Open Door Fund Annual Dinner to feature documentary filmmaker
Megan Kennedy, of Put This on the Map, to address LGBTQ youth challenges April 10
Boulder County, CO, March 25, 2011— The Open Door Fund, an endowed fund of The Community Foundation, is hosting its 14th annual fund raising dinner at the St Julien Hotel in downtown Boulder on Sunday, April 10, 2011. The Open Door Fund (ODF) is excited to announce that Megan Kennedy, co-director and producer of the documentary Put This on the Map and the Reteaching Gender & Sexuality campaign will speak on the challenges facing LGBTQ youth today and the solutions young people are creating for themselves.
Megan’s powerful film sparked the Reteaching Gender and Sexuality campaign, which is currently on an international tour of the U.S. and England. The ultimate goal of the campaign is to shift the way society thinks about gender and sexuality. “We’re thrilled to have Megan visit Boulder and share her incredible message with us,” said Lori Dumler, chair of the ODF committee. “Her voice on LGBTQ youth issues is changing attitudes all over the world.”
News stories remind us of the challenges faced by LGBTQ youth, but that is only part of the story. What goes on when youth empower themselves to address an unsafe world? Join us to hear Megan Kennedy talk about her Seattle youth program and how she and the youth she works with address LGBTQ youth issues. Megan (MA, LMHC) provides individual and group counseling to youth in Seattle and serves as a national trainer and consultant on youth gender and sexual identity issues. As a trainer and consultant, Kennedy has worked with hundreds of government agencies, community organizations, faith-based groups, university departments, and schools on policy and practice related to the rapidly changing views of gender and sexuality.
The documentary, Put This on the Map
Past speakers for the ODF dinner include Congressman Barney Frank, DADT activist Lt. Dan Choi, and former State Supreme Court Justice Jean Dubofsky. Tickets for the annual dinner are available at www.regonline.com/opendoorfunddinner2011. More information on the Open Door Fund is available at www.opendoorfund.org.
The Open Door Fund will be featured on KGNU’s A Public Affair with Eric Karnes, this Monday (March 28) at 8:30 a.m. Tune in to 88.5 FM to hear ODF Advisory Board Member Karen Raforth and ODF Grantee Dr. Janis Bohan of the Safe Schools Coalition discuss the upcoming dinner and the positive impact this fund is having on Boulder County.
About the Open Door Fund
The Open Door Fund, a permanent endowment of The Community Foundation, supports the Boulder County community by raising money and distributing grants for programs that enhance the lives of its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Since its inception in 1996, the Open Door Fund has granted over $350,000. Some of these grants have been for direct services (e.g., mental heath, support groups for youth, and aging services), some have been to increase community awareness (e.g., Boulder Pride and Safe Schools), and some have been for the arts (e.g., Bent Lens Film Festival).
Purpose of The Community Foundation
The Community Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life in Boulder County, now and forever, and to build a culture of giving. We are committed to intimately understanding needs and connecting to the nonprofits that address those needs. Together, Boulder County residents and The Community Foundation can make a meaningful impact on our fellow residents’ quality of life today and in the future. To learn more, please visit www.commfound.org or call 303-442-0436.
