Promote the efforts of over 200 SF LGBT nonprofits

OurTownSF.org has an Indiegogo campaign for fundraising.  You can also donate to OurTownSF.org from our homepage.  Simply click the DONATE tab and you're directed to our fiscal sponsor The Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation.  They sponsor the website but we receive no funds from them.   

Your donation will help to cover $3,000 in annual expenses including web hosting, advertising and promotional materials. 

Thank you,
Paul Margolis
Founder/Volunteer

EVERYBODY LOVES TO WATCH MOVIES !

I've added 83 YouTube videos under the VIDEOS tab of OurTownSF.org

These videos include over a dozen interviews by David Perry of Comcast TV show 10%, promo and event videos produced by the nonprofits, athletic and arts groups on the website. 

Links to these videos are currently being added under the A-Z tab.

check out the YouTube interview of Paul Margolis - founder of OurTownSF.org 

Congratulations to Positive Being for being the 1st to post a banner ad on the homepage of OurTownSF.org !

 

Thanks to David Sweet for the new photo on the homepage of OurTownSF.org

about the photographer,
david sweet 

www.davidsweetphotography.com

I’m a San Franciscan by way of LA and, originally, New York City. By nature I’m a “city mouse”, so most of my work has a very urban feel - with a little mix of LA paparazzi added in.
My focus is on the happier side of the human condition. I photograph people who aren’t afraid to be themselves, who really own their place in my image. I look to capture their “inner smile”.
And yes, I’m that guy who photographs “gingers”. What can I say, I like “gingers”

The Bare Chest Calendar 2015 

finalists have been chosen 

Get raffle tickets www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?CID=12536 to support your favorite Finalist 

Raffle Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20.

1st Prize 13” MacBook Pro, 8 gig RAM ( valued over $1400 )
2nd Prize Public R16 road bike ( valued over $800 )
3rd Prize SF Shopping Spree ( valued over $400 )

BCC15 FINALS

Sunday, April 27th
DNA LOUNGE - 375 11th Street

Doors Open at 5:00pm, Contest begins at 5:30pm

$5.00 before April 27th, $10.00 at the door

dnalounge.com/tickets

Tickets also available at: Worn Out West 2nd Generation

 The Bare Chest Calendar and Team BCC exist for one purpose – to raise vital funds that support the missions of our beneficiaries, AIDS Emergency Fund and Positive Resource Center.

Congratulations Team 2014 on setting a new fund raising record of $166,246!

BAY AREA YOUTH SUMMIT  

http://www.bayareayouthsummit.org

Mission

Bay Area Youth Summit (BAYS) aims to bridge disenfranchised and underrepresented youth sub-communities that identify as LGBTQ. An incorporated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, BAYS seeks to foster a safe social forum to promote constructive conversations that serve to generate greater awareness and acceptance among youth of all orientations and identities. As the only completely youth-led LGBTQ organization in the world, BAYS seeks to motivate LGBTQ and allied youth to come together and make a positive impact in their communities. By doing so, BAYS serves as a medium through which these youth voices are heard.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1422692171321663/?ref=br_tf

See the Community Spotlight area on the OurTownSF.org homepage. The Federation of Gay Games has placed a promotion for the Gay Games in August.
Join Team San Francisco as we prepare to organize our large contingent at Gay Games 9 in Cleveland + Akron, OH in August. Already, nearly 300 San Franciscans have registered to attend this great event featuring 35 sports, 5 cultural events, and non-stop fun. Join us and you can be among the FIRST team to enter the Opening Ceremony on August 9. This huge honor has been bestowed on Team San Francisco, ever since the Gay Games began right here in 1982.

 

AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP)

2014 Agency Overview
____________________________________________________________________

The mission of the AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP) is to help people living with HIV/AIDS
maintain and improve their health by resolving their legal issues.

ALRP is the only institution in the San Francisco Bay Area whose entire mission is dedicated
to providing free and low-cost legal assistance and education on virtually any civil matter
to persons living with HIV/AIDS.  This includes such widely disparate areas as housing, employment, insurance, confidentiality matters, family law, credit, government benefits or public accommodations, and immigration. 

We accomplish this mission through either direct representation of clients by one of ALRP’s
six attorneys or by careful placement of clients with one of ALRP’s 700 panel attorneys.

