Cody Wilde: CALL TO ACTION, “Giving Back”
Hello readers! I trust that you all enjoyed your Chanukkah, Yule, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Festivus 2009!
This Christmas, I was blessed to have dinner with some good friends, and the day after—I was privileged to be the MC at Cub Club SD’s “Arctic Bear Night” held at The Flame. It was quite a lot of fun with plenty of hot and adorable (and dare I say risqué) cubs. While I was there, I recognized a lot of faces from around the gay community—faces that I normally don’t see too often—coming out to support the night.
So, this got me to thinking—‘How awesome is it to see people of different aspects coming together to help support a new venture?’ So I will say it here—“How awesome is it to see people of different aspects of the gay community come together to support a new venture?”
Well, let me tell you—it’s awesome.
It led me to think furthermore. This is the time of year when we set resolutions for ourselves—to be a better person, to lose weight, to help out those who can’t help themselves, to give back to our communities, etc…
And that got me to thinking about what I would write about this week: a call to action to give back to our community.
There is so much that our community needs. It’s from simple volunteering at The Center to helping out at Mama’s Kitchen, Special Delivery or any form of volunteer program. It doesn’t have to be a soup kitchen where you have to be to help our community. You can step up and join/donate/volunteer with local LGBTQ organizations of the national level (HRC, GLAAD, GLSEN, and PFLAG) or local organizations such as Empowering Spirits Foundation, Inc., Stonewall Citizens’ Patrol, or AIDS Walk San Diego. Giving back to our community will do such great good for everyone in so many ways, and if you want, even on a karmic level. So this week’s “Cody Wilde” is giving you the resources of a few organizations in the Greater San Diego area that aims to help ‘give back’ to the LGBTQ community.
1. Special Delivery San Diego
This organization has been around since 1991, and is growing stronger every year through contributions from the community and the volunteer support. Special Delivery helps deliver meals to men, women, and children living with AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. They are an all-volunteer organization and they are looking for more volunteers who can donate just an hour or two a week of their time to help either work in the kitchen or deliver meals to their many clients. For more information, visit their homepage or e-mail: specialdeliverysd@hotmail.com
2. Empowering Spirits Foundation
ESF is a grassroots organization that is not-for-profit and non-partisan in the on-going battle to fight for LGBTQ civil rights. They do their work through community service outreach by encouraging dialogue between the LGBTQ community and its non-LGBTQ neighbors. They aim to show similarities between the LGBTQ communities and the non-LGBTQ community. ESF also helps to bring awareness to critical issues within our community and empowers the goodness within others to help do the right thing and stand up for equality. For more information, you can visit their homepage or visit their Facebook fan page . You can also call (858) 523-8201.
3. Stonewall Citizens’ Patrol
Stonewall Citizens’ Patrol was formed by the American Veterans for Equal Rights and the San Diego Police Department as a partnership to rise to the call for action to protect the streets of Hillcrest. They are volunteer organization of 28 people who have a passion to make our streets safe for (not just) the LGBTQ community and everyone within the Hillcrest area. No, they aren’t the gun-totin’ Barney Fifes of Hillcrest, but they are simple Average Joe’s (and Joan’s) who care about what is going on around them. They are trained by the SDPD on how to handle a situation, if aware. They make sure the streets are safe by looking for street light outages, posting digital and paper crime-watch posters and doing the “Buddy Check” system to make sure all of us are aware of our surroundings, no matter what is going on. They are a ‘hands-off’ brigade of good-hearted people who follow three objectives to make us safe at night:. You can visit their website for more information on either joining this wonderful organization or making a tax-deductible donation on their website.
These are only three of several great organizations that need our help to ‘give back’ to our community. One organization that I saved for the end is our own LGBTQ Center.
The Center is the central hub for all things LGBTQ community-related. If you have questions, concerns or just want to find a great social group to join, they have answers—or at least the resources. You can visit their website at www.thecentersd.org or visit their Hillcrest location at 3909 Centre Drive, San Diego.
Later this week, I am going to present an interview I had done with our own [GLTNN] associate editor, Aaron Heier. Mr. Heier is a good friend and a prime example that I know to use when referring to someone ‘giving back’. He’s got a tale to tell, and it’s definitely one to be heard.
Friends, I am asking that as you make out your New Year’s Resolutions this year, you think about these organizations and the several others that help out people in need. And you may not see yourself as someone who needs the help, but our community—the LGBTQ community—needs all the help we can get. I am not just referring to the National causes of the DADT or the California Prop8 campaign, but right here in our own city. Every day there are injustices that are being made, but it only takes one tiny seed to grow a giant tree—remember that.
I close this week wishing all of you a safe and wonderful New Year’s Eve and Day. Please drink responsibly and remember: friends don’t let friends drive drunk. Be safe and we will see you in 2010!
Cody Wilde–over and out.
