Several years ago, one of the area Pride organizations started working with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter, to raise funds to build a home for a local family.
Although they fell short of their goal, they did raise over $5,000 to assist with the construction—and they raised awareness of an important issue, while helping to gather a base of volunteers from the LGBT community with an eye to helping build future homes for less fortunate families.
Recently, Habitat—which was founded in 1976 in Americus, Georgia, and includes among its international corps of volunteers former President Jimmy Carter—finished work on five new homes in Oakland Park. Volunteer Coordinator Eliot Imhoff was so inspired, that he is now working on three additional homes.
“Right now, we have all of the paperwork filed with the city of Oakland Park, and are working with King Automotive, BankAtlantic, and Wells-Fargo Bank,” Imhoff says. “In conjunction with Christ United Church, we will be breaking ground to help three more deserving families.
Many people don’t understand families in the homes don’t get a free ride,” he explains. “They have to help in the building of the home. The program is meant to give them a new lease on life, and help them with the responsibility, and giving them a sense of pride for their future,” Imhoff stresses.
“Habitat Broward brings together people from all walks of life to work in partnership with deserving families in need,” Imhoff explains. “Habitat for Humanity strengthens families, neighborhoods, and communities. Our mission is to eradicate substandard housing, and to build simple, decent, affordable housing for those with low incomes.”
Imhoff says he started working with Habitat as a volunteer following Hurricane Katrina, going to Biloxi, Mississippi, and assisting with the rebuilding effort there. He says he found real inspiration helping his fellow men. “Since 1983, Habitat Broward has built more than 320 homes, and we are always in need of volunteers,” he says. “Not only with the building of the homes, but in all facets of Habitat. We also have the Habitat Re-Store [at 505 W Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale], which was helped by local humanitarian Ginny Miller, who assisted with the funding. You can find almost anything for the home, from building supplies to furniture,” Imhoff notes.
In addition to volunteers, Imhoff says, “We are always looking for additional sponsors within the community, who are capable of contributing [money and materials], and those in the trade who can step forward and assist in the construction process.”
Imhoff suggests those who are interested in participating with Habitat Broward in whatever fashion should visit the main office (3564 N Ocean Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, in the BankAtlantic building).
For more information, visit habitatbroward.org.
Latinos Salud
Free HIV rapid testing, Free one-on-one counseling
and life coaching for gay Latinos 18 to 44. Free peer
networking dinners and leadership training for gay
Latinos 25 to 44.
Free clubhouse for Latinos 18 to
30, planning alternative social events
2330 Wilton Dr., Wilton Manors
(954) 765-6239 and (954) 533-8681
latinossalud.org facebook.com/juntoslatinossalud
facebook.com/somoslatinossalud
Minority Development & Empowerment
HIV Testing, case management
5225 NW 33rd Ave., Building 5, Ft. Lauderdale
(954) 315-4530
POVERELLO
HIV Testing, Free meals
2302 NE 7th Ave, Wilton Manors
(954) 561-3663
Out of the Closet
HIV Testing, referrals
2097 Wilton Dr., Wilton Manors
(954) 358-5580
Men’s Wellness Center
HIV & STD’s Testing & treatment
6405 N. Federal Hwy., Suite 205, Ft. Lauderdale
(877) 259-8727
The East Health Center
HIV/STD’s Testing, screening and treatment,
Immigration medical examination
2421 SW 6th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale
(954) 298-1749
(954) 467-4705
Broward House
HIV services, shelter, empowerment, housing, client
services
1726 SE 3rd Ave., Ft. Lauderdale
(954) 522-4749
Care Resource Broward
HIV Testing, case management,
830 E Oakland Park Blvd, Oakland Park
(954) 567-7141
Red Hispana
HIV Testing, Hispanic support groups, emergency
relief fund assistance, pre-case management
1350 East Sunrise Blvd., Suite 129, Ft. Lauderdale
(954) 462-8889
Care Resource Dade
HIV Testing, case management
3510 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
(305) 576-1234 Ext.287
Covenant House
Emergency/temporary shelter & crisis intervention
733 Breakers Ave., Ft. Lauderdale
(954) 561-5559
The Wellness Center
Support groups, Lipoatrophy (Facial Wasting)
2921 NE 6th Ave., Wilton Manors
(954) 568-0152
The Pride Center at Equality Park
HIV Testing, support groups, elderly, youth resources,
transgender resources, bereavement
2040 N Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors, FL 33305
(954) 463-9005
LAMBDA
Support groups, substance abuse
1231-A E Las Olas Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
(954) 761-9072
Gay & Lesbian Youth Support Group
Provides support to gay and lesbian youths 16 to 24
years of age
1480 SW 9 Avenue 2nd Floor Ft Lauderdale
Sunshine Cathedral Campus
(954) 764-5150
Brian Neal Fitness & Health Foundation
Weekly group workouts, gym membership, nutrition
and life mentoring classes by professionals, online
programs, exercise, and health monitoring for
persons living with HIV/AIDS and other lifechallenging
conditions.
2435 N. Dixie Hwy., Wilton Manors
(954) 336-0436
(561) 255-4913
AIDS Healthcare Foundation/Out of theCloset
HIV testing, client services, STD’s testing & treatment,
AHF Pharmacy
2097 Wilton Dr., Wilton Manors
(954) 318-6997
The Community
Anger management, counseling Self pay/Sliding Scale
$25-$85
16 NE 4th St., Suite 130, Ft. Lauderdale
(954) 533-9819
Family Therapy Center
Anger management
2415 University Dr., Coral Springs
(954) 345-6222
South Florida Gender Coalition
Support groups for Cross-dressers, trans-sexuals and
significant others; Age 18 and older.
3233 NW 34th Ct., Ft. Lauderdale
(954) 578-9454, 954-677-2587
Teen Space 211
Tough teen issues, bullying, counseling
3217 NW 10th Terr., Suite 308, Ft. Lauderdale
Pride Institute of Fort Lauderdale
Gay/Lesbian/Bisex/Trans; Mental Health Services;
Substance Abuse Detox; Substance Abuse Inpatient
(954) 463-4321, 954-453-8679
(800) 585-7527
Legal Aid Service – Broward Human Rights Initiative
Low-income gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender
(GLBT) individuals in need of legal services, Gay/
Lesbian/Bisex/Trans; Legal Services
491 N State Rd. 7, Plantation
(954) 358-5635
Legal Aid Service – Broward Human Rights
Initiative
Legal services, immigration information
(954) 358-5635
SunServe
Counseling, mental health intake and referral, Noble
McArtor Senior Day Care Center, youth and family
services
1480 SW 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale
(954) 764-5150, (954) 764-5055, (954) 764-5055,
(954) 549-0263
Fusion
Program open to the GLBTQ community. Activities
include meditation, social events, groups, movies,
games, classes, and condom distribution campaign.
2304 NE 7th Ave., Wilton Manors
(954) 630-1655
Spectrum Programs
Case Management, Marriage & Family therapy,
Outpatient Counseling, Psychiatric Services,
Substance Abuse Residential Treatment
450 E Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach
(954) 580-0770
(954) 781-4405
If your non-profit organization is not listed in the Agenda Non-Profit Services Directory, please send your information to Dale Madison at dalemadison@guymag.net.
]]>Since 1986, The Poverello Center has provided lifesaving food and living essentials to Broward County residents who are living with HIV/AIDS, and who meet basic specified qualifications.
For Tom Smith, CEO of Poverello, his service to the organization, and the clients whose needs it serves, has spanned more than 20 years. It started when Smith heard about a Roman Catholic priest named Father Bill Collins, who served at St. Coleman Parish in Pompano Beach. At that time, Collins was working to find sponsors to assist a needy family at Christmastime. Smith went to St. Coleman, banged on the door, and asked to speak to Collins, who explained the troubling circumstances: The distressed family had five children, and three were HIV-positive.
Although initially the plan for the assistance called for raising as much money as possible, and using it to purchase clothing and toys for the kids, enough was raised to get the family food, as well. After that inspiring success, the core group of volunteers decided that they wanted to keep the project going. The next year, Smith held a fundraising event at his home, and decided that it would benefit young men who were infected with what many called the “gay flu.”
“We realized that so many of these young men were being shunned by their families, and many were being abandoned by them,” Smith recalls. “That first year, we set up long banquet tables, and charged a minimum $25 per person donation, and each person had to bring a covered dish. About an hour in, there was a knock on the door, and a rush of drag queens poured in, shouting, ‘We’re here to perform and to help.’ We turned the living room into a dressing room with foam rubber, eyelashes, powder, lipstick, and make up of all kinds everywhere. At one point it looked as if a drag queen had exploded. We didn’t have a stage, so we took one of the banquet tables and collapsed the legs, laid it on the ground, and it became the stage. During the evening they blew out the speakers on my sound system, but they just kept going. We raised over $3,700.”
Smith had stumbled onto something: A formula for success. “The next year, Charlie Mielke and Tony Dee, the owners of Chardee’s restaurant in Wilton Manors, underwrote the entire evening. That year we raised enough money to help purchase a new truck for Poverello, because the one they had—you could sit in the cab, and see the street below you, sort of a ‘Fred Flintstone truck,’” he adds.
Times have changed, but the need hasn’t. Today, Poverello serves more than 3,000 clients. This month alone, the group will distribute over 3,000 boxes of food, with a bill running in the neighborhood of $96,000—an expensive neighborhood, as you can see. And next year, county budget cuts are likely to translate to a 50 percent reduction in funding for food banks. “It’s been a tough year so far, but we are doing everything we can to turn things around. Our 22nd Annual Bowl-AThon is coming up [this month], and we are hoping to have a stellar year,” Smith adds. (As a matter of fact, he roped me in to help get items for the event’s silent auction, as well as to emcee—my fourth year, so how could I say no?)
Smith is also proud that Poverello has a new home, located at 2056 North Dixie Highway, with expanded hours, which the upbeat CEO hopes—despite funding cuts from every level of government— will allow the organization to help more clients than ever before.
“The City of Wilton Manors has gone out of their way to help with the project,” he says, noting, too, that once completed, the project will be “green-friendly,” and ready to continue serving the community for many years to come.
For more information, visit Poverello.org.
]]>For more than 70 years, United Way of Broward County has acted like a kind of community glue for local non-profit and service organizations, uniting resources, donors, and volunteers to identify the community’s most pressing needs, and creating the building blocks that lead to measurable results. Some of the efforts United Way focuses on relate to such vital community issues as education, income insecurity, health services, and substance abuse treatment—many of the building blocks for a better life.
So it was natural when the service agency was looking for someone with experience and a proven record of service to others to serve as president and CEO through the uncertain Twenty-Tens and beyond, they turned to Kathleen Cannon, one of South Florida’s iconic individuals in the local notfor- profit landscape. A graduate of FIU with a Masters Degree in Social Work, Cannon served as Chief Operating Officer of Broward House—the county’s oldest and largest HIV/ AIDS community service organization for 10 years. As COO, Cannon oversaw an intricate web of services provided to residents at 13 South Florida locations. Her decade at the helm saw an expansion of Broward House services, a growth that has made it one of the region’s go-to agencies for many in need.
As she explains it, about two months ago, Cannon decided that she had done much that she had set out to accomplish with Broward House, and that it was time to set her skills, and passion, to a new task—a realization that coincided with the recent decision of United Way of Broward County officials to instill new vigor into that venerable agency. So Cannon says she took that leap of faith, and became the new CEO for one of the largest agencies in Broward County.
“I guess I am sort of a macro-practitioner, and while I loved all of the time I spent at Broward House, the United Way gave be a new opportunity, and a larger platform,” Cannon explains. “We help to fund over 60 agencies. One of my favorites—and I don’t like to choose favorites—is our Kids Literacy project. To watch these kids learning is very gratifying. Another is our mission to assist the families of our military service members who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan,” she adds.
“Our Women’s Leadership Council is coming up at the Hyatt Regency at Pier 66. We work to inspire women with their careers. On September 22, we are sponsoring Rock United at Revolution: LIVE (100 SW 3 Ave., Fort Lauderdale),” she says.
Cannon notes that the work of United Way affects people in need for a variety of causes. The community impact fund helps thousands who are struggling to survive. The consequences of local companies failing, and others cutting jobs and work hours, means that a growing number of families are facing hunger, homelessness, and other challenging, lifealtering circumstances. “United Way of Broward County mobilizes the power of local businesses and government agencies, education leaders, non-profits, faith-based groups, and volunteers to make a muchneeded impact in our community,” Cannon explains.