Founded in 1983, ALRP has handled over 65,000 legal matters for our clients over the last
31 years. Our efforts help our clients:

§  Avoid unlawful evictions - fulfilling their basic need for shelter

§  Protect and regain lost jobs and insurance/medical benefits

§  Protect their assets, and their children's future

§  Reduce their stress and improve their health

§  Assure their personal dignity

Our goals are to provide legal counsel and representation on often-complex legal matters with respect to HIV/AIDS for a community of individuals often least able to afford it, and to leverage the resources of the private bar for the public good.  In the process, we increase resources dedicated to the public interest through the private market, and increase the skill and capacity of the legal community to handle the intricacies of HIV/AIDS related law and representation. 

Our current services/projects include:

§  The ALRP Referral Project

§  The ALRP AIDS Housing Advocacy Project

§  The ALRP HIV/AIDS Insurance Protection Project

§  The ALRP Outreach Project

§  The ALRP HIV/AIDS Consumer Advocacy Project

§  The ALRP Immigration HIV Assistance Project

§  The ALRP Work Readiness & Legal Assistance Project

§  The ALRP Client Education Project

§  The ALRP Volunteer Training Project

§  The ALRP Law Clerk Fellowship Project

Last year alone, ALRP helped almost 1,500 people with HIV/AIDS in 2,231 legal matters, successfully leveraged over $1.6 million in donated legal services, and provided training
for more than eighty attorneys.

 

May 21, 2014

ALRP Major Donor Party 5:30 - 7:30pm, Sinbad’s Pier 2 Restaurant, 141 The Embarcadero, SF (next to the Ferry Building). ALRP is honoring Karl Christiansen of Wells Fargo Bank with the ALRP 2014 James C. Hormel Philanthropist Award and the Eviction Defense Collaborative (EDC) with the ALRP 2014 Community Partner Award. Take in the fabulous Bay Bridge views, savor delicious food and wine (cash bar available) and network with friends and colleagues. Suggested minimum donation is $500. If you already made a $500+ gift to the ALRP Attorneys From the Heart Campaign this year, please RSVP as our guest. If you haven’t contributed yet, you can do so online by May 19th at www.alrp.org or simply donate at the door. RSVP to Jim McBride at jim@alrp.org or (415) 701-1200 ext. 301.

October 15, 2014

ALRP From the Heart 31^st Annual Reception & Auction. Help ALRP commemorate its 31^st year of service to people with HIV/AIDS at our biggest event of the year. This year's reception is being held from 6:00-9:00pm on Wednesday, October 15th in the Julia Morgan Ballroom at the Merchants Exchange, 465 California Street (at Montgomery Street) in San Francisco. ALRP will be presenting our  2014 Clint Hockenberry Leadership Award, 2014 Attorney of the Year Award and 2014 Firm of the Year Award during the event. The evening will also feature a Live and Silent Auction. Enjoy amazing food and wines—including ALRP Private Reserve Wines!—while connecting with colleagues and friends. Tickets start at $100. 2014 donors who contribute $500 or more are invited as guests. Sponsorship levels range from $3,000 District Court to $15,000 Supreme Court. To sponsor this event, or for more information, contact Jim McBride at jim@alrp.org or (415) 701-1200 ext. 301.

A warm thank you goes out to Fred Cummins, David Ochroch, Brad Harbin and Bob Friedland for helping out OurTownSF.org at AtmosQueer on Saturday 4/12. We really made an impact getting word out about the website!
I also want to thank Sergio Paz for organizing this community event.

Thanks to Rick Gerharter of Rick Gerharter photography for the photo.

The official first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Harvey Milk Forever Stamp will take place at the White House on May 22 which is 'Harvey Milk Day' in California and would have been the slain civil rights leader's 84th birthday.
Writes the White House in its announcement:

Harvey Milk was a visionary leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk’s achievements gave hope and confidence to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in the United States and elsewhere at a time when the community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination. Milk believed that government should represent all citizens, ensuring equality and providing needed services.

His remarkable career was tragically cut short nearly a year after he took office, when he and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated.

In 2009, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

The stamp image will be previewed at a later date and a public dedication ceremony will take place in San Francisco

ATTENTION ALL GROUPS LISTED ON OURTOWNSF.ORG

Please add a link to OurTownSF.org on your site.  It is vital that all SF LGBT folks have access to vital services listed.

OurTownSF.org is:

An online directory to over 200 San Francisco nonprofits, arts and athletic groups serving the LGBT community including:
A calendar of major fundraisers & events by these nonprofits, arts & athletic groups + fairs and annual observances
An A-Z & category search under 5 tabs & 20 categories 
An opportunity for these groups to reach a wider audience
Each listing includes a link for individuals to reach the group for more info

Come to AtmosQueer tomorrow.  OurTownSF.org will have a table promoting the site. 
AtmosQueer had it's first event last July where we had over 30 LGBT community organizations participate with over 550 attendees.  We rocked it out thanks to your interest and support!

