Are you a youth or adult with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer parent/s ? Do you want to help raise visibility and awareness about people with LGBTQ parents? Do you use online forums for networking or blogging?

Then COLAGE wants you to participate in the third annual Blogging for LGBT Families Day on Monday, June 2, 2008! The event, developed by LGBT-parenting site Mombian, aims to raise awareness of LGBT families, their diverse configurations, and how current prejudices and legal discrimination have a negative impact on the lives of LGBT people and their children. Bloggers of any sexual orientation, gender identity, and parental status are welcome to participate.

Over 150 bloggers took part last year. Over 25 COLAGE Speak OUT members, youth and adults, participated in this visibility campaign. COLAGE contributions included youth coming out about their families for the first time in a public way, loving reflections and memories of LGBTQ parents, stories ranging from the humorous to the sentimental, and political calls to action.

COLAGE is a national movement of children, youth and adults with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer parents. We build community and work for social justice through youth empowerment, leadership development, education, and advocacy. We encourage our members to participate in this event and to use online forums as a means for raising visibility and awareness about children of LGBTQ parents.

"We know that when we speak out about our true experiences, share the blessings and challenges of having families deemed "different" by the rest of society, and talk about the ways in which we and our families are not equally validated or protected, we have a unique and powerful ability to impact change." said Meredith Fenton, COLAGE Program Director. "Furthermore, particularly for youth and young adults, the Internet, online social networks, and blogs are becoming increasingly influential mediums of communication and we recognize that by being out as people with LGBTQ parents online we can continue to transform society."

Please also download a banner and promote the event on your site. The more people who participate, the more impact our voices will have.

Here are the details on how to join in:

Email Meredith Fenton, COLAGE Program Director at meredith@colage.org to let her know you are planning to participate.

Blog on a topic related to LGBT families on or before June 2, 2008. There's no set formula or format. Photos and videos are also welcome. (Post them on your own site or make sure they are publicly visible on a photo- or video-sharing site.)

Send e-mail to lgbtfamilies@mombian.com with the subject=Blogging for LGBT Families Day and with the permalink to your post. (If you know how, you may also add the tag "blogging for lgbt families day" to your entry.)

If you only post on Facebook or MySpace, you may also add the event organizer, Dana Rudolph, as a friend to notify her of your post. (Here's her Facebook page and her MySpace page. If you do a search for her name, though, make sure to look for the Blogging for LGBTQ Families Day banner image, as there are multiple Dana Rudolphs.) If you do have a regular blog, however (at your own domain or one on Blogger, Typepad, WordPress.com, etc.), please post there, since then your post will be readable even by those who don't have Facebook or MySpace accounts--and the whole point here is to share our posts.

Mombian will compile the posts and highlight them at www.mombian.com on June 2. Please visit and read the stories and insights of our community and allies.