RU12? Community Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Vermont

Thank You Eliza!!! Another successful RAR

The 4th annual Run Against Rape (RAR)took place on Sunday, April 27th.  It was another chilly day but there was a lot of action going on at Oakledge Park.  Eliza, our fabulous RU12? Americorps VISTA did an amazing job again this year and RAR was very successful!

This year we broke records in terms of sponsorship.  We were very excited about all of the support that we received from local businesses. 

The Chittenden Bank, Pete's RV, and the Laura Kate Winterbottom Foundation all gave $500.00 towards RAR.  Excel Physical Therapy donated $250.00, and Living Well Chiropractic kicked in $100.00! 

Eliza did a really great job assigning tasks, keeping track of what we were all doing and in the end pulled off another great event for the benefit of SafeSpace @ Ru12? Community Center. 

Eliza ROCKS!!!

Are you in....... or are you OUT?!

Have you designed your hat for the RU12? Queer Community Dinner and Auction yet?  Walk the runway, strut your stuff, and show off your mad hat skills.  Interested in designing a hat? All hats must incorporate a gay icon and something distinctly "Vermont."  The hats will be judged at the dinner.  A designer can designate themselves or a model to show the hat on the Run-Way, and a "fierce" prize will go to the top pick!  Don't bore Nina! Contact Karen to register!

Order your tickets for the dinner today!

Join Us At UVM's Rainbow Graduation!

Please join us in celebrating Hannah Hauser (Co-Director of Health & Wellness), Liz Batsford (UVM Intern, Anna Rawson (UVM Intern), and Ella Kaplan (MSW Intern) at the 7th Annual Rainbow Awards and Graduation Ceremony on Thursday, May 1st 2008!!!

LGBTQ Services hosts this event -- complete with music, food, and fun -- to celebrate UVM's LGBTQA community , its many achievements, and the LGBTQA students who are graduating -- both undergrads and grads.

For More Information check out LGBTQA Services  and RSVP!

All of us here at RU12? wish the graduates the best of luck in all their future endeavors!!  Congrats!

Who's at your table?

The 10th Annual RU12? Queer Community Dinner & Auction is Saturday, May 31 (that's the weekend AFTER Memorial Day) at the Sheraton Hotel in Burlington. If you've never been before, you should know that this is the LGBT event of the year, so get your table of 10 together and reserve your tickets now!

What's New This Year?

• A shorter program! We heard you wanted more time to chat and we're going to "make it work."
• Dan Savage! Sex columnist, author, media pundit and all-around trouble-maker. Rumor has it, you could win breakfast with Dan if the price is right...
• A runway show? In keeping with the Project Runway theme, we're inviting you to design a fancy hat and model it in our runway for a "fierce" prize. Don't bore Nina!
• A buffet! The Sheraton is promising a scrumptious buffet to improve upon last year's plated offerings. Eat as much or little as you want!
• DJ Precious! After the program, Precious will be taking requests for all the dance tunes you love (and those sexy slow songs, too!)

Click here for info on the benefit auction, volunteering and other details about the event...

April is Sexual Violence Awareness Month!

Originally a week in October was designated for Sexual Assault Awareness and another week in October for Domestic Violence Awareness.  But as the Domestic Violence movement began doing more through out October, there was the need to have a separate time for sexual assault and time in between to give dual coalitions and agencies a chance to prepare for both.  In 1987, the membership of the National Coalition Against Sexual Violence (NCASA) voted to have Sexual Violence Awareness Month to be determined by the Board of Directors.  States were formally polled and April was the month selected.  We in Vermont observe Sexual Violence Awareness Month because we see the need for the community to come together and end all sexual violence.

For More Info Check out: stoprapevermont.org  or contact the Women's Rape Crisis Center 802.864.0555  

Join us on April 8th for LGBTQ Visibility Day in Montpelier

Come OUT! Be Visible at the State House on April 8, 2008!

Tuesday, April 8^th is the Annual LGBTQ Visibility Day at the State House in Montpelier.

Join us to meet fellow LGBTQ Vermonters, connect with LGBTQ organizations, and to connect with your legislators about important issues facing our community today!

Over the past several years, we worked to pass the Gender Identity bill not once, but twice! And together – we won! 

But, we still have work to do! Although civil unions were a good first step and provide valuable protections for same-sex couples and their families, we still face discrimination in Vermont’s marriage laws. 

