Holiday Giving that Keeps on Giving

Gifts that Keep on Giving!
As a gift idea this holiday season, give the gift of a donation to one of these amazing local organizations whose income depend on donations to operate services that are inclusive and provides services for ALL citizens in greater Wilmington Area.

The $5.00 or the $5000.00 (every bit helps! So no amount is ever to small See the 200 challenge at the bottom!) that you might be able to give in memory of a loved one or in recognition of someone you care about can be a gift that gives all year long! Imagine that person opening a card that says a donation was made to something so worth while in their name to carry out good works for the whole year. Personally, I can think of no great gift to receive.


1.) The OutWilmington Community Center: The center is sustained strictly by memberships sponsors, and donations. Your tax deductible gift to the center helps to make this center operate for the LGBT and greater Southeastern North Carolina area! Send your tax deductible donations to OWCC 317 Castle Street Wilmington, North Carolina 28401 http://outwilmington.com/memberships.htm

2.) PFLAG of Wilmington: Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays in Wilmington are a band of AMAZING people who meet monthly to provide support and service to other folks who are coming to accept their LGBT child or friend. These active participants in our community have gone to the school board to see that all children are safe, work with youth, maintain regular contact with newcomers, and are a life force for equality. You can send your tax deductible donation to: PFLAG 5404 clear Run Drive Wilmington, NC 28403 http://outwilmington.com/PFLAGofWilmington.htm


3.) The Boseman-TenHuisen Scholarship at UNCW: This scholarship at UNCW has seen to it that five of our students have had a better place at UNCW financially without fear from reprisals from anyone about who they are. One student now is in his 2nd year of law school, another graduated with accolades and honors, and one is student teaching and the other is in graduate school!! Your tax-deductible gift to this scholarship makes it possible for years to come to ensure the success of our youth! http://www.uncw.edu/uniadv/documents/giftform2.pdf


4.) Coastal Horizons: What an amazing agency!! From the youth crisis emergency shelter to the Rape Crisis intervention services, Coastal Horizons Center promotes choices for healthier lives and safer communities by providing professional assistance to those in need of prevention, crisis intervention, criminal justice alternatives, community outreach, substance abuse and mental health treatment services. These folks make the difference for us all! You can give your tax deductible donation to Coastal Horizons Center 615 Shipyard Boulevard http://www.coastalhorizons.org/

5.) Coastal Carolina HIV Constorium: CCHCC is regarded as a comprehensive community resource for HIV/AIDS education, referral and support services. They are committed to eradicating the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS and create a safe, supportive environment for those effected http://coastalconsortium.org/ 925 N 4th Street Wilmington, NC 28401 910-815-6930

6.) Coastal AIDS Resource Effort: Coastal AIDS Resource Effort stands almost alone, independent of the Hospital and Health Department, in providing resources for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. Donations sustain this work and you can make yours by send it to 412 Ann Street Wilmington, North Carolina 28401 http://outwilmington.com/CARE.htm


7.) The St. Jude’s Building Fund: For many who come to Wilmington, St. Jude’s is their first stop in finding their way to the LGBT community and to the greater community. Many go on to other places and activities, but that touchstone has been and will continue to be vital in this area. Now, St. Jude’s has a home on Market and a growing resource. Help support her with funds to sustain her building.

8.) Hospice of Lower Cape Fear: Serving the needs of ALL people in their finals days, Hospice of Lower Cape Fear is an Amazing organization that helps families and individuals in critical periods. http://www.hospiceandlifecarecenter.org/


9.) Phoenix Employment Ministry of Wilmington, Inc: We all might have need of a helping hand, but for many in our own community who end up in the penal system, it is folks like Phoenix who make the difference everyday in their ability to recover and become engaged community members. Your Tax Deductible donation can be sent to: 201 North Front St, Suite 507, Wilmington, NC 28401
10.) WHQR Public Radio: Could you get a fairer, more responsible news and music public radio station? Tax deductible donations for WHQR can be sent to http://whqr.org

11.) The Wilmington Police Department—No, no donations for the police department, but they do do a Santa Cop Toy Drive for Underprivileged Children each year. The officers go and buy toys for the kids with donations they receive from citizens. Empowering them to do this, is amazing! You can send your donation to The Wilmington Police Department-Santa Cop
115 Red Cross Street Wilmington, North Carolina 28401

12.) Domestic Violence Shelter and Services of Wilmington: Talk about inclusive, aware, involved, motivated, and AMAZING! You can send your donation to: The Domestic Violence Shelter and Services Inc at their public center, located at 2901 Market Street, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 http://www.domesticviolence-wilm.org/opengate.php

