Family Pride’s Blog

Supporting family equality can take many forms. Participation in the movement occurs at many levels - all of which are equally important. Even by reading and commenting on our blog, you’re acting as an active participant in the fight for equality.

Many of our supporters participate in the movement by hosting house parties. Some of the parties are large and ambitious, but many of them are small and occur among a small group of five or six friends. Sometimes house parties raise funds, and sometimes they increase awareness and introduce our families to neighbors or other parents from the same school.

Small or large, house parties are a great way to be a part of the national discussion about our families. They’re a great way to build community power at the local level and actively engage new and existing supporters of this important movement.

If you want to throw a family equality house party, lean on us for support. Recognizing the importance of house parties, we put together a publication that will guide you through the process. Reach out to us and let us know how we can support you.

Or, if you’d rather attend a house party, we’ll be happy to find one in your community. Right now, we have upcoming house parties in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, you know that Family Pride took part in an amazing competition called the Kevin Bacon Challenge thanks to the efforts of our Board of Directors co chair, Ken Manford. You probably also know that Family Pride surpassed all of our goals AND received the coveted $10,000 matching grant from Kevin Bacon. Well, lucky Ken Manford got a congratulatory call from Kevin Bacon! Enjoy this special guest post from Ken Manford:

I just finished talking with Kevin Bacon! Yeah - I never thought I would say that.

Kevin called to congratulate me on my success in the charity badge campaign for SixDegress.org and to record a conversation to use on his website when they announce the winners of the matching grant next week.

Kevin was so cool. He asked about Family Pride’s work and provided an opportunity for me to talk about the important work the organization does on behalf of families like mine.  After I finished talking about the issues we face, he mentioned that he is excited that the badge campaign has provided an opportunity for the public to gain awareness of issues they may not be aware of, such as the discrimination and legal inadequacies that LGBT families deal with in this country.

He asked how I was successful in the challenge and I told him about the powerful networking that took place after we set a goal of 1,138 donations. We discussed how powerful it was to watch local parenting groups engage friends, family and coworkers and create a virtual community of citizens that took a stand for this shared vision of family equality. He was very excited and was proud that his original vision for the effort worked so well. He was also impressed that nearly 50% of the donors who gave through the badge are new donors to the organization. 

We talked about how I became obsessed with watching the increase in donations and he asked what our son thought about it. I told him that Jackson loved seeing his picture on my badge and we made a game out of counting the increase in donations.  He laughed and shared that he too became obsessed with the contest and was thrilled that we became so engaged.

Thanks to everyone out there that participate in the challenge – you should feel great about the effort and our success.  And now – Kevin Bacon is a major donor of Family Pride and knows more about the organization!

To learn more about the Kevin Bacon Challenge, click here.

At Family Pride, we like to think of our team - the staff, the volunteers, the board members and our many supporters - as one big family. With a family as big as ours, we thought it would be a nice personal touch to highlight some of the wonderful individuals that make our work possible. Today’s blog is a conversation with Sara Leckey, our development and administrative asssociate.

Dave: Where are you from?

Sara: I was raised in Minnesota, the land of cold and casseroles. I have since lived in Massachusetts (where I went to Smith College) and currently reside in Washington, DC.

D: How did you come to work at Family Pride?

S: I came to Family Pride because of my passion for working in the LGBTQ movement. And it is a fantastic fit because we are a small organization working at the national level. I love working with our families - they motivate me to continue and expand upon my role as an activist. Plus, I get to come to work with a talented, smart, and energetic team everyday - working in our office is really like being part of a family (sometimes we even make popcorn and watch movies, but of course, this is after hours).

D: What are some of the things that you do here?

S: I’m primarly responsible for development event planning (house parties, fundraising events), gratitude and supporting Jenn (our executive director) in her many functions.

D: Why are you so passionate about family equality?

S: Even though I am not a queer parent, I believe oppression begets oppression. I recognize the importance of standing up for all loving families. We cannot compromise when it comes to equality and our families deserve nothing less.

D: What’s your favorite Family Pride memory?

S: In the heat of Family Week 2006 in Provincetown, MA, we, as a staff, had the distinct pleasure of dressing up as pirates (striped shirts–horizontal lines are never flattering [see photo]– knee socks and eye patches) and handing out temporary pirate tattoos (anchors, ships, gold, you name it) to both youth and excited parents who were out for our pirate dinner and family dance. How can it get better than that?

Okay, I admit it. We got a little camera-happy at the White House Egg Roll. But, it’s not every day that you’re just a “hop,” skip and a jump away from such an historic landmark.

So, enjoy yet another set of fantastic Egg Roll pictures.

White House Egg Roll 2007

Freedom to Marry is doing a great series on tax time and gay couples. Certainly, tax season is a less-than-enjoyable experience for all who participate - but, tax time is especially painful for gay and lesbian couples. With just four days (gasp!) until the tax day deadline, Freedom to Marry is using this timely opportunity to discuss the blatant government-sanctioned discrimination that gay and lesbian couples face. Tax season is yet another reminder of why civil marriage is crucial for our families.

Check out their series, and pay special attention to “day two” which discusses the impact of this discrimination on children being raised by gay and lesbian couples.

There is a controversial message circulating among adoption listservs that was first brought to our attention by our friend Peggy Knudson. It is regarding the new Disney movie, “Meet the Robinsons,” and it raises some very interesting concerns specifically pertaining to adoptive parents. The warning is getting some mixed reactions among parents - some feel the criticism is valid, while others are grateful that the movie brought up the topic of adoption in their home so that they could talk about it.

