Category Archives: Benefits
The New F Word, an Anti Bully Photo Campaign
After nearly a year of passion, dedication,
and development coupled with the unwavering support of our family,
friends, and some of our favorite celebs …
Friend Movement proudly presents:
“THE NEW F WORD –
GIVING BULLYING THE BIRD”
An edgy anti-bully campaign and brainchild of producers Ronnie Kroell
& Elliot London, photographer Ryan Forbes, and branding guru Bianca
Kosoy. The New F Word aims to keep the conversation about bullying
alive, but more importantly it was designed to empower individuals and
inspire all of us to take ACTION.
Our goal is to shoot …
10,000 Photos in 90 Days, across 40 Cities
Fresno, Sacramento, Reno, Eugene, Seattle, Portland, Spokane,
Billings, Fargo, Minneapolis, Madison, Rockford, Chicago, Detroit,
Cleveland, Rochester, Boston, Provincetown, Philadelphia, DC, Raleigh,
NYC, Savannah, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, Tallahassee, Mobile,
Montgomery, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville Birmingham, Jackson, Little
Rock, Kansas City, Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas.
When someone is being bullied, we want them to have an inner
monologue of “F-U I’m amazing … I don’t need your approval.” By doing
so, they can reclaim their power and rise above the fear that can
prevent them from being the diverse, confident, and beautiful
individuals they were meant to be.
While we may not be able to fully eradicate
bullying, we can commit to being better friends to one another – to
ourselves. So, get those middle fingers ready because THE NEW F WORD is
FRIEND.
Thank you for your time and support!!
Ronnie & Elliot
Your Chance for VIP ACCESS to the GLAAD Awards
VIP TO GLAAD AWARDS on EBAY!
Exclusive GLAAD Media Awards online charity auction is drawing to a close on Saturday, April 13th!
Proceeds
will benefit Chicago House’s Trans100 efforts, part of our greater
programming which has served Chicago’s LGBT community since 1985.
Bid here NOW for a VIP Package for TWO to your choice of:
GLAAD Media Awards In Los Angeles at the JW Marriott (4/20) honoring President Bill Clinton
GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco at the Hilton San Francisco (5/11) honoring Adam Lambert
Star Studded Package Includes!
*Roundtrip domestic flights for two people to Los Angeles (4/19) or San Francisco (5/10)
· *One hotel room for two nights (4/19 & 4/20 or 5/10 & 5/11)
· *2 VIP GLAAD Media Awards Tickets (access to the Private Celebrity Reception
for each guest; as well as entrance to the GLAAD Cocktail Reception
& Silent Auction, Dinner & Show, After-Party, and Gift Bag).
The GLAAD Media Awards celebrate the most outstanding images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in the media at the largest, most visible LGBT gala in the nation, the GLAAD Media Awards! Held in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco with over 5,000 attendees, the GLAAD Media Awards bring celebrities, corporate partners, media professionals, and young adults together in support of GLAAD’s mission to amplify the voice of the LGBT community and achieve full equality!
$5 Donation Gets You The Exclusive CIRQUE DU SOLEIL One Drop
I’m From Driftwood Needs Your Support
I’m From Driftwood is such a cool website. If you have never checked it out, PLEASE DO SO NOW!
community, straight people learn more about their neighbors and everyone
learn more about themselves through the power of storytelling and
story sharing.
We accomplish this by creating an apolitical
forum for LGBTQ stories from every age, race, gender, background and
culture to deepen our understanding of each other, preserve our
history, and open hearts and minds.
queer person feels understood and accepted, and every straight person
is an ally.
There are LGBTQ stories from every corner of the Earth and the importance of each story is as unique as the stories themselves.
To the LGBTQ teens struggling to come out and come to terms with
their sexuality, who to this day still attempt suicide 4 times more than
straight kids, it says “you are not alone.” Other people have dealt
with similar situations, families, communities and churches, and have
overcome and are now living happy lives. It can happen for you, too.
To the straight community, these stories provide an open, honest and
welcoming look inside the true lives of LGBTQ people. Once you get to
know more about your neighbor, I think you’ll be surprised at how much
more you’ll get to know about yourself.”
Nathan and his small team are doing important work. And they have really cool ideas for 2013 to take I’m From Driftwood to the next level and preserve all of these stories FOREVER. These stories are such an important part of who we all are! But it takes time. and money.
“I’m From Driftwood is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations
are tax-deductible, much appreciated and help us continue to collect
and share lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer stories from all
over the world.”
What can you give today, to help this awesome cause?