13.) Good Shepard Ministries: Feeding and giving shelter to those AMERICAN CITIZENS without a home. This group does such extraordinary work for so many. http://www.goodshepherdwilmington.org/

14.) First In Families
First In Families of North Carolina believes:
People with disabilities and their families should have the right to make independent choices and decisions about their lives
Service delivery systems should be customer focused, flexible and incorporate the principles of self-determination
Services delivery systems should be responsive and sensitive to the particular needs of the individuals with disabilities and/or their families
Johnny Johnson - Project Coordinator

5041 New Center Drive, Suite 109
Wilmington, NC 28403
910-350-2737
910-350-2732 (fax)
jjohnson@arcnc.org

15.) The Food Bank of Eastern North Carolina: Established in 1980, the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is a non-profit organization that provides food to people at risk of hunger in 34 counties in central and eastern North Carolina. In 2005-06, the Food Bank distributed over 31.4 million pounds of food through 890 partner agencies including soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and after school programs for children. http://www.foodbankcenc.org/ 1314 Marstellar Street, Wilmington, NC 28402-1311 Phone: 910-251-1465 Fax: 1-910-251-3591 Business Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Warehouse Hours: Monday - Thursday, 8 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Warehouse Manager: Dennis Connor

16.) The Lymphoma Lukemia Society: Sponsor Kurt Wooten’s run for for the cure:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntenc/tntencKWooten

Other organizations:
17.) Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation: http://www.glaad.org

18.) Equality North Carolina: http://equalitync.org

19.) The Human Rights Campaign http://hrc.org

20.) The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force http://thetaskforce.org


THE 200 CHALLENGE:

For those who can, wouldn’t it be great to do the $200.00 challenge-Send a check for $10.00 to each of the agencies listed (which adds up to $150.00)! For the price of two bottles of cologne or perfume or for the cost of three meals out on the two for a couple, we could send checks to 20 agencies! If 100 of us did this, we would be adding twenty thousand dollars into their ability to operate! How cool would that be!

remembering all on 911!

Lord, take me where You want me to go;Let me meet who You want me to meet;Tell me what You want me to say; andKeep me out of your way.
father mychal judge - FDNY - died 9/11/01

The terror attacks on 9/11 are never to be forgotten. In the aftermath, all Americans were forged with an identity and a love of country, facing a tragedy of unprecedented veracity.
Among the victims of 9/11 were many LGBT victims. While we remember and morn all who fell on that day, we lift up those listed below as well as others who, because of circumstances, cannot be named. We also thank the many LGBT fire fighters, relief works, counselors, police officers, and citizens who stayed the course during those horrendous days and have persevered since.

