Tim Travelstead is fundraising
GIVE A PIZZ'A YOUR HEART!
Hi, I’m Tim. Ever since I heard about that homophobic pizza place in Indiana raising over $800,000, I’ve been fuming!
According to them, Jesus enabled them to receive this money because of their “righteous” views on bigotry. Actually, it wasn’t Jesus giving them money as much as a whole bunch of religious fundamentalists trying to make a sick point.
I thought, what can I do about this? Well, 19 years ago my husband founded the GLBT National Help Center. It’s a non-profit group, and their core program is to operate two national hotlines, one specifically for youth and the other for people of all ages. They speak with thousands of people from all across the country, especially from Indiana and other states where hate still thrives, who are struggling with coming-out issues, self-esteem and self-worth. And the people that call often don’t feel safe talking to anyone they know. They feel terribly isolated. Over the course of almost two decades, the GLBT National Help Center has helped hundreds of thousands of people feel proud about who they are, and be empowered to live their lives in an open and honest way. You can learn more about them at www.GLBThotline.org .
I think it’s critical that our community make it clear to these bigots that hate can’t win, and that intolerance certainly shouldn’t pay! The best way to do that is to help offset their message. And what better way to help, than supporting the very group that has spent almost 20 years fighting against this type of hatred, especially for the kids that have been effected by all of this.
My husband recently told me of a call that he himself answered at the Help Center, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. And I think it’s a great example of why their work is so important, especially in this situation. It was from a 15 year old closeted gay boy. To protect his anonymity, he changed his name to Cody and also changed any identifying information. He explained that Cody felt so hurt every time someone in the state took another action to prevent gay people from simply living their lives. To Cody, it was highly personal. What he was wondering about was why the state hated people like him so much that they would try to pass a law to prevent people from serving him. Why were so many people saying that he was not as worthy as they were. And what this would mean for him as he grew up?
And as much as the call broke my husband’s heart, and mine, he was so glad that Cody called. It gave him the opportunity to tell Cody, for the very first time, that he was indeed valued for who he was. And in fact, that he wasn’t alone, that he was part of a community that cared about him. And the GLBT National Help Center is an organization that is an important part of that community, and cared deeply about what happened to him. In fact, it’s why they exist.
When people call the hotline, it is often the first time that they have ever told anyone about their feelings. And it’s also often the first time that they’ve ever knowingly spoken to an openly LGBT person before. So for them to be able to tell Cody that they understood how he was feeling, and that they could relate to what he was going through, meant so much to him.
The GLBT National Help Center spoke with Cody, just like they speak with so many teens (and adults) every day from all across the country, about how he could begin to build his own self-esteem and self-confidence, so that even though he couldn’t control what other people said or did, he could know inside that nobody could take away his right to live and love as he wished. And they also spoke with Cody at length about strategies to get through this time in his life when he still had to listen to his father talk at the dinner table about how “the gays” were going to go to hell when they died.
And the GLBT National Help Center support doesn't stop with just a phone call. One of the things I am very impressed by is the fact that they maintain the largest LGBT resource database in the country. They are continually updating and adding to it every day. Nobody else does this. With 15,000 listings for cities and towns all across the country, they can often find a local youth group, support organization, social group, doctor, lawyer, therapist and so much more. So after providing direct support to Cody, they were able to let him know that they could check for local resources when he felt ready.
So if you think this is important, and worthy of your support, then I hope you will make a big donation, not just because it sends a message to those bigots that intolerance doesn’t pay, but because the work of the GLBT National Help Center is fundamentally important to the tens of thousands of kids just like Cody who live all across the country!
According to them, Jesus enabled them to receive this money because of their “righteous” views on bigotry. Actually, it wasn’t Jesus giving them money as much as a whole bunch of religious fundamentalists trying to make a sick point.
I thought, what can I do about this? Well, 19 years ago my husband founded the GLBT National Help Center. It’s a non-profit group, and their core program is to operate two national hotlines, one specifically for youth and the other for people of all ages. They speak with thousands of people from all across the country, especially from Indiana and other states where hate still thrives, who are struggling with coming-out issues, self-esteem and self-worth. And the people that call often don’t feel safe talking to anyone they know. They feel terribly isolated. Over the course of almost two decades, the GLBT National Help Center has helped hundreds of thousands of people feel proud about who they are, and be empowered to live their lives in an open and honest way. You can learn more about them at www.GLBThotline.org .
I think it’s critical that our community make it clear to these bigots that hate can’t win, and that intolerance certainly shouldn’t pay! The best way to do that is to help offset their message. And what better way to help, than supporting the very group that has spent almost 20 years fighting against this type of hatred, especially for the kids that have been effected by all of this.
My husband recently told me of a call that he himself answered at the Help Center, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. And I think it’s a great example of why their work is so important, especially in this situation. It was from a 15 year old closeted gay boy. To protect his anonymity, he changed his name to Cody and also changed any identifying information. He explained that Cody felt so hurt every time someone in the state took another action to prevent gay people from simply living their lives. To Cody, it was highly personal. What he was wondering about was why the state hated people like him so much that they would try to pass a law to prevent people from serving him. Why were so many people saying that he was not as worthy as they were. And what this would mean for him as he grew up?
And as much as the call broke my husband’s heart, and mine, he was so glad that Cody called. It gave him the opportunity to tell Cody, for the very first time, that he was indeed valued for who he was. And in fact, that he wasn’t alone, that he was part of a community that cared about him. And the GLBT National Help Center is an organization that is an important part of that community, and cared deeply about what happened to him. In fact, it’s why they exist.
When people call the hotline, it is often the first time that they have ever told anyone about their feelings. And it’s also often the first time that they’ve ever knowingly spoken to an openly LGBT person before. So for them to be able to tell Cody that they understood how he was feeling, and that they could relate to what he was going through, meant so much to him.
The GLBT National Help Center spoke with Cody, just like they speak with so many teens (and adults) every day from all across the country, about how he could begin to build his own self-esteem and self-confidence, so that even though he couldn’t control what other people said or did, he could know inside that nobody could take away his right to live and love as he wished. And they also spoke with Cody at length about strategies to get through this time in his life when he still had to listen to his father talk at the dinner table about how “the gays” were going to go to hell when they died.
And the GLBT National Help Center support doesn't stop with just a phone call. One of the things I am very impressed by is the fact that they maintain the largest LGBT resource database in the country. They are continually updating and adding to it every day. Nobody else does this. With 15,000 listings for cities and towns all across the country, they can often find a local youth group, support organization, social group, doctor, lawyer, therapist and so much more. So after providing direct support to Cody, they were able to let him know that they could check for local resources when he felt ready.
So if you think this is important, and worthy of your support, then I hope you will make a big donation, not just because it sends a message to those bigots that intolerance doesn’t pay, but because the work of the GLBT National Help Center is fundamentally important to the tens of thousands of kids just like Cody who live all across the country!
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