So, draw your own conclusions. Here’s the letter, unedited:

Dear all:

I am writing to warn all parents/guardians who were planning to take their kids to see the new Disney movie “Meet the Robinsons” to consider NOT going.

The advertising for this animated feature makes it sound like a great movie for any young child. Unfortunately, the movie paints a picture of adoption that is false and absolutely degrading–if not horrific–for any adopted child, and will give false impressions about adoption to any child, adopted or not.

The basic story is about an adorable baby whose birth mother leaves him on the doorstep of an orphanage.

Portrayed as loving, sweet, extremely smart and very appealing, he spends the next 12 years of his life wanting a family and being turned down by one family after another. In all, 114 couples refuse to adopt him after interviewing him as a prospective son. He’s not good enough for them, not the right fit. He fails interview after interview.

This is NOT how adoption takes place; it’s a total fabrication.

One scene shows a prospective dad losing interest in adoption because this very smart little boy is more interested in science than sports. The prospective parents leave the disappointed child in a huff when he accidentally splatters them with peanut butter and jelly from his science project; the prospective dad has a serious physical reaction because he is allergic to peanuts; the well-meaning orphan has almost killed his prospective dad.

This is supposed to be funny.

Again, this has nothing to do with how adoptions really take place. I sat in that movie theater horrified, with my young adopted children at my side, wondering how I was going to explain these lies to them.

Since no one else wants the little boy, the child invents a time machine in order to go back in time to find his birth mother. The “bad guy” in his time travel journey turns out to be his best buddy from childhood, once his orphanage roommate. Now an emotional wreck resulting from being left behind when the orphanage was closed, the once-cute orphan is now mean and devious.

“Meet the Robinsons” is tasteless and totally insensitive regarding adoption issues. Please think very carefully before taking your child to see it, whether adopted or not. Disney has taken the issue of adoption and handled it crassly, incorrectly, and flippantly. These are issues that are extremely important and not funny for millions of adoptees and their families in this country and around the world.

Feel free to share this message with anyone who you feel might benefit from knowing about this warning.

Notably, as hard as we tried, we were unable to find the author. The letter has been circulated from listserv to listserv. What do you think? Have you seen the movie - and do you think this open letter is a fitting assessment? Leave us a comment and share your thoughts.

Monday was the big day - dozens of gay and lesbian families attended the 2007 White House Egg Roll, making our presence know and our existence real to million of Americans. We were proud to join the many diverse families attending the White House Egg Roll this year. For the second year in a row, gay and lesbian-headed families participated in a great American tradition.

Thanks to the wonderful family members, staff and volunteers who camped out in line on Friday night, we were able to secure 11:00 AM tickets to the event. We wore rainbow leis to visibly and proudly include our families.

This year, we were really just another part of the Egg Roll scene. The controversy was lessened and there were no protestors - a welcomed sign of the progress we are making in the family equality movement.

To read a great article on Family Pride’s presence at the Egg Roll, and to watch a wonderful video clip of executive director Jennifer Chrisler and her twins Tim and Tom, visit the Politico website. And a special thanks to the nearly 4,000 of you who were a part of our all-night Egg Roll blogathon - your support gave us something to look forward to during that very, very cold night.

We did it! We secured 75 tickets for gay and lesbian families for this year’s White House Egg Roll on Monday. Our tickets are for 11:00AM, so we’ll be back at the White House bright and early again on Monday. Hopefully, this time it won’t snow.

We met so many great people in the last 36 hours - it’s really been a great, community building event. Barb’s neice saw her on our blog, and took a bus from NC just to be a part of the night! So many wonderful people.

So, it’s over. We’re all back in our warm homes, showered and clean. Thanks so much for being a part of this amazing event - thousands and thousand have been following along in our blog. And, if you’re just arriving to our blog now, go back to our first post yesterday afternoon (at the start of our blogathon) and enjoy the adventure from there. We love your comments, so leave a bunch. See you Monday!

It’s 6:00AM, and we’re packing up the tents, sleeping bags, giant jugs of coffee and what’s left of our sanity to stand in line (again) - but this time, for the real thing! Thanks so much for all of your support and keeping us company on this cold. It’s so great knowing that you are all out there, rooting for our families!

We hope to see many of you on Monday morning for the White House Egg Roll. If you can’t get down here, stay tuned to our website for updates.

There are some things about waiting in line for the egg roll tickets that the official website doesn’t tell you.  Here are some helpful hints for those of you making the venture next year:

1. Bring eyemasks to sleep in.  The bright lights of the Ellipse don’t ever turn off, keeping it perpetually 3:00 in the afternoon inside your tent.
2. Remember that no matter what you tell yourself, you aren’t really camping. The sounds of nature that typically glorify a camping trip are replaced here with the sirens and noises of the city.
3. A candle is not a suitable source of warmth.  Neither is five layers of sweatshirts and long underwear against three hours of sleet and a summer tent.
4. If you’re really cold, walk to the pavilion and stick your face under the warm electric hand dryer.  By the time you’re willing to stoop to that, you won’t care about people walking into the bathroom and staring.

My favorite quote of the night is from Kim, after watching the park rangers slowly make their way down the line: “Why are they going so slow?  Don’t they realize that I have a bladder?” 

The wait in the cold has proven semi-fruitful so far: we have our vouchers! Quick staff updates: Kent and Dustin are comparing their arm lengths and discussing the merits and drawbacks of having freakishly long limbs, Dave is dreamily talking about showering, Sara is curled into a ball in her sleeping bag, Charlene is wondering why people choose to ever sleep outdoors voluntarily, and Kim is recreating scenes from the Blair Witch project.

Two hours until we get our tickets. Three years until I feel like I may be warm again.