9th Annual LGBT Health Awareness Week Coming Up

The 9^th annual LGBT Health Awareness Week will be celebrated March 28-April 1. This year’s theme, “Come Out for Health,” will focus on finding opportunities for us all to get engaged in talking with our health care providers, government representatives, and neighbors, allies, and friends about why LGBT health is important. More information and materials will be available soon!

Fund Raiser for EqualityOhio

5th Annual Ginger’s Birthday Mystery Box

On January 29, 2011, the 5th Annual Ginger’s Birthday Mystery Box will steam up Wall Street Nightclub in downtown Columbus. Pre-sale tickets are only $5, and proceeds will benefit the Equality Ohio Education Fund, a non-profit, state-wide organization focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy and education.

The Mystery Box will feature thousands in prizes including a 50/50 raffle, a photo booth by Groovy Doodle photography, mystery boxes filled with prizes, and of course, birthday sweets from Pattycake Bakery! Performers from Ohio and beyond – including the beguiling Ceci MyPlaymate from Toronto – will delight and entertain with gender bending, dancing, performance art, and more.

Pre-sale tickets are available for only $5 at Wholly Craft! (3169 N. High St.), Wall Street Nightclub (144. N. Wall St.), and at www.gingersmysterybox.com or 614.653.8BOX.

Doors open at 8pm and show starts at 9pm. Cover is $7 at the door; tables for four can be purchased for $40 from Miz Ginger at miz_ginger.jones@yahoo.com or 614.653.8BOX. Each table features its own mystery box containing raffle tickets, treats, and special surprises!

The Equality Ohio Education Fund is an invaluable resource and advocate for Ohio’s LGBT community, and all donations to EO Education Fund are tax-deductible. For more information please contact Ginger Jones at 614.653.8BOX or miz_ginger.jones@yahoo.com.

Equality Ohio is looking for volunteers willing to help with the raffle that evening. Volunteers get in free. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact kim@equalityohio.org.

Theater Fund Raiser in Columbus

I Am My Own Wife

Charlotte von Mahlsdorf was a transgender person, who lived through the horrors of pre- and post-World War II Germany. How did she survive the harsh regimes of both Nazi Germany and the post-war East German Communists? How did she create a respected museum that also served as a safe haven for Berlin’s homosexual community? This Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play illuminates the sacrifices and betrayals of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf through the artistry of a single actor playing more than 30 characters.

Riffe Center Studio Two Theatre
77 S High Street
Columbus, Ohio

RSVP’s ARE REQUIRED and suggested donation of $10 at the door.
(All Donations go DIRECTLY back to TransOhio).

For more information about CATCO and I Am My Own Wife, visit
http://www.catco.org/seasons/2010-2011-season/i-am-my-own-wife

HRC Action

Did you know that in 29 states it's legal to fire someone just because they're lesbian, gay, or bisexual? Or that in 38 states, it's legal to fire someone for being transgender?
That's unacceptable -- no one should be at risk of losing their livelihood because of who they are. The good news is Congress is right now considering a bill that would make that kind of discrimination illegal across the country.
The bill's sponsors are calling for our help RIGHT NOW to ensure we have enough votes to pass the bill. We're less than 20 cosponsors away from having the votes locked in.
Click the link below to tell your member of Congress to support this bill today!
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=777

Get Back to Work for Transgender Individuals

Transgender Americans are highly employable job candidates. But they need superior, specialized job-hunting skills to help overcome hiring biases.

HRC's Back to Work project empowers transgender Americans who are unemployed or underemployed to find jobs that match their unique expertise and experience, providing them with essential skills to make the most of the job market and get back to work.

Join us February 26-27 in Boston for a two-day seminar covering every aspect of the job hunting process, from refining your search to dealing with your gender identity and history to closing the deal on salary and benefits. The first 30 registrants will receive personalized assistance from a certified career coach after the seminar ends, free of cost, including resume development, interview tips, negotiation skills and more.

Contact HRC at http://www.hrc.org/backtowork/ to register.

Family Acceptance Project

There is a new report from the family project that you may find helpful in educating your community about LGBTIQ Youth and suicides. See their website at http://familyproject.sfsu.edu/home

"The Family Acceptance Project™ is the only community research, intervention, education and policy initiative that works to decrease major health and related risks for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth, such as suicide, substance abuse, HIV and homelessness – in the context of their families. We use a research-based, culturally grounded approach to help ethnically, socially and religiously diverse families decrease rejection and increase support for their LGBT children.

Our team is putting research into practice by developing the first evidence-based family model of wellness, prevention and care to strengthen families and promote positive development and healthy futures for LGBT children and youth. Once developed, we will disseminate our model across the U.S. and to groups we work with in other countries."

Free Webinar on LGBTIQ Youth Dating Violence

What is Youth Dating Violence & How Does it Impact LGBTQ Youth?

Join us at 2pm EDT on Wednesday, January 19th for an in-depth look at youth dating violence, a type of intimate partner violence. NYAC is honored to welcome Melinda Coles, MSW, Director of Community Education for the DC Rape Crisis Center.  By the end of this 1-hour session, participants will be able to define youth dating violence, learn about its prevalence in LGBTQ youth relationships and debunk commonly held myths that surround it. Participants will learn to identify warning signs that youth in abusive relationships may exhibit and will learn ways to create environments that are not only welcoming to LGBTQ youth, but that promote awareness about youth dating violence.  This webinar is appropriate for almost any audience as it will feature important take-aways for agencies working with youth in various capacities including education, health care, social support and more.  Please contact Shannon Murphy, Program Manager, if you have questions about whether this webinar is for you.  Email Shannon at shannon@nyacyouth.org or call her at (202) 319-7596 x24.