=== I n M e m o r i a m ===
Among the openly Gay people known dead at the World Trade Center is New York Fire Department Catholic chaplain Father Mychal Judge. Judge, 68, was killed while ministering to a fallen firefighter at Ground Zero. Judge's helmet was presented to the Pope, and Judge was chosen Grand Marshal of the 2002 Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade. There is also an initiative to elevate Fr. Mychal to sainthood. In June 2002, the president signed the Mychal Judge Act, granting federal money to certain survivors of victims of 9/11, including same-sex partners.
Mark Bingham, 31, a Gay passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania, helped to thwart the plane's hijackers. September 16 is officially designated Mark Bingham Day in San Francisco.
40-year-old Carol Flyzik's plane, American Airlines Flight 11, never made it to California. It was the first of two to crash into the World Trade Center. Flyzik, who was a registered nurse and a member of the Human Rights Campaign, is survived by Nancy Walsh, her partner of nearly 13 years.
David Charlebois, the co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon, was openly Gay, the Washington Blade reported. Charlebois was a member of the National Gay Pilots Association. Charlebois is survived by Tom Hay, his partner of almost 13 years.
Graham Berkeley, 37, a native of England who lived in Boston, boarded United Airlines Flight 175 on Sept. 11 on his way to a conference in Los Angeles. He died when the plane became the second hijacked airliner to crash into the World Trade Center. -- Washington Blade Pamela J. Boyce, 43, is only one of several dozen World Trade Center workers who have officially been confirmed dead. Boyce, a resident of Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, worked on the 92nd floor of One World Trade Center as assistant vice president of accounting for the New York office of Carr Futures. She is survived by her partner Catherine Anello. A Gay couple on their way home to Los Angeles from Boston were killed when United Airlines Flight 175 was hijacked Tuesday and crashed into the second tower of New York's World Trade Center. Ronald Gamboa, 33, and his partner of 13 years, Dan Brandhorst, 42, were traveling with their 3-year-old adopted son, David. Brandhorst and Gamboa were founding members of the Pop Luck Club, an L.A. organization for Gay men interested in adopting children. -- planetout.com
James Joe Ferguson, 39, director of geography education outreach for the National Geographic Society, was on American Airlines Flight 77 when it crashed into the Pentagon. Ferguson was traveling on a National Geographic-sponsored educational field trip to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary off Santa Barbara, Calif. Openly Gay flight attendant Jeffrey Collman’s American Airlines Flight 11 (from Boston) smashed into the north tower of New York’s World Trade Center. Collman is survived by Keith Bradkowski, his partner of 11 years. 41-year-old John Keohane was at work near the World Trade Center when the planes hit. He was killed by falling debris. Keohane worked at One Liberty Plaza near the World Trade Center and died when the towers collapsed. After the planes hit the Trade Center towers, Keohane met Mike Lyons, his partner of 17 years, on the street, and called his mother from his cell phone. "They were just in the streets like everybody else," Keohane’s sister, Darlene Keohane, told The San Francisco Chronicle. "As he was talking, he had thought a third plane crashed into the building." What Keohane thought was a third crash was really the collapse of the South tower of the World Trade Center. While Lyons survived, Keohane was killed by falling debris. Tragically, Lyons committed suicide March 1, 2002, on his 41st birthday.
Sheila Hein, 51, was working for the U.S. Army’s management and budget office in the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into it. Peggy Neff is Hein's partner of 18 years. Virginia's Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund administrators refused to accept the couple were anything but "friends." However, in January 2003, "the federal government's 9-11 Compensation Fund approved what is said to be the first payment to [Neff], a person in a gay relationship whose partner was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks." -- 365Gay.com
"Roxy Eddie" Ognibene, a beloved member of the Renegades of New York's Big Apple Softball League, was tragically lost in the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attack. He worked as a bond trader for Keefe, Bruyette & Woods on the 89th floor of WTC 2. -- Jerry Rosco, Renegades for Outsports.com
Larry Courtney and Eugene Clark were partners for 11 years. Clark, 47, worked for Aon Consulting on the 102nd floor of the World Trade Center's south tower. Clark sent Courtney a voice message: "I'm OK. The plane hit the other tower. And we're evacuating." Clark is still missing. -- Victoria Scanlan Stefanakos (advocate.com)
Bill Randolph's lover of 26 years, Wesley Mercer, 70, is among three security personnel from Morgan Stanley still missing in the World Trade Center rubble. Mercer, who was vice president of corporate security, was drinking coffee on the ground floor of the WTC when the first plane hit. He rushed to the 44th floor to supervise the evacuation of employees. All 3,700 employees escaped harm. Then Mercer, a decorated Army veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, returned to the 44th floor to make sure no one was left behind. Unlike other surviving partners, Mr. Randolph is not eligible for the full range of benefits, from pensions to Social Security payments to special memorial funds available to victims of Sept. 11. -- advocate.com
