COLAGE: People with a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer Parent

Tell Us Why You Love Family Week!

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:35:09 +0000

Hey COLAGErs!!
Do you love family week? We are making a video clip here at COLAGE to capture the essence of Family Week, and what better way would the message be said other than by you!

Here is how part of the production:

Film yourself (and possibly other family members!)

Tell everyone:
-What makes you love Family Week and makes it so memorable, unique, and fun!
-What you are looking forward to for the next Family Week!
-Feel free to share some of your favorite stories!
-Why they should register!

Make sure:
-You (and others) are centered in the video
-There is a limited amount of background noise
-There is a limited amount of background distraction
(i.e. people moving around in the background)
-That you can be clearly heard and understood
-No profanity and/or coarse material observable
-The clip is around 3 minutes at maximum

After you have filmed your clip post it on Youtube and send us a message and a link to your video at CP@colage.org so that we can use your submission!

*I/We understand COLAGE will be taking photographs and/or taking video footage of participants during this event. COLAGE has permission to publish my/our photograph in COLAGE publications and outreach materials. COLAGE has permission to use video of me on the COLAGE YouTube Channel, or in other COLAGE materials.

*I/We understand that COLAGE may edit part(s) of the submission(s)

*At your request we will remove your video at any point in the process if you do not want it to be shown.

Thank you for your time and we look forward to seeing you all!

Register for Family Week!

elizabeth — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:53:41 +0000

Join COLAGE as we return to Provincetown Family Week from July 28th-August 4th!

Early bird rates expire on May 15th – register now!

COLAGE is returning to run our outstanding and unique programs for youth with LGBTQ programs at Provincetown Family Week this summer.

COLAGE programs are for youth ages 8-18 (youth entering grades 3-12) who have or had 1 or more LGBTQ parents. All COLAGE programs, workshops, discussions, and events are lead by the adult children of LGBTQ parents – so everyone in the room will be like you – someone with an LGBTQ parent!

Our beloved programs have empowered, encouraged, and supported youth with LGBTQ parents for over a dozen years and this year will be no exception.

Registration is a per child fee, so families must register their children individually. We are committed to ensuring the accessibility of Family Week programs to all who want to attend, if cost is a problem, please contact elizabeth@colage.org for scholarship information.

Registration entitles youth to participation in all COLAGE programs and events during Family Week, and COLAGE does not provide housing or meals for youth during Family Week.

For house rentals we recommend weneedavacation.com and vrbo.com.

Please contact elizabeth@colage.org with any questions!

Welcome Barbara, COLAGE’s new Interim Executive Director!

adrian — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 05:43:28 +0000

Greetings!

Please join us in offering a warm welcome to Barbara Green, COLAGE’s new Interim Executive Director as she begins in her new role with us on Monday! COLAGE is excited to add Barbara Green to our staff and honored to have her serve us in the essential leadership role.

In addition to 16 years of experience serving as interim executive director at a wide variety of non profit organizations, Barbara also brings her connections with leaders of LGBT organizations around the country, strategic planning expertise and a deep understanding of organization development. Barbara is excited to start her position with COLAGE, “As a lesbian mother of a teenage son, I am passionate about empowering youth and helping further the COLAGE mission.” She will be in the San Francisco office March 12-14 and will then work from her home in Seattle. If you are in the Bay Area, Barbara would love to meet with you while she’s in town.

Barbara joins Elizabeth Castellana, COLAGE’s National Program Director and Noah Chasnoff, our Development Associate in an exciting and important time for COLAGE. COLAGE is embarking on a new strategic plan process, preparing for our return to Provincetown Family Week, and launching new leadership programs for youth, adult participants and volunteers. Your support of Barbara in her new role and your support of COLAGE through your participation and donations will ensure the success of these initiatives.

Once again, thank you for your support during this time of excitement and change. We are eager to engage with you through programs and planning this year and encourage you to reach out to welcome Barbara and share your ideas and visions with her.

Sincerely,

Aaron Sachs Paul Perry

Chair Vice Chair

Intern at COLAGE this Summer!

elizabeth — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:14:10 +0000

The 2012 Felicia Park-Rogers Summer Internship Program

Come work with COLAGE this summer!

About COLAGE

COLAGE is a national movement of children, youth and adults who have one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (LGBTQ) parents. We build community and work toward social justice through youth empowerment, leadership development, education and advocacy. COLAGE offers an integrated array of local, regional and national programs. To learn more, visit www.colage.org.

