Pride of the Rose Scholarship Breaks Record
The Pride of the Rose Scholarship Fund celebrated a profit of $12,800 at its annual Touch of Class dinner, auction and show May 18.
Those funds pushed the total raised this year beyond the goal of $30,000.
Scholarship founders Frank Schreckenberger and Allison Grey are celebrating their 30 years since being crowned Imperial Sovereign Rose Court Emperor and Empress and established a goal of giving away $30,000 in scholarships this September. This is an all-time record in raising money for the fund.
The scholarship is administered through Equity Foundation. Applications are due July 31 and are available at
www.equityfoundation.org.
Equity Foundation Lets You Award the Grants
Equity Foundation took a break from its regularly scheduled grant-giving to try out something new: letting a randomly drawn winner choose which of its favorite Portland-area queer-supportive nonprofits would win 500 bucks in cold hard cash.
Krista Hopkins from Silverton was the lucky winner; her name was randomly drawn from more than 200 entries collected at area Pride festivals during the past few weeks. She decided to designate her dough to Q Center, which is in the midst of a just-announced $200,000 matching gift campaign.
According to Equity Foundation, Q Center executive director Kendall Clawson was happy to get the news: “This was especially good news for Q Center, because we are trying to meet a matching opportunity in order to get a bigger space for Q Center. This $500 will actually turn into $1,000 to help that effort.”
Equity Foundation executive director Kevin Easton added: “It’s our pleasure to be able to grant these funds to deserving organizations like Q Center. This contest inspires philanthropy and shows how generous the sexual and gender minority community is.”
Equity Foundation will hold another drawing from the entries collected at the next batch of Gay Pride festivals that it is co-sponsoring: Bend Pride, Southern Oregon Pride (Ashland), Capitol Pride (Salem), Eastern Oregon Pride (Hermiston) and Eugene Pride.
Oregonian Awarded Point Scholarship
Point Foundation, the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for queer students of merit, announced June 10 its 2008 scholars. This year’s diverse group consists of 27 undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate recipients.
Djamika Smith of Ashland received a 2008 Point Scholarship. Originally from Bali, Indonesia, she is pursuing a bachelor of arts in graphic design at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
“I am consistently impressed with the high caliber and diversity of candidates who apply for a Point Scholarship,” said founder and board chairman Bruce Lindstrom. Like last year, this class represents some firsts for Point Foundation: our first scholar attending a historically black college and our first U.S. military veteran.”
Point Foundation provides financial support, leadership training and mentoring to queer individuals who are marginalized because of their sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression. In June 2008, 91 Point scholars will be enrolled in college and 43 Point alumni will have continued on to pursue their life goals.
In addition to an average direct scholarship award of $13,200, Point also provides leadership training and mentoring. Through Point’s mentoring program, all scholars are matched with successful professionals in each scholars’ field of study. Point also conducts an annual Leadership Conference where scholars receive training in areas of leadership development, accountability, community service, advocacy and philanthropy. Including monies spent on mentoring, leadership training and scholarships, the average amount of yearly support devoted to each scholar is greater than $30,000.
For more information visit
www.pointfoundation.org.
Insurance Laws Deciphered for Domestic Partners
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners expanded its award-winning Insure U consumer education program June 3 with information specifically for domestic partners.
According to Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon is in compliance with domestic partnership laws and anywhere that “spouse” is denoted on home, health, life and auto insurance, the law covers domestic partners also.
“I think we’re way ahead of the game,” said Ron Fredrickson, manager of consumer advocacy with the department’s insurance division. “Oregon is quite specific in this area. As far as we’re concerned, insurance that was going to cover a spouse is going to cover a domestic partner.”
The Insure U curriculum provides insurance tips and special considerations on basic types of insurance. The new information for domestic partners builds on four life situations: young singles, young families, established families and seniors.
The association commissioned a nationwide survey in March among domestic partners to gauge their knowledge of insurance issues. Research was also compiled on consumers in the three other life situations for which new Insure U curriculum has been created: single parents, the military and grandparents raising grandchildren.
