From
GV Now:
The
Arcus Foundation of Kalamazoo has awarded a $150,000 grant to Grand Valley’s
LGBT Resource Center to enhance its social justice training efforts, build statewide resources and increase community collaborations and partnerships.
The 20-month grant will start in January and continue through August 2011. Colette Seguin Beighley,
LGBT Resource Center assistant director, said the purpose of the grant is two-fold. "We wanted to enhance our efforts to build student leaders who are civically engaged and include the greater Grand Rapids community in that effort," Seguin Beighley said.
The center will use part of the grant to fund a six-session Social Justice Training Series that would bring in nationally known speakers to train participants in effective advocacy. Other plans for grant monies are detailed below:
• Create statewide consortiums for both LGBT college centers and LGBT faculty and staff associations to share resources and create a unified voice for policy changes. The consortium for state LGBT centers would be co-hosted by GVSU's
LGBT Resource Center and the
University of Michigan's Spectrum Center.
• Partner with
Grand Rapids Community Media Center's Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids to sponsor LGBT Monthly Film Series; collaborate with WGVU for programming during LGBT History Month (October); and collaborate with Grand Valley’s theater department to produce “Coming Out Monologues.”
• Hire a graduate assistant to support programming efforts.
• Send staff members and student leaders to national higher education conferences for networking, presentations and advocacy.
Johnny Jenkins, program officer at
Arcus Foundation, said the grant comes from the foundation's Michigan LGBT Rights Program. "Our ultimate goal is to advance rights for the LGBT community in Michigan," Jenkins said. "GVSU and the
LGBT Resource Center have stepped up to the plate and have served as a tremendous resource in West Michigan."
Seguin Beighley said the
Arcus Foundation grant greatly helps support Grand Valley’s diversity efforts. "We’re so appreciative of the faith
Arcus Foundation has in our center and our university," she said.
Labels: Arcus Foundation, Grand Valley State University, grant, GVSU LGBT Resource Center, social justice
The Journey from Fear to Fearlessness
ONE YEAR AGO . . .
on the Saturday before Christmas, I received a call from Jeff Montgomery offering me the position of West Michigan Field Organizer for Triangle Foundation. I am sure this is one of the best Christmas presents I’ve ever received! Now, almost a year later, I’m snug as a bug in my new Grand Rapids office with volunteers coming and going daily.
What a privilege it is for me to work with the other LGBT organizations in West Michigan; to be available to victims of anti-LGBT violence, harassment, and discrimination; to be a resource for local students and organizations; and to help raise awareness of the policy issues that affect this community.
A few weeks ago, I had two students from a local Bible college come to my office to interview me. They had chosen to study the LGBT community for their presentation on marginalized populations. These students came to the meeting with many questions, a desire to understand, and great kindness. One of my volunteers and I met with these students for two hours answering their questions and providing information. The students were nervous about the reception they would receive from their classmates. We talked about how the anxiety and fear they might feel during their presentation was a taste of what it’s like to be gay in West Michigan EXCEPT … they got to go back to their lives after that hour was over.
For their presentation, the students introduced an LGBT vocabulary, talked about the coming out process, shed a new light on old Bible verses, spoke of discrimination and violence, and then ended with the Anne Lamott quote “You know you’ve created God in your own image when God hates the same people you do.”
After the presentation, I received a long email from one of the students. Some of the statements from that email included: “We were all nervous but we just prayed about it and knew that what we were saying needed to be shared because it’s the truth. So we did it … you could have heard a pin drop."
The class had so many questions that everyone stayed for 45 more minutes after class had ended. The debriefing email to me continued with this amazing statement:“My group gathered afterwards and we all shared with each other that we knew what we had done was right … now I find myself filled with this passion for the GLBT community and in a way this assignment became personal and in a way it was my 'coming out.'”
What a gift these students gave me!
The message became more important than the feelings. They pushed right past their fear into fearlessness.
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON . . .
I am sure that the bravery and compassion of these students will be this year’s best Christmas present!
Labels: bravery, compassion, fear, social justice