The Felicia Park-Rogers Internship Program

The COLAGE Summer Internship Program is named for our visionary former director Felicia Park-Rogers who started the summer internship program during her tenure at COLAGE. We honor her creativity, years of leadership, and commitment to people with LGBTQ parents, through 10-week internships that promote the development of young leaders and advocates who make change that matters.

COLAGE is the only national youth-driven network that connects people with an LGBTQ parent to a community of peers. This is a hands-on job: interns don’t just do filing, they get to use their creativity and initiative. We are looking for team players who are motivated to learn, share, play, and work hard in support of COLAGE’s mission. Interns will assist the staff on current or new projects, with both local and national events, and with office management. The internship is a great way to build your skills in doing non-profit administrative and program work, as well as to become a passionate and effective leader for yourself and your family.

This year’s interns will work out of the Boston area and will support the programs department and work as a part of Family Week staff in Provincetown, MA. Interns will be responsible for their own housing though we will assist them in securing low-cost housing options.

Preferred qualifications

· Computer literate (especially on PC’s), knowledge of Office 2003, Database Systems, especially Salesforce, HTML, and desktop publishing programs a plus.

· Experience and comfort with email and phone-based organizing and networking.

· Experience and comfort working with youth and families

· Self-motivated, flexible, and full of initiative

Requirements

Summer interns receive modest pay. for a ten-week, full time internship including some evenings and weekends. We will help you find low-cost or free housing when possible.

· Must make at least a ten-week, full-time commitment during the summer.

· People with LGBTQ parent/s

· Must be 18 or over

· Must be LGBTQ-positive

COLAGE is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer

· People of color, people with disabilities, male-identified people and people with LGBTQ parents especially encouraged to apply.

How to Apply for Summer Internships

Deadline: Friday, March 30th, 2012

Please email us the following information:

1. Your resume;

2. A cover letter sharing your interest in working for COLAGE and qualifications;

3. Contact information for two people who will serve as references and can attest to your experience and skills.

We ideally are looking for folks to work June 4^th – August 10^th although start and end dates can be flexible.

Need more info? Want to apply?

phone: (855) 4-COLAGE ext 1

email: elizabeth@colage.org

www.colage.org

Join the Family Week Staff!

elizabeth — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:02:30 +0000

Are you over 18 and the child of an LGBTQ parent? If you are, and you enjoy facilitating youth empowerment programs, join COLAGE’s Family Week staff from July 27th-August 4th 2012 for a life-changing week of programs, gatherings, and community. Our flagship program is back in 2012 and we’re looking for 30 or more COLAGErs who are over the age of 18, love to work with youth and want to make a difference in the lives of others with LGBTQ parents.

If this sounds like you, download the 2012 staff application and submit it by March 30th!

Join us!

Exciting News from COLAGE’s Board of Directors

elizabeth — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:59:21 +0000

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for your involvement with COLAGE. It is because of your investment that COLAGE has been able to connect people with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer parents to a network of peers for the past twenty-one years. In honor of your commitment to helping people with LGBTQ parents become strong advocates for ourselves and our families, we write to you with some exciting news and an update on the state of our organization.

As you no doubt know, Beth Teper, COLAGE’s Executive Director, left her position at the end of 2011. Under Teper’s eight years of leadership, COLAGE has grown its annual budget and developed a number of innovative programs and initiatives. We are profoundly grateful for her contributions and wish her the best in her coming endeavors. This shift in executive leadership will mark the end of a year filled with other staff changes at COLAGE. We congratulate Mark Snyder, COLAGE’s Communications Manager, who started a new job with the Transgender Law Center in October. We will soon bid farewell to Jamon Franklin, our Finance and Operations Manager, who will leave her position in January. We are pleased that Elizabeth Castellana, our National Program Director, and Noah Chasnoff, who was hired as our Development Associate/Administrative Assistant in November, are continuing on in the midst of these transitions.

COLAGE is excited to announce that Barbara Green will begin as Interim Executive Director in early 2012.Barbara is an experienced interim executive director, having served in this capacity at 19 non profit organizations over the past 16 years, including Equal Rights Washington, Lambert House (a drop-in center for queer youth) and New Futures (a youth and family empowerment organization). She lives in Seattle with her partner and their 17 year old son, two cats and a dog. In her interim executive director work, Barbara specializes in helping organizations see the opportunities that exist during leadership changes. As the mother of a COLAGEr, Barbara is also looking forward to working at COLAGE because she is passionate about the mission.