The study found that 49 percent of domestic partners said they have no formal documentation providing evidence of their relationship. Only 47 percent of domestic partners said they had plans that allowed coverage of their partner.
About 49 percent of domestic partners do not have health care proxies for their partners. Also, 71 percent of domestic partners with auto insurance shared one or more vehicles with their partner. Of those, in only two-thirds of these situations were both partners listed on the policy. Of those polled, 73 percent of domestic partners said they had homeowners or renters insurance. Of those, only 59 percent indicated that both partners were listed on the policy.
For more information about Insure U call 866-470-6242 or visit
www.naic.org/state_web_map.htm. For Oregon-specific questions call 888-877-4894 or visit
www.insurance.oregon.gov.
Queer and Allied Students Awarded PFLAG Scholarships
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) announced June 4 that it awarded 13 scholarships totaling more than $30,000 to students across the country—and one at a U.S. military base in Japan—who have made significant contributions to equality in their schools and communities.
Two recipients, Michael Tofte and Sage Trail, are from Oregon.
Tofte has been active in his school’s GLBT Youth Group and served as captain of his school’s debate team, where he has won several awards in public debate. He has also been active in food and toy drives for the needy of his community, such as Toys for Tots and Food for Lane County. He is a graduate of Winston Churchill High School in Eugene, headed to Lewis & Clark College this fall.
Trail has been active in her school’s Gay Straight Alliance, both serving as the president and helping in the formation of the club. She has served as a peer mentor, educator and leader for the overnight freshmen orientation and communication sessions run by her school. She has participated in Amnesty International, Key Club and the National Honor Society and has acted as an advocate for animal rights issues. Sage is a graduate of Ashland High School in Ashland on her way to Maryland Institute College of Art to study painting in the fall.
This marks the fifth year that PFLAG has awarded the scholarships, which are funded by the Palmer B. Carson Trust and other private donors.
“PFLAG is enormously proud to recognize these exceptional young leaders and to salute their hard work, academic achievement and community service,” said Jody M. Huckaby, executive director of PFLAG. “Every day, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and their allies overcome unimaginable obstacles to succeed and prosper in our schools. These honorees have not only fought those obstacles but have thrived and inspired their fellow students, teachers and families.”
For more information, visit
www.pflag.org.
BRO Reaches Out with New Hire
As the new public education coordinator for Basic Rights Oregon, Kyndall Mason is already feeling at home with the organization and is excited for what lies ahead. The 29-year-old, who was raised in Houston, received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Western Washington University in 2001.
After graduating, Mason moved to Portland and started canvassing for racial and economic justice campaigns in 2002. She accepted a position at Friendly House, a nonprofit organization that creates a community by connecting people of all ages through quality education and recreational services. She developed a successful after-school program for the organization that had five years of growth and progress before its cancellation because of budget cuts.
Mason then worked for the past seven months as the activities coordinator for Marshall High School before accepting the position at BRO. “I have just begun with BRO, but I feel very comfortable and love how our organization identifies not only our strengths but also our weaknesses in order to serve our entire community to the best of our ability,” she said.
As public education coordinator, Mason meets with media outlets, business owners and community leaders to discuss the importance of the work BRO is doing. “I want to really organize the public education program so it is accessible for our entire organization and to set up new and better relationships with different sectors of the Portland community,” she said.
Mason, who describes herself as a “social butterfly,” loves nothing more than spending time with friends and family and thinks her outgoing personality and background will really benefit her in the position. “Growing up in a Southern Baptist family has definitely taught me a thing or two in regards to communicating with all types of people and opinions,” she said.
Working with education and youth for the past six years has helped Mason realize that knowledge can truly lead to power, and she hopes by speaking about the importance of domestic partnerships and nondiscrimination laws, great changes can come.
“I cannot tell you how happy I am in this new position,” she said. “My partner and I cannot wait to begin raising a family in Oregon, and knowing the work I am doing with BRO can help with our future rights as a family is such a fulfilling feeling.”
By Stephen Marc Beaudoin, Jaymee R. Cuti and James Maxwell
