts and feedback!

Have you connected with COLAGE on Facebook? Jul 20 09

An easy way to stay in the loop of all exciting COLAGE news is to become a fan of COLAGE on Facebook... you can also meet others who are part of our movement and find new ways to get involved!

COLAGE Welcomes a New COLAGE Chapter in Washington State Jul 9 09

COLAGE Welcomes COLAGE Mid-Columbia to our Network of groups!

COLAGE Mid Columbia serves SE Washington & NE Oregon. It is based out of Kennewick, WA (one of the Tri-Cities, which includes Richland & Pasco).

The first chance to connect with us is at our table during the Mid Columbia Pride Rally Sunday, July 19, from 12-4PM. Find out more about upcoming events and enjoy fun activities for youth with LGBTQ parents.

On August 10th, COLAGE Mid-Columbia is hosting a field trip to Silverwood Amusement Park.
In addition, we have organizational meetings on the 3rd Monday of each month from 6 to 7PM. Meetings are held at the Diversity Pride Center at 2625 W Bruneau Pl, Unit D, Kennewick, WA 99336. Our email address is: COLAGE@DiversityPrideCenter.net. To learn more, email us or call (509)430-1987.

COLAGE Mourns the Passing of Bonnie Tinker Jul 7 09

While celebrating a lifetime of her activism and passion, COLAGE mourns the recent death of Bonnie Tinker a leader in our movement and lesbian mother (and grandmother). Tinker was killed Thursday in Virginia when she was struck by a truck while riding her bicycle.

"In so many ways, Bonnie Tinker was a pioneer of LGBT family activism. She will be missed although her legacy will live on," shared Beth Teper, COLAGE Executive Director.

Through her life, Bonnie was a fierce and fabulous activist. She was a leader in the anti-war group Seriously P.O.'d Grannies and the founder/director of Love Makes a Family, an affiliate of COLAGE based in Portland, OR. Love Makes A Family works to create a supportive environment within our communities and to provide a public voice for all families, especially those subjected to social, economic and legal discrimination due to sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. COLAGE had the pleasure of collaborating with Bonnie in LGBT family equality work over the years and with her family on a groundbreaking Barbara Walters 20/20 special on youth with LGBT parents in 2001. Following the airing of the program, Bonnie led efforts to reprimand ABC and Barbara Walters who simplified the story of her family by omitting interviews with her children of color thereby bringing awareness to the complexities of sexuality and racial justice that often intersect in our families.

Tinker led efforts that included banning military recruiters from Portland schools and representing LGBT as well as transracial families. She got her start as a teenager, during one of the most significant high school lawsuits ever. Tinker had graduated from high school when two of her siblings were suspended for wearing black arm bands to school to protest the Vietnam war. In Tinker v. Des Moines, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of students to wear black arm bands and make other free-speech displays in public schools.

Tinker is survived by her partner Graham, along with their three children, Alex, Josh and Connie. Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Bonnie and we thank her for tireless activism, radical passion, and being a leader of the movement.

COLAGE on CNN Jul 1 09

COLAGE was pleased to work with CNN on their recent online feature, The 'Gayby Boom.' Read the full article by clicking HERE.