In the time between Barbara’s start and Beth’s departure, Elizabeth Castellana has agreed to serve as the Acting Executive Director. Elizabeth’s primary focus will continue to be COLAGE’s amazing programs while also serving as COLAGE’s primary spokesperson. She can be contacted at Director@colage.org.

Clearly this is a time of significant change for COLAGE, and the Board is committed to embracing this opportunity to reshape and revitalize the extraordinary and unique work that COLAGE is already doing. We are eager to hear your feedback and answer questions on the many changes afoot and more importantly, we hope to see you involved in creating those changes. In 2012, COLAGE will be undergoing a strategic planning process, and your involvement as a committee member or input as a friend of the organization are both welcome and desired. In the meantime, there are ample opportunities to connect with and support COLAGE during this time: host a house party, forward an action alert email notifications to friends outside of our network, support your local chapter or help start a new one.

We can’t stress enough how important your ongoing fiscal support is for COLAGE. Your donations are important to us and not only help us offer our programming to people with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer parents in places across the country, but this year your donations will also support COLAGE in doing its crucial strategic planning work. We hope you will also consider joining with every member of the Board in becoming a monthly donor or increasing the amount you already donate monthly. Whether $12 or $120 a month, please celebrate the New Year with a donation to COLAGE.

Once again, thank you for your support during our transition year. Like you, the Board looks forward to that moment at the end of 2012 when we can all look back with pride at the tremendous positive changes our organization (and by extension, our families) will have undergone during this pivotal transition year. We are confident that we will get there and we want you there with us. Thank you for all that you do for COLAGE and our families.

Sincerely,

Aaron Sachs Paul Perry

Chair Vice Chair

COLAGE’s Northeast Retreat

elizabeth — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:45:22 +0000

elizabeth — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:41:08 +0000

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Watch Beginners with Writer/Director/COLAGEr Mike Mills

elizabeth — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:40:06 +0000

Please join COLAGE on December 2nd at 8 pm EST for an online screening of Beginners with writer/director/COLAGEr Mike Mills.

Constellation.tv is offering a 10% discount to those who use the discount code COLAGE when they purchase a ticket, and 25% of those sales will be donated to COLAGE.

Beginners is a poignant film about the adult son of a gay father as they journey side by side through finding love and themselves. The film is a largely autobiographical tribute by Mike Mills, writer and director, to his father. Join COLAGE in celebrating the beautiful film, and join in conversation throughout the screening with Mike Mills himself.

You can purchase your tickets here and support COLAGE!

Stefan’s Story, COLAGE’s Creation

elizabeth — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:32:06 +0000

Stefan Lynch was COLAGE’s first director and shares his story with us in memory of his father, and in honor of World Aids Day.

The first person I knew died of AIDS 29 years ago. When I first typed that sentence I typed “19 years” and then did the math and swore out loud. Before my community and family were transformed by AIDS we were buzzing with the energy of the decade after the Stonewall Rebellion - my dad was an out gay activist – probably the most prominent “gay father” in Canada and my mom was going about her love of women less publicly. There was an air of excitement and possibility that gay men and lesbian feminists and transfolk of all stripes carried forward with them from the 60′s – the possibility to transform society into one which welcomed them, to transform families from sites of oppression into structures of liberation, celebrations of great sex and crappy yet catchy dance music (the one thing which definitely has NOT changed).

Then purple lesions hijacked liberation and the fights that were half political half party became life or death.

My step-dad, Bill Lewis, died in 1987 and my dad Michael Lynch died in 1991. It’s tragic but not unusual to lose parents as a teenager. What was more unusual (but sadly in many communities – especially in a number of African countries – is common) was that my community was also disintegrating around me. Neighbors, babysitters, people I played video games with – what my dad called, “These Waves of Dying Friends”.

Coming through the epidemic into adulthood I was looking to recreate that vibrant community I had lost. I started a group for kids of queers the kids themselves decided to call “OK2BUS” through the Toronto Board of Education, and then in 1992 I met Hope Berry Manley, who had also lost her dad to AIDS, who was involved in a newly forming network of us they called “Just For Us” which had started at Gay and Lesbian Parents Coalition International conference. I poured my yearning for community and yearning to show my dad I could be ok without him into what became COLAGE.

Years later I learned that one of the groups that found GLPCI was Gay Fathers of Toronto – which my dad help to start. From the ashes, a phoenix. COLAGE continues to create vibrant community and, I hope, help liberate our families and every family.

Stefan Lynch

Listen to the conversation between Stefan and COLAGE Director Beth Teper broadcast last World AIDS Day.

Honor Stefan’s hard work and commitment to COLAGE, make a donation today.