LGBT Community Service -- Part 2

Make a commitment to support the New York City LGBT community this year. There are myriad service and activist groups that will appreciate your contribution. Here are more organizations worthy of your time and energy (see Part 1 of this article for more LGBT organizations that need your support).

•    Anti-Violence Project
Founded in 1980, the New York City Anti-Violence Project originally worked to call attention to local hate crimes. Since then it has expanded beyond anti-LGBT violence to provide professional counseling to its survivors, and to offer services revolving around domestic violence, sexual assault, and HIV-related violence. Today the group maintains a 24-hour bilingual hotline staffed by professional counselors and trained volunteers providing professional and peer support. It also educates government, law enforcement, healthcare, and other community pillars about violence within and against LGBT people, and collects incident data to inform educational materials about topics such as safe dating and cruising and identifying abuse.

•    The Audre Lorde Project
One of New York’s more progressive LGBT groups, the Audre Lorde Project serves as an organizing place for people of color. It is well known for the SOS Collective, which fights violence using community accountability tactics, and for its justice-seeking for trans and gender non-conforming people. Volunteering may take place in person; or, for more virtual participation, check out the Action Alerts page on its website.

•    Heritage of Pride
New York’s famous Pride Week doesn’t come together by itself. Many of the week’s most important events -- including the March and Rally, Rapture on the River, and Dance on the Pier -- are overseen by Heritage of Pride. The volunteer-managed organization was founded in 1984, taking over planning responsibilities from the disbanded Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee, former organizers of the March and Rally, and the Christopher Street Festival Committee. In addition to accepting donations, Heritage of Provide welcomes new members, which requires attending at least two membership meetings as well as the meetings of one committee, and completing 10 volunteer hours.

•    NewFest
NewFest showcases LGBT-related work by international, American, and local filmmakers in its annual NewFest: The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival, where you’ll also find the Logo Lounge. Through the year, the group runs panels and workshops that let audiences meet filmmakers and industry, NewFest@BAM at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Rose Cinemas, and a screenplay competition and reading series. Volunteers may work the Logo Lounge, the box office, and concessions, and play other vital moviegoing roles.

•    PFLAG New York City
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays of New York City is the founding chapter of PFLAG, which today counts more than 250,000 members in 500 chapters. PFLAG NYC works to ensure safe school environments for LGBT students, cultivates relationships among families in which a member has recently come out, and performs corporate outreach, advocacy, and media campaigns.

•    SAGE
Just as older Americans represent a different generation, so does the attitude surrounding LGBT issues. In fact, many LGBT seniors are less likely to access health and social services for fear of discrimination in, say, an assisted-living facility. Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders, better known as SAGE, is working to update that culture in senior service settings. It also provides a much-needed caregiving and support network for active LGBT seniors as well as those elders who are homebound and HIV-positive. SAGE relies heavily on its volunteer network to accomplish its mission. Volunteer orientations are held on the second Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. in room 107 at the Center, after which you will attend a one-on-one interview to determine the most suitable placement.