We are pleased to announce that our next AtmosQueer event will be held on Saturday, April 12th at the San Francisco LGBT Center from Noon to 5:00pm.  Please mark your calendars! This new venue will provide us with better equipped facilities to showcase community organizations.

I am pleased to announce that when one Googles gay nonprofit calendar san francisco OR lgbt nonprofit calendar san francisco OR  guide nonprofit lgbt san francisco OurTownSF.org is among the very top on the list of resources.  Having established this website a little more than 8 months ago, we've come a long way baby !  The Google Analytics are at a rate I haven't seen since I passed out hundreds of cards at the Castro Street Fair. 

Today's post was submitted by Bill Stern of Positive Being 

When I was very sick with AIDS, I felt untouchable.  For over three years, no one touched me or saw me naked, except my doctor.  Then a kind soul offered to give me a discount massage.  That massage changed my life.  Just being touched by loving hands made a huge difference in how I saw myself.  At the same time, I was in a drug trial that affected my sight so that I could no longer drive, nor read.  I was at a loss at what to do, when this same kind soul suggested I become a massage therapist.  I attended a weekend workshop to put my toe in the water, so the speak, and that was all I needed.  By the end of that weekend, I had enrolled in massage school and conceived the idea for Positive Being, providing donation-based massage to people with HIV.  We opened our massage clinic on Jan. 1, 2000.

That wasn't enough, though.  I asked myself:  how do we bring men with HIV together, not just for a getaway (which in itself is healing) but to connect with each other - literally as well as figuratively?  That's how "Exploring the Body Positive" was born.  Over the years I refined my skills and ideas and asked my friend John Olesen to facilitate with me.  We finally raised enough money to present it for the first time in 2007 and we've been offering it every year since then.  (The reason it's so expensive is because we  defray the costs through scholarship money.  Positive Being is an all-volunteer organization, so nearly every donation goes directly back to clients in the form of massage or scholarships for Exploring the Body Positive.)  

The weekend itself is a joy for me as an HIV man and a facilitator.  I find it an honor to witness these men come up the mountain with their body shame and anxieties and leave exultant.  Over the years, people who have met through this workshop have coupled up, became friends, or just stayed in touch.  Sharing a profoundly transformative experience like that creates a special kind of intimacy, like a brotherhood.  That's why I volunteer my time and why I love going.  

One of the things that seems simple, but struck me (in a good way) about the workshop is how we all relate to each other - in a very heart-centered way.  You don't learn what people do for a living or if they are on disability, or whether they rent or own, etc.  There's no chatter about real estate or software engineering.  instead there's a deep sharing from the heart about whatever going on for us at the moment.  After trying to mingle with singles, this kind of meeting was such a relief - and a pleasure.

For me, what makes the weekend unique is the way that safe and nurturing touch is incorporated.  I thought about this a lot.  How do men touch each other?  Violently, sexually, athletically maybe...but we rarely have an intention to touch each in a nurturing way.  This is what we do part of each day to ground ourselves in our bodies (since processing about our HIV experience can beheady).  It's a delicious way to both give and receive that rare kind of touch that leaves one feeling loved, nurtured, healed.  That's why our motto is:  Healing Through Touch.  This is how we demonstrate, in fact embody, that motto.

Exploring the Body Positive takes place on May 9-11, 2014 at Wildwood Retreat Center, near Guerneville.  For information about the weekend or the scholarship fund, call Bill Stern at 415 821 6477

You can also find out more at:  http://positivebeing.org/

Lunch with Ken Henderson Of The Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation 4/5, lunch with Bill Stern of Positive Being yesterday and dinner with Aaron Baldwin of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence today.

OurTownSF.org  & the Nonprofit Windows – origins of these community resources:

In 2009 Walgreens was recruited by Patrick Batt, a Castro merchant, to allow nonprofits space in their windows free of charge.   In 2011, Paul Margolis, an SF resident since 1979, took over the volunteer duties of scheduling.   This service was expanded at California Check Cashing in January 2013. The Nonprofit Windows allow charities and community groups multiple weeks to recruit volunteers & promote their mission and upcoming events in windows facing busy city streets free of charge.

In the Fall of 2013, OurTownSF.org went online offering added exposure to these groups.  Entries are copied from the web or provided by their representatives. 

The intent is for nonprofit organizations with a website and benefitting the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning community be represented and their major fundraising events appear on OurTownSF’s Google calendar.  Selected arts, athletic and community groups are also included.  All entries are free. Please "like" us on Facebook and tell your friends about OurTownSF.org