Luke A. Dudek, 50, was the food and beverage controller at Windows on the World. Dudek is survived by his partner of 20 years, George Cuellar. Cuellar said his partner loved Cuellar's flower business so much that after years of renting space, this year they bought their own property for the business. He said Dudek spent a week of vacation in September completing renovations. Dudek's first day back to work in New York was Sept. 11. He died in the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Since Sept. 11, friends of Michael Lepore, 39, a project analyst at Marsh & McLennon, have been pruning his rosebushes, clearing wayward ivy off stone walls, planting bulbs for next spring. It is the perfect act of kindness, said Mr. Lepore's partner of 18 years, David O'Leary. Their house and garden in Yonkers had been Mr. Lepore's pride and joy and are now Mr. O'Leary's primary source of comfort. -- The New York Times via H. S. Levine, NYC
John Winter and his lover William Anthony Karnes, 37, lived within sight of Karnes' office at Marsh & McLennon on the 97th floor of the World Trade Center Tower One. Walking to the office together, the couple had timed the "commute" at just 11 minutes. On the morning of September 11, Karnes, who went by "Tony," left for his office at about 8:30. At 8:45, Winter heard what sounded like a calamitous thunder clap. When he looked out his apartment window, he could already see his future. Karnes was killed in that morning's tragedy. In dealing with the aftermath, Winter says that he was "fortunate [in having] a good relationship with Tony's family in Knoxville." -- Paul Schindler (lgny.com)
New York resident Tom Miller lost his partner Seamus O'Neal in the World Trade Center attack. "I did not have the luxury of grieving without having to defend myself and prove who I am and who we were," Miller said. "If down the road anyone can be spared that torture, that would be excellent," he said -- Dan Kerman, Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
Elba Cedeno lost her partner of six years, Catherine Smith, 44, who worked on the 97th floor of one of the World Trade Center towers. They both had wills, which will ease the process of Cedeno taking sole ownership of their home. But Cedeno said she is angry that she will not qualify to receive any of Smith's Social Security benefits. "This was my soul mate. We planned to live the rest of our lives together and retire together," Cedeno said. -- AP via contaxguide.com
Emergency aid kept Margaret Cruz afloat after the loss of her partner of 18 years, Patricia McAneney. Ms. Cruz documented her finanacially interdependent partnership and prevailed with the Crime Victim's Board, the Red Cross and the New York State charitable fund. A total of $80,000 went to Ms. Cruz. McAneney, 50, was the fire marshal of her floor of 1 World Trade Center, where she worked for the insurance company Guy Carpenter. -- Jane Gross via Lucy at fiancesof911.com
Waleska Martinez, 37, a computer whiz in the Census Bureau's New York office, was aboard flight 93 that crashed outside Shanksville, PA. In his book, Among the Heroes, Jere Longman "unobtrusively quotes [Angela Lopez, her] same-sex partner." Lopez said, "She was my longtime companion, best friend and soul mate." -- NY Times Book Review, 9-8-02, p. 13. Renee Barrett, injured in the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, died on October 18 of her injuries. Barrett was a member of [the Gay] Metropolitan Community Church of New York. She leaves behind her life partner Enez Cooper and her 18-year-old son, Eddie, who lived with them. Renee was an employee of Cantor Fitzgerald, and was in Tower 1 at the time of the attacks. Though critically burned she escaped the building prior to its collapse, and had been hospitalized at Cornell-Presbyterian Hospital.
Francis S. Coppola, a New York City detective whose partner, a firefighter named Eddie, died in the attacks, summed up the bipolar feelings many GLBT people have had about Sept. 11. "I have never been more proud of being an American or a New Yorker, but at the same time it has made me sad. The greatest country in the world, and yet we are treated like second-class citizens.... The great love of my life died doing what he did best and what he loved to do: helping others. I have never been an activist or ever wanted to be one; however, it is time we stand up and be counted and demand equality -- nothing more or nothing less." -- Tom Musbach, Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
As the days went by, we learned that some of the missing rescue personnel were gay, and that many of their lovers, some of whom are cops and fire fighters, were grieving in silence for fear of outing them. There were also gay cops that lost family members that were rescue personnel. We all learned too quickly and in too cruel a way that the closet is a terrible place to grieve... -- Edgar Rodriguez, NYPD (in the former Lesbian & Gay New York)
Matt Foreman, former executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, says advocates have already identified 24 surviving partners from the Trade Center attack, and believe that there may be as many as 50 in total, based on surveys about gay and lesbian participation in long term relationships. -- Paul Schindler in Lesbian & Gay New York

Other 9-11 Memorial Links for Gays
Tampa Bay Coalition: wtcgay
Sept11thMemorial
Terror!
Woman's Monthly 9/11 Resources
WTC victims in same-sex relationships
NY 9/11 Latest News
What Makes a Gay Hero?
Gays & Patriotism
Gays: Forgotten Heroes of 9/11
Transformed by tragedy 09/11/02
Partners Task Force: Surviving Terrorism
America's 9-11 Memorial Quilts
Lesbians 9.11 Commemoration Service
Spontaneous Memorials and Individual Narratives
9-11 Fund Relents In No Will Lesbian Survivor Case
many thanks to http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/uraniamanuscripts/sept11.html for maintaining this material for everyone on the world wide web.

when you got one finger pointing out, you got three pointing back at you

when you got one finger pointing out,
you got three pointing back at you!
Simple...don't point!

Nirvana

Greatest Vacation Ever...rolling river, waterfalls, cool breezes, the one I love...Gilbran is right, IT IS better to be in the heart of God than to have God in your heart! (the Prophet). I am living in the heart of God and I am grateful everyday!

Great Quotes

"Senator, When you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the constitution, you did not put your hand on the constitution and swear to uphold the Bible." -- Jamie Raskin, American University law professor