Like others in the non-profit field, Cannon and her colleagues have experienced the downward shift in government funding and private contributions. But she says the work—and the dream—doesn’t stop because of leaner times. “We at United Way have felt the pinch as most every charity has, so we work to make every dime count,” she says. The organization couldn’t have found someone more able to do just that.
For more information, visit unitedwaybroward.org.
]]>By ALEX VAUGHN
Photo: Adam Lambert has been a long-time supporter of the Trevor Project that speaks out against
gay bullying.
As we all have love and giving on our minds at this time of year, it is inspiring to see that in the last week two supporters of the community are giving back in a big way.
It was announced that Corbin Fisher had donated $60,000 to Equality Florida and over the weekend it was confirmed that American Idol Runner up, Adam Lambert would be donating the proceeds from a remixed version of his song Aftermath to the Trevor Project.
Liberty Media Holdings (LMH), parent company of leading online gay adult content provider, Corbin Fisher (CF), followed up their 2010′s record donation to Equality Florida (EQFL) with a second $60,000 donation to the non-profit organization.
EQFL, a St. Petersburg-based non-profit, made headlines in 2010, when they were instrumental in overturning Florida’s ban on same-sex couples right to adopt children. Corbin Fisher was proud to support EQFL with the largest single donation in the organization’s history.
“We’re grateful that Corbin Fisher continues to support our efforts to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Nadine Smith, executive director for Equality Florida. “They have invested deeply in our work of educating and mobilizing fair-minded Floridians who believe in the values of equality and justice.
” While Corbin Fisher’s production offices recently moved from Florida to Las Vegas, the company remains a staunch supporter of the work EQFL does. “We feel their efforts are crucial in leading the fight for equal rights. Much of the country looks to the legal battles in Florida as precedent-setting,” said Marc Randazza, general counsel for Corbin Fisher.
Corbin Fisher CEO Jason Gibson said, “The legal battles for equality are never over and can be tremendously expensive. As a company, we donate lump sums to help defray EQFL’s costs, but we also hope to inspire everyone to donate time and support to EQFL and other local organizations fighting for justice for all gay, lesbian, bi and transgender people.” Corbin Fisher employees themselves are encouraged to donate time and money to charitable organizations through a matchingfunds policy and paid time off for volunteer work for accredited groups.
Corbin Fisher last year received the Free Speech Coalition Award of Excellence. 2010 also saw the company make news as it spearheaded anti-piracy efforts in the adult entertainment industry. Corbin Fisher has been nominated for two XBiz Awards this year, Web Company of the Year and Gay Site of the Year.
Adam Lambert came to our attention in the eighth season of American Idol and came out publically in Rolling Stone after being crowned the runner up. The Times pinpointed the fact that Lambert was one of the few openly gay mainstream pop artists to launch a successful career on a major label in the United States.
The multi-platinum selling artist has been a big supporter of The Trevor Project, the California-based non-profit that runs the nation’s only 24-hour confidential suicide hotline for gay and questioning youth. In October he released a video for the It Gets Better campaign, in which he told troubled gay teens to stay strong and proud. The It Gets Better Project is a collection of videos urging troubled LGBT teens to hang in there, because life gets better and raises awareness and funds for The Trevor Project.
The national organisations’ mission statement is clear: ‘The Trevor Project is determined to end suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth by providing life-saving and life-affirming resources including our nationwide, 24/7 crisis intervention lifeline, digital community and advocacy/educational programs that create a safe, supportive and positive environment for everyone.’
Word about the remix first came out when Adam’s friend Markus Molinari posted on his blog the day after Adam’s 29th birthday party: “Adam introduced a new version of his song Aftermath that he co-wrote with Ferras, Alisan Porter, Ely Rise. Adam went on to say a portion of the remixed tune would go to The Trevor Project. Adam has been a vocal supporter of this charity that speaks out against gay bullying.”
The 29 year old Grammy Nominee tweeted on Thursday, “Releasing a revamped version of AFTERMATH,” to his more than 850,000 followers. “Proceeds to benefit The Trevor Project. Wait till you hear it – it’s now a hot pop dance anthem.”
“No set release date,” he added. “Putting finishing touches on the track. Stay tuned …”
If you would like to get involved and to give back to either of these crucial nonprofit organisations please check out the details below.
Equality Florida- www.eqfl.org
The Trevor Project
LifeLine : 866 488 7386
“The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.” – Albert Einstein.
]]>