We collectively recognize that many in our community would choose to get married if provided that right, while others who would not choose to enter in a civil marriage.  However, we are united in our belief that by denying us marriage equality, the state denies us the dignity and choice to fully participate in a legal institution that is a prerequisite to many critical legal protections that still are out of reach for many LGBTQ Vermonters. 

There are also other issues important to our community that legislators must hear about directly from their constituents.  We need your participation to ensure that our presence and the issues that are important to us are VISIBLE!

Visibility Day 2008 Schedule
8:00am Organizational Displays in the Card Room
9:00am Legislative Update and Advocacy Training (Room 10)
10:00am Introductions on the House Floor
11am  Community Meeting with the Governor (Ceremonial Office, 2^nd floor)
Noon Legislator Conversations over lunch (Cafeteria)
1:00pm  Organizational Updates/ “Mini Queer Summit" (Cafeteria)
2:20pm Debrief and Wrap-Up
2:30pm Close

Questions or to RSVP contact Kara@ru12.org or call 802.860.7812.

Hosted by: Outright VT, RU12?, the Samara Foundation of Vermont, Vermont Freedom to Marry, Vermont CARES and VT TransAction

Samuel Lurie At The Center!!

SafeSpace is excited to announce that Samuel Lurie of Transgender Training and Advocacy will be joining us here at the Center on Tuesday, March 18^th at 6pm. Samuel is a seasoned, engaging presenter committed to training both providers and community activists on the needs of transgender people.  He has delivered trainings to more than 16,000 people around the country over the past nine years. In addition to work in HIV/AIDS, Samuel also consults with colleges and universities to train administrators and student affairs staff on this emerging issue.

All community members are invited to be a part of this incredible training. Please RSVP  (802-860-7812 (p) or email thecenter@ru12.org.) so that we can make sure there is enough space from everyone.

Four Killed In One Month. Speak Out Against Hate.

Adolphus Simmons, 18, South Carolina, Jan. 21,2008
Sanesha Stewart, 25, New York, Feb. 10, 2008
Lawrence King, 15, California, Feb. 12, 2008
Simmie Williams Jr., 17, Florida, Feb. 22, 2008

All of these victims were young, all were trans women or gender variant in some way, and all were people of color. These murders send a message of hate and fear to the larger community. Mainstream society leaves LGBTQQ and allied people few spaces to fully respond to that message- to mourn these deaths, to be angry, to experience solidarity.

Join us in condemning this violence and the systems of homophobia, transphobia and racism that produce it, as we celebrate the strength and vibrancy of the LGBTQQ community that persists against all odds. All are welcome.

Candlelight Vigil — Speak-out — Community Discussion— Warm Conversation and Warm Beverages

• Friday, March 7th, 5:30pm at RU12?
• 34 Elmwood Ave / 860-7812 /

Sponsored by Samara Foundation of VT, VT CARES, VT Freedom to Marry Task Force, UVM Free To Be, VT TransAction, Outright VT, RU12? and the SafeSpace Anti-Violence Program

Please Help Spread The Word: Download vigil_flyer_3.pdf

Dan Savage coming to Vermont on May 31!

RU12? is thrilled to announce that Dan Savage will be this year's Annual Community Dinner Speaker on Saturday, May 31st. Doors will open at 6pm at the Sheraton Hotel in South Burlington. Please visit the Annual Dinner page for more information and check back regularly for event updates.

Dan Savage has been writing Savage Love an internationally syndicated sex advice column, for more than ten years. The column originates in The Stranger and runs in The Village Voice, The Chicago Reader, The San Francisco Weekly, and in papers in Los Angeles, Toronto, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv and more than fifty other cities in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Canada.

In addition to the column, Dan is the editor of the groundbreaking Seattle alt-weekly, The Stranger. His writing has also appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Salon, Travel and Leisure, Rolling Stone, and on the New York Times Op-Ed pages. Dan has been featured on CNN, "Politically Incorrect," "ABC News" The FOX News Channel, and on NPR's "Fresh Air." He is a regular contributor to NPR's "This American Life."

Savage is also the author of four books: "Savage Love," a collection of his advice columns (Plume 1998); "The Kid: What Happened When My Boyfriend and I Decided to Get Pregnant" (Dutton, 1999), an award-winning memoir about adoption PEN USA West Literary Award for Creative Nonfiction); "Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America" (Dutton, 2002), which won the Lambda Literary Award for non-fiction; and "The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage and My Family" (Dutton 2005). Savage has appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, Colbert Report, ABC's 20/20, MTV, VH1, and other television and cable programs.

Get A Taste of Dan on YouTube!