On Sunday, thousands of people in Austin will get together & walk a 5K for a good cause. They will have raised money, or just registered to walk, to care for people in Austin living with HIV & AIDS. I'm still looking for more donations - will, right up to the very last minute - and you can give here at my AIDS Walk page.
Come woth me below the fold & I'll tell you what the donations do & there is (of course) a U2 video.
They've met the minimum requirement -- so let's see how far we can stretch the anonymous donor's pursestrings! Please donate any amount today!
cross-posted at Daily Kos & Texas Kaos
Yes, this is yet another AIDS Walk Austin diary. Friday there is another matching opportunity - and it is really fantastic. If the Walk as a whole can raise $5,000 then all donations will be matched. So even if you can only give $5, Friday would be a great day to do that, because it'll magically turn into $10. I've got a nice diary written up - with a U2 video, but if you just want to donate, you can do so here: my AIDS Walk page
(Please support Becky's efforts today! - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
cross-posted at Daily Kos & Texas Kaos
Well if we've met you know I have 2 big passions besides electing more & better Democrats - AIDS Walk Austin (for which I was the biggest non-board member fundraiser last year) and the Hill Country Ride for AIDS, which I'll be participating in next April. I have a crazy big fundraising goal this year - $5,000. I know that's insane in this economy but the agencies that benefit from this event serve people who really, truly need help. And this morning, the first 25 donations of $100 or more are being matched. Come with me below the fold for more information -- and a song. You'll never guess who the song is by.
There's a match challenge this morning. The first 25 donations of $100 or more will be matched by Walgreen's Pharmacy, one of the sponsors. The information I have from the Walk office doesn't mention a cap; so the first 25 wanting to donate $100, $250, $500 ++, would automatically be contributing $200, $500 or even $1000 ++ to helping people with AIDS. You can donate right here at my Walk page
I know that most charity in Austin right now is aimed at helping the many, many people affected by the fires and that is as it should be. Over 1,400 people have lost their homes and they need massive amounts of help, right now. Here are 2 pages with places you can donate for that:
and the Committee on Relief of the United Methodist Church is already on the ground, helping - 100% of donations go to fire relief: http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/...
In Austin, we have several events coming up raising awareness and funds for organizations serving those affected by HIV & AIDS. Austin Red Week includes my city's hosting of a segment of the Quilt, and also events like Dining For Life and AIDS Walk Austin.
On September 12 & 13, restaurants all across Austin will be doing something very generous, donating a portion of their proceeds to AIDS Services of Austin. You can find a full list of participating restaurants here but follow me below the fold and I'll tell you more.
Last fall, I listened to Paul Scott, the new executive director of AIDS Services of Austin, talking about what your donations do & I wanted to pass this information on to you. Fifty dollars supplements food for 1 person for 1 month from the Helping Hands Food Pantry. One hundred dollars provides the Prevention Team with supplies to educate 370 people, a $250 donation assists 3 clients in financial crisis with support paying basic living expenses. A $500 donation provides 3 preventive oral hygeine visits at the Jack Sansing Dental Clinic. And when you - that's you people - have given a thousand dollars, you have: helped with more than 40 visits to the Food Pantry, a complete restorative treatment at the Dental Clinic and more than 20 hours of HIV Case Management to support clients living with HIV.
One of the organizations that benefits from donations to the Walk is:
The Wright House Wellness Center
Since 1988, The Wright House Wellness Center has offered care and compassion to Central Texans living with or at risk of HIV and other chronic illnesses and provided resources for support, education and empowerment.
come below the fold to find out more -- and for a matching donation challenge
here in Ellis County,we are the bastion of liberalism.(OK,I'm one of three)
One of my local papers demonstrates this:
http://www.elliscountypress.co...
http://www.elliscountypress.co... "Part of what Christian and conservative voters instinctively feel we must accomplish in this Midterm Election (now only five days away, with Early Voting ending on the 29th) is to remove and replace as many part-of-the-problem elected officials as possible, then complete the job in the 2012 Elections."
http://www.elliscountypress.co... Almost anyone can fully understand why any leftist, socialist, progressive, or whatever they choose to call themselves, would vote Democrat this election cycle. After all, the Democrat Party has little or no policy differences with their European Social Democratic or even Green Party counterparts. So, there is no question why those on the left would pull the lever for any Democrat.
There is, however, a legitimate question as to why anyone who does not fall into the leftist category would even contemplate voting for a Democrat this year. If you consider that Barack Hussein Obama and the Democrat majorities in both houses of congress have taken this republic in an unprecedented direction and given the federal government unprecedentedly vast powers,
http://www.elliscountypress.co... It was quite a surprise the past week to hear German Chancellor Angela Merkel say that "Our attempt to have ethnic groups and religions live side by side and enjoy each other has failed, utterly failed."
Not only is this from a major European leader, a socialist and one-world supporter.
It is also surprising that it is coming from a country with Germany's history, which makes this particularly encouraging.
There is MUCH,MUCH more at the site.Gay-hating,racial baiting,incitement of hate.Welcome to Ellis County,y'all.
This is a repost from the Equality Texas blog at EqualityTexas.org. But don't worry, I'll hang around.
Last night the LGBT and allied community suffered through some agonizing election returns. We won some. We lost a big one. How do you evaluate such a mixed bag of election results across the nation? Then, how do you apply those lessons to the movement for equality in general?
It's not as hard as you think.
We won.
No, we didn't win everything. The big prize of marriage in Maine got away. Still, we won. Let's take stock.
This is a repost from the Equality Texas blog at EqualityTexas.org. But don't worry, I'll hang around.
Last night the LGBT and allied community suffered through some agonizing election returns. We won some. We lost a big one. How do you evaluate such a mixed bag of election results across the nation? Then, how do you apply those lessons to the movement for equality in general?
It's not as hard as you think.
We won.
No, we didn't win everything. The big prize of marriage in Maine got away. Still, we won. Let's take stock.
This is a repost from our blog at Equalitytexas.org. I'll hang around to answer questions and comments. But, check out our website, and help us out.
Federal Hate Crimes Legislation - A Grim Victory
Today, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. It is an important, yet grim, victory for the LGBT and other targeted communities. Among other important steps, the Act marks the first time federal law has referred to "gender identity" in a positive manner and offered transgender persons some form of protection.
It has taken 13 years, untold victims, multiple deaths, and the efforts of survivors, loved ones and activists to get the Hate Crimes Act passed. No one, of course, expects the Act to actually end hate crimes. However, the hope is that by granting the federal government the jurisdiction and resources to prosecute hate crimes people will become more aware, and educated, about hate crimes--eventually leading to an overall reduction in this, one of the most hideous forms of violence.
