2003 Grant Recipients:

Samara Foundation is pleased to announce our Year 2003 grants. Thirteen organizations received $22,000 to benefit the Vermont gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities in a wide range of areas including HIV prevention, youth services, education, media development, social service and initiatives to address same sex domestic violence. Samara Foundation first awarded grants in 1998 and has now awarded over $150,000 throughout the state.

Arts:

Estrogen Fest (Burlington, VT) $500 for general operating support. Estrogen Fest, an annual weekend of women's film and performances helps to increase awareness of lesbianism, reproductive rights and health, body image, gender roles and women in history. This last festival brought in over 500 people, screened 14 films, featured 13 performances and 12 speakers. Contact Alexis Holloway with inquiries.

Community Development and Celebration:

Pride Vermont 2003 (Burlington, VT)
$1,000 for general operating expenses around planning Pride celebrations during the month of June. Celebrating their 21st anniversary, Pride has grown from a small local Burlington event to a large statewide celebration.
http://www.pridevermont.org

R.U.1.2?Community Center (Burlington, VT)
$1,900 for project support. R.U.1.2? is a charitable organization with the purpose of providing venues for the social, cultural, artistic, and educational endeavors of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersexed and allied communities through visibility, awareness and community building.
http://www.ru12.org

Education, Advocacy & Outreach:

Fletcher Free Library (Burlington, VT)
$600 to assist with a book club for teens which would explore lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. The book group also hopes to connect young adults from different backgrounds and social groups and to provide a safe place for all teens to share ideas, gain support and explore young adult literature. If you are interested in participating get in touch with Holly Klump, Youth Librarian Asst.

Gay Lesbian Education and Resource Network (Norwich, VT)
$2,000 to maintain and increase activity which includes providing education and support to students, parents and teachers about issues of sexual orientation and gender identity in the upper valley.
http://www.glearn.org

HIV / AIDS Services:

AIDS Project of Southern Vermont (Bennington, VT)
$1,600 to support regional prevention programs for Gay and Bisexual Men and Other Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Bennington County. Their goals are to build healthy communities for MSM, provide health education and risk education workshops, circulate an MSM newsletter, and offer outreach to HIV-positive MSM in Bennington County.
http://www.aidsprojectofsouthernvermont.org

Vermont CARES (Burlington, VT)$1,600 for general operating support. The mission of Vermont CARES is to improve the quality of life, create compassionate communities, and prevent the spread of HIV by working with people affected by HIV/AIDS as catalysts for social and individual change.
http://www.vtcares.org

Vermont People with AIDS Coalition (Montpelier, VT) $1,250 to help fund scholarships for people who are HIV+ and cannot afford to purchase the products that will help maintain their health and well being. The coaltion, in existence since 1991, is a community of peers whoo seek to improve the lives of Vermonters living with HIV and AIDS through mutual support and empowerment, the exchange of up to date information and on-going advocacy. http://www.vtpwac.org

Health & Community Service:

SafeSpace (Burlington, VT)$1,300 for general operating support. SafeSpace is a social change and social service organization working to end physical, sexual, and emotional violence in the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning people (LGBTQQ). SafeSpace provides direct services to LGBTQQ survivors of violence, and educates the community about violence in the lives of LGBTQQ people and about the ways to help people access help and safety. http://www.safespacevt.org

Media & Communications:

Mountain Pride Media (Richmond, VT)
$4,000 for general operating costs. Created in 1996, Mountain Pride Media acts as publisher of Out in the Mountains, Vermont's monthly newspaper for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community since 1986. In addition to Out in the Mountains, Mountain Pride Media is also publisher of www.mountainpridemedia.org.
http://www.mountainpridemedia.org

New Victoria Publishers (Norwich, VT)
$750 to produce an online indexed catalogue of books and videos. New Victoria Publishers are committed to publishing fiction and some non-fiction featuring lesbian protagonists. They have published over 100 titles, all of which are distributed throughout the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia.
http://www.newvictoria.com

Youth & Family:

New England Network for Child, Youth and Family Services
$1,000 to implement the "Reach Out" initiative which will prepare three major Vermont youth providers to meet the needs of LGBTQ youth. The New England Network exists to promote and disseminate orgaizational best practices, and inspire new thinking that results in creative programming, meaningful policy, and postive outcomes for young people. http://www.nenetwork.org

Outright Vermont (Burlington, VT)
$4,500 to help leverage and encourage gifts through their annual phonathon fund/membership drives. For the past thirteen years Outright has been Vermont's only comprehensive and statewide resource for LGBTQ youth.
http://www.outrightvt.org

Thank You!

The 2003 Samara Foundation grants were made possible through the generous support of our individual and corporate contributors and from the generous bequests of our Founding Benefactors: