Time Out Youth executive director Steve Bentley (from left), Judy Shepard, mother of hate crime victim Matthew Shepard, and Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride were among those in attendance at the annual Believe in Youth event, held Feb. 20 at Myers Park Baptist Church. Shepard spoke frankly to an audience of more than 100 people about her experiences and the importance that all -- straight allies as well as gay, bisexual and transgendered men and women -- speak our truth to lessen stigma and stereotypes. The event, partially funded by the Wesley Mancini Foundation, also featured a performance by One Voice Chorus. (RACHEL SUTHERLAND COMMUNICATIONS PHOTO)

Campus Pride & Time Out Youth present their annual awareness event on Sun, Feb 20 to "push the Queen City forward" on LGBT issues

(Charlotte, N.C.) -- Campus Pride and Time Out Youth will present LGBT advocate Judy Shepard at their annual awareness event “Believe in Youth” on Sunday, Feb. 20, 3 p.m., at Myers Park Baptist Church’s Heaton Hall, 1900 Queens Rd. The event is free to educators and youth; $15 suggested donation otherwise.

Right: Flyer for Judy Shepard's Campus Pride/Time Out Youth event. Click to enlarge.

Shepard, mother of slain hate crime victim Matthew Shepard and author of the new book, “Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” will speak to the audience with a special Q&A following. Special music will be provided by Charlotte’s One Voice Chorus. Following the event, there will be a VIP meet and greet with Judy Shepard at The Bar at 316, 316 Rensselaer Street, open to the public; $5 suggested donation.

The annual “Believe in Youth” event is being presented by the national, Charlotte-based Campus Pride, a nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus organizations working to create safer, more LGBT-friendly colleges and universities, and Time Out Youth, a local LGBT youth service and support organization working in the Charlotte area for 20 years.

“Campus Pride and Time Out Youth have partnered to bring Judy Shepard to Charlotte to shed light on the ongoing crisis that faces LGBT youth and community members both locally and across the country,” said Steve Bentley, executive director of Time Out Youth. “Judy’s amazing advocacy on behalf of LGBT people provides a unique perspective and a call to action for movement on LGBT equality.”

“In the past few years, our nation has come a long way in achieving progress for LGBT people – from federal hate crimes legislation to the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ LGBT Americans are finally starting to see more full equality,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “That progress, however, has yet to hit Charlotte. Though the Queen City has come a long way, our community has much further to go especially for youth. We hope Judy’s message will help push this city forward.”

Catapulted onto a national stage following the murder of her son, Matthew, in 1998, Shepard has dedicated her life to advocacy on behalf of LGBT people. Determined to prevent Matthew’s fate from befalling others, she established The Matthew Shepard Foundation. She and the foundation are ongoing educational partners with Campus Pride as well as have worked with several organizations from the Human Rights Campaign to Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).

For more information about Campus Pride programs and services, visit www.CampusPride.org or email info@campuspride.org. For more information about Time Out Youth programs and services, visit www.TimeOutYouth.org or email info@timeoutyouth.org

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"Stop The Hate" has come to the Queen City. Based in Charlotte, NC, the national organization Campus Pride is hosting the premier bias and hate crime prevention program locally to benefit the Carolinas as well as colleges across the country. Today through Wednesday, trainers will help students, faculty and staff learn how to prevent and combat bias and hate crimes on campus, and foster the development of community.

The event is, perhaps, particularly important in light of a recent hate-motivated incident on the campus of East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. In October, two male students verbally and physically attacked two women they believed to be lesbians. The university's chancellor has spoken out on the incident.

The Stop The Hate Train The Trainer Program allows top administrators, student affairs professionals, faculty and students to learn new innovative tools to take action on hate crimes and bias-motivated violence issues on his/her campus. The only resource of it's kind specifically for college campuses, the Stop The Hate 250+ page premiere training manual and three day, 18-20 hour Train The Trainer program was developed in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, Association of College Unions International, Campus Pride, The Southern Poverty Law Center, Wilbron Institute, Matthew Shepard Foundation, Napa Valley College Criminal Justice Training Center and the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence.

The Charlotte event includes participation from nearly 10 different colleges across the U.S. Local participating schools include Pfeiffer University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Funding support was provided by Food Lion. The training location was provided in partnership with Holy Trinity Church and Time Out Youth.

Find out more information online at www.stophate.org.

‘It Gets Better’ candlelight vigil planned for gay teen suicide victims

LGBT, other community groups partner to present vigil on National Coming Out Day

CHARLOTTE, NC – Oct. 11, 2010 – Local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organizations and other community groups are partnering to present “It Gets Better,” a special candlelight vigil and concert in memory of LGBT young people who fell victim to anti-gay harassment, bullying, depression and suicide. The event will be held at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1900 The Plaza, Charlotte, NC, 28205, 7:30 p.m. on National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11, 2010, a day of both celebration and remembrance for LGBT people.

Presenting community groups include: Campus Pride, Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte, One Voice Chorus, PRIDE JWU Charlotte, Queer Rising QC, Sean's Last Wish, Time Out Youth and UNC-Charlotte PRIDE. Other organizations are also expected to join in on the effort.

“The nation is still mourning the loss of so many young gay people, and now is as fitting a time as ever to pause and take note of the unfathomable tragedies affecting our youth,” says Shane Windmeyer, executive director of the national, Charlotte-based group Campus Pride. “We ask that Charlotteans join with the nation in remembrance of these lost lives.”

About a week-and-a-half ago, we blogged about the tremendous support North Carolina-area colleges were giving to the LGBT-Friendly College Fair to be held in collaboration with Pride Charlotte and Time Out Youth on Oct. 2. Well, other colleges and universities haven't let us down. Go Carolinas (and all the other Southeastern colleges, too)! Keep 'em coming!

We've extended the early registration rates for both the Charlotte fair (Oct. 2) and the Portland fair (Oct. 6) until Sept. 28!

Don't miss your chance to take advantage of lowered rates and reach out to meet potential LGBT students for your educational institution. Get more info and register: www.campusclimateindex.org/events/

Registered for the Charlotte fair thus far:
Davidson College
Warren Wilson College
Columbia College Chicago
Guilford College
Syracuse University
UNC Charlotte
Washington and Lee University
North Carolina State University
IUPUI
Vanderbilt University
Appalachian State University
Elon University

And, for Portland:
Columbia College Chicago
Vanderbilt University
Western Washington Univ
Fairhaven College
Bucknell University
IUPUI
Washington State University
Oregon State University
Portland Community College
Whitman College
University of Oregon
Southern Oregon University

We're three weeks out from Campus PRide's first LGBT-Friendly College Fair ever held in the Southeast, and North Carolina colleges are stepping up.

Along with Nashville's Vanderbilt University and Chicago's Columbia College, six North Carolina schools have signed up for spaces at the LGBT-Friendly College Fair: Warren Wilson College, Guilford College, UNC Charlotte, North Carolina State University, Appalachian State University and Elon University.

The Fair, held in collaboration with Time Out Youth and the Lesbian & Gay Community Center, will be held on Oct. 2 during the Pride Charlotte festival at the N.C. Music Factory.

For more information, check out our release from last week...

Are you a college or university staff member interested in getting your campus at the Fair? Jump on the bandwagon quick! Our special $195 early bird rate ends Sept. 14. Learn more...

Photo: Pride Charlotte 2008. Credit: Willamor Media, via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons.

National LGBT-Friendly College Fair to be held Oct. 2 in coordination with Pride Charlotte, in partnership with Time Out Youth and Lesbian & Gay Community Center of Charlotte

(Charlotte, N.C.) – Campus Pride is pleased to announce the historic first stop in its 2010-11 LGBT-Friendly College Fair, a program now in its fourth year connecting LGBT students and their parents to LGBT-friendly colleges and universities across the country.

Campus Pride, a national non-profit working to create safer, more LGBT-inclusive colleges and build future LGBT and ally leaders, will hold its first 2010-11 LGBT-Friendly College Fair in Charlotte, N.C., on Oct. 2, Noon -3:30 p.m., at The NC Music Factory. The event, held in collaboration with the annual Pride Charlotte festival, Time Out Youth and the Lesbian & Gay Community Center of Charlotte, marks the first time the College Fair program has visited the Southeastern U.S. and the first time it will be held in conjunction with a Pride festival.

“Our LGBT-Friendly College Fair’s event in Charlotte presents a unique opportunity for Carolinas and Southeastern students, families and universities,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “Prospective students want to attend campuses that are a welcoming and safe place to learn, live and grow. Our Fair’s presence in the Southeast will help students there find LGBT-friendly colleges from across the country.”

Last year, Campus Pride made a commitment to grow attendance at the Fair by partnering strategically with local LGBT and ally youth organizations as well as hosting in more progressive metropolitan “queer meccas” of LGBT activism – New York, Los Angles and Boston. That commitment continues this year with the Fair’s first stop in Charlotte and a later stop in Portland, Ore., on Oct. 16.