POSTER CONTEST for Gay Six Flags Chicago Event
Calling all Artists! $500 contest for a 2013 Poster!
“Out in the Park” at Six Flags Great America returns in 2013 with a BANG!
private LGBT event featuring unlimited riding of ALL Six Flags Great
America’s amazing rides (X-Flight, Superman, Batman, etc.) , live music
by an internationally sought after DJ who calls Chicago home, Matthew
Harvat, delivering a complete party-celebration dance area everyone can
enjoy! Plus some surprise celebrity guests and niche entertainment
venues!
(Sponsor) are excited to return with an all new LGBT Celebratory event
and fundraiser at Six Flags Great America. “We are very excited to be
asked to return this year to Six Flags Great America and their
excitement in allowing us this unique opportunity to produce such an
awesome private event for our community at their park,” said Derrick
Sorles, owner of BestGayChicago.com. “We are proud to have another
charity this year benefiting from the event.”
500
Posters and 30,000 Postcards will be printed and distributed in
Chicagoland, Wisconsin, parts of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Indiana!
Plus we’ll have ads and banners on websites everywhere including
Facebook. Your name will be on everything, giving the artist amazing
exposure!
- The competition is open to all interested artists and graphic designers.
- All submissions must be received before the deadline to be considered in the competition.
- There is no limit to the number of submissions entered.
- There is no cost to submit.
- Entries
will be accepted from individuals, collaborative teams, or design
firms, with prize money being split between the entrants listed on the
submission.
- The winner will be given credit for design on artwork to include a name or website reference on all printed material and on www.BestGayChicago.com, www.GaySixFlagsChicago.com and other websites that run the official press release.
The
winning design as chosen by BestGayChicago.com will receive $500 and 2
tickets to the “Out In The Park” at Six Flags Great America 2013
Celebration ($80.00 Value).
also prizes of $39 complementary “Out In The Park” tickets from
BestGayChicago.com for their other favorites and Facebook fan favorite
art designs. BestGayChicago.com and the artist(s) will share equal
rights to the uses of the image.
*This was the BACK of last years postcard – we’ll be looking to totally redesign the back, with much less information:
for this private event. ALL the rides will be open. There will be NO
LINES to ride rides – ride as much as you want. Ticketholders will
enjoy the music of DJ Matthew Harvat as it is heard live throughout most
the park. Matthew will do what he does best as he creates a signature
dance area experience never seen before at Six Flags Great America. This
amazing event welcomes all LGBT friendly folks from the five
surrounding states coming together to pride-fully celebrate on this
once-a year extremely special Saturday night!
Tickets for
admission to the park are $39 includes FREE PARKING! A portion of all
tickets sold will benefit (Charity TBD 2/1/13).
BestGayChicago.com
is looking for artwork and a design that immediately grab your
attention visually and look like something REALLY FUN that you feel
compelled to buy a ticket for , grab some friends and get out and have a
BLAST!
Entries must include:
- OUT IN THE PARK official logo
- BestGayChicago.com official logo
- All text necessary to create the sell message
- Additional sponsor/media partner logos
- Beyond bright and colorful!
- Use of park ride(s) and feeling of fun and/or movement
- The rest is up to you and your vision!
Entries will be judged using the following criteria:
- Overall impact of eye-catching appeal
- Visual attractiveness
- Ability to draw the viewer in
- Clear and concise messaging
- Appropriateness of graphics used
- Off the-chart creativity
- Must be appropriate for all ages.
Include your name, address, email and phone number on with each submission to
BestGayCities (at) gmail (dot) com.
All submissions will be judged based on content, appeal and marketability. The decisions of the judges will be final.
Guidelines are as follows:
Poster:
– Size 11″ X 17″ Entries should be developed at least 300dpi, but can be submitted at a lower resolution.
– Final winner will submit 300dpi PDF – and be able to tool poster theme into postcard size and various sized ads.
– Must be original artwork. Do not submit copyrighted work. BE CAREFUL
using stock images for rides that do not exist at Six Flags Great
America. We can not show a full ride image, of a ride that does not
exist. However, you could cut out portions of a generic ride and
riders, if needed.
Michael or Derrick 773-878-5323
HALF SHARE World Premiere and Benefit
Try to imagine The Golden Girls summering on Fantasy Island if it were run by Patsy & Edina! Then watch it for free! Half-Share is a 30-minute sitcom shot on location in Fire Island Pines featuring an all-star cast of fabulous gay comics including Alec Mapa, Jack Plotnick, Jesse Archer and Sam Pancake!