Windmeyer encourages greater Charlotte, the Carolinas and Southeastern college and university officials to attend the Fair, and said, “There is indeed LGBT progress in Charlotte, the Carolinas and the southeastern United States. Our LGBT-friendly national college fair program showcases campuses who want to recruit out LGBT & ally students. It sends a clear message: ‘Gay students are welcome, even celebrated on this campus.’”

Free and open to the public, the Campus Pride’s LGBT-Friendly College Fairs allow any student and their family the opportunity to interact with colleges and universities that value LGBT and ally people. Registration for schools is $195 to $250 per fair for each institution and is open to any college or university across the United States. Each fair will also feature expert advice about LGBT-friendly colleges, scholarship resources and even effective tips for campus visits.

Campus Pride’s 2010-2011 LGBT-Friendly National College Fair Program will visit: Charlotte (Oct. 2), Portland (Oct. 16), New York (Nov. 5), Boston (Nov. 6), Los Angeles (April 9). More details on each event, which are free to current or prospective students, can be found at www.campusclimateindex.org/events.

In addition to this year’s LGBT-Friendly College Fair program, Campus Pride is proud to announce its forthcoming national LGBT climate research in the report, “State of Higher Education for LGBT People,” in partnership with its Q Research Institute for Higher Education.

Written by Sue Rankin, Ph.D., Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld, Ed.D., Genevieve N. Weber, Ph.D., LMHC and Somjen Frazer, MS, Ed. and a foreword by George Kuh, Ph.D., “The State of Higher Education for LGBT People” is the most comprehensive national research of its kind to date. The report documents experiences of nearly 6,000 students, faculty, staff and administrators who identify as LGBT at colleges and universities across the United States. Recommendations and findings from the national study provide the means for student activists, campus program planners and policy makers to implement strategic initiatives to address the needs and concerns of their LGBT students and employees. The research will be available in September, with a special webinar slated for Sept. 21 and a national policy briefing at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 23. For more information, visitwww.campuspride.org/research.

To learn more about Campus Pride programs and services, please visit www.CampusPride.org or email info@campuspride.org.

Photo: Pride Charlotte 2008. Credit: Willamor Media, via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons.

Civil rights leader and highly-acclaimed furniture designer Mitchell Gold
to speak about his book CRISIS and the toll based bigotry

Charlotte, NC, Tuesday, Jan 19, 2010 – The national, Charlotte-based Campus Pride (www.campuspride.org) and local Time Out Youth (www.Time Out Youth.org) have partnered for a joint fundraising event on Thursday, Feb 25 to bring attention to lesbian,gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally youth in the Charlotte area.The fundraiser will take place at 6 p.m. at Myers Park Baptist Church(1900 Queens Road) and then continue at 8 p.m. at Petra’s Piano Bar(1919 Commonwealth Avenue). No tickets are necessary; however, donations are encouraged.

Titled “Believe In Youth,” the one night only event will feature civil rights leader and author Mitchell Gold and his book "CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay In America." A resident of Hickory, NC, Gold is a nationally recognized leader in the furniture industry as well as the founder of Faith In America, a national nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of the harm caused to LGBT Americans by religion-based bigotry and prejudice.

Gold has been honored nationally for his work and most recently in 2009 received a "Visionary Award" from the Stonewall Foundation in New York for his work with Faith in America and for publishing his recent book CRISIS. The book has been hailed as an important tool for understanding the immense harm to LGBT people when prejudice, discrimination and violence toward them is given moral and religious approval.

LOCAL NEWS -- CHARLOTTE, NC

Campus Pride & Time Out Youth Condemn Remarks by Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James as “intolerant and harmful to area LGBTQ youth”

Both organizations call for an immediate reprimand of Commissioner James

Charlotte, NC, Thursday, December 17, 2009 – Campus Pride and Time Out Youth today condemned remarks made by Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James at the Tuesday night county commissioner meeting where domestic partner benefits for same sex couples were considered and then passed by the majority of commissioners. Both Campus Pride and Time Out Youth call for an immediate reprimand of Commissioner James to send a clear message that incivility and disrespect will not be allowed in public county commission meetings.

During the meeting, Commissioner James interrupted Commissioner Vilma Leake and leaned over to her saying, “Your son was a homo, really?” The comment was made after Leake shared an impassioned speech about her son being gay and passing away of HIV/AIDS. Commissioner James has repeatedly used slurs like “trannies and homo” and likened bisexuals to a “Three’s Company of the sordid and icky kind” to demean LGBT people.