Hot on the heels of film festival success spanning three continents, Half-Share will debut its FREE worldwide streaming premiere at 10pm EST/7pm PST on Tuesday November 20th at www.half-share.com & Ustream.tv/channel/half-share.
GET A SNEAK PEAK NOW!
Through December 31st, 50% of all net profits on DVD and Amazon Instant Video sales will be donated to the Ali Forney Center in NYC
which provides homeless LGBT youth with shelter, food, and counseling.
Sandy left their offices underwater and they are in desperate need of
donations to continue their important work (Aliforneycenter.org).
Friend Film….Dealing with Sexuality, Gender Identity Issues and Bullying
Do you remember coming out?
Did you ever feel
different, unattractive, left out?
Do you ever ask yourself what is it
like to come out in 2012 or what it is like to be different from the
rest of the pact?
Is it easier? Is it harder?
Obviously, it is much
different than ten years ago…
by a bunch of writers in a Hollywood room, but rather by the very own
kids we see at the end of our streets.
PLEASE SHARE THIS MESSAGE WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Help Nick Adams Raise $$$ For AIDS Walk NY
How can you resist that face???
Every year BEST GAY NEW YORK.com supports the AIDS WALK New York. (May 20, 2012)
AND since we are huge fans of Priscilla, and secretly in love with NICK ADAMS (ok, so it’s not a secret) we like to put our support behind Nick for the AIDS WALK.
Nick gives, and gives and gives whenever he can to great causes like
Broadway Bares and AIDS WALK NY. (He has even been crowned Broadway Hero by GayLifeNYC.org.) “I enjoy giving my time to great causes, and it makes me feel good to know I can help in some way.”
Nick sent us this note, to share with our readers….
and with your help was able to raise over $20,000!
This year I want to
surpass that total.
Nick Adams
Nick Adams’ Donation Page for AIDS WALK NYC
Taking IT GETS BETTER on the road with a Theater Project
Critics of the “It Gets Better” message say action is needed behind
those words, and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles has an idea on how.
The chorus is raising money to take the message of hope from the
Internet and deliver it in person to schools nationwide with “It Gets
Better,” the musical.
Six cast members will use a mix of original songs
and ones the students have heard from the radio to drive home the point.
The performance will cap a week of outreach in the community where the
chorus finds people who have posted It Gets Better videos and asks them
to share in person with local leaders and school officials what they
said online.
WHAT A GREAT IDEA!!
“We will talk to videos, we will respond to videos, we will talk to
people who made videos and find out how their lives are different as a
result of it,” says Liesel Reinhart of Speak Theater Arts, which is a
partner in the effort, in a fundraising video posted on Kickstarter.
So far backers have pledged more than $25,000, and the chorus has
less than three weeks to raise the $75,000 it needs to put on the
combination of activism and stage shows in school communities all over
the country.
This is an idea worth funding!!
Read more at SHE WIRED
Donate on Kickstarter
Best Gay News Urges You to Support SECOND CLASS CITIZENS
ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY:
A second class citizen is defined
as: a person whose rights and opportunities are treated as less
important than those of other people in the same society. There are many
areas in which gays, lesbians, & bisexuals do not have the same
rights & opportunities as others in society. We must change this
now.
I want to make a documentary that encompasses all areas in
which we are discriminated against. The general population is not aware
that discrimination against the gay community goes beyond marriage &
bullying. There is far too much hate directed towards our community and
I want to capture that hate on camera. In addition, I want to explore
where this hate comes from, why it continues to exist, and what we must
do to get rid of it. A better solution is needed because the solution we
have right now isn’t working fast enough.
I am not a second class
citizen. You are not a second class citizen. Right now, the laws in
place (and lack thereof) say that we are. Let’s change that.
The idea for this documentary was born when I first learned that
California’s Proposition 8 had passed, defining marriage only between a
man & woman in that state. I was angry & I wanted to do
something about it. As time went by, I learned more & more about the
inequalities that exist for gays, lesbians, & bisexuals in this
country. I made a friend on YouTube who revealed to me that he would be
expelled from his school if they found out he was gay.
I did not believe
him – in what kind of reality could something like that be true? It is
true. Shortly after that, a string of natural disasters occurred &
my boss asked me if I wanted to donate blood with her. I immediately got
up to go with her & then stopped abruptly realizing that I couldn’t
donate blood. She did not believe me, nor did she understand why. I
felt like a different species. I did not feel one with the human race in
that moment. That was the moment it had a direct effect on me & my
rights – that is when I decided to make this documentary.
Ryan James Yezak
Help Ryan fund this film!
Every dollar will help!
