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WE DID IT!
You Made the Difference in the Kevin Bacon Challenge
8 weeks ago, we set the bar high with our goal of 1,138 donations by midnight, March 31st. And you stepped up - securing a victory for our families. On behalf of the Family Pride staff, volunteers, Board of Directors, allies, and LGBTQ-parented families everywhere, THANK YOU!
The success of this challenge attests to our power
as a community and the importance of family equality.
We, as active participants in this movement, have
done something truly incredible. We called friends,
we talked to neighbors, we emailed coworkers - we
mobilized our social networks. We created change.
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At 10:18 PM EST we hit our goal of 1,138 donations. But we didn't stop there. Even today, as we write, people continue to join the campaign. What's the significance of 1,138? That's the number of federal laws and provisions that guarantee rights and privileges for married couples. It's also the number of federal laws and provisions that exclude LGBTQ families.
Unofficially, at midnight on March 31st Family Pride was ranked 3rd in the competition. The top six organizations will receive a $10,000 matching grant from Kevin Bacon. We'll know our official rank on Wednesday, but it's safe to say that the grant is ours.
We came together and raised over $30,000 for our families - not including the additional $10,000 grant. With these funds, Family Pride will train parents and allies to be advocates for our families in local communities across the country. We will develop and distribute publications pertinent to the needs of our families. We will arm parents with the tools to make our schools safe and inclusive. We will work with local and state groups to mobilize our families to defeat anti-family legislation and promote pro-family legislation.
The benefits of this competition are priceless. You can't put a price tag on the press opportunities, the publicity and the vital visibility that this competition affords our families. In addition, 50% of the participants are new supporters of Family Pride's work. Participation in this challenge occurred at record levels - we set a new Family Pride record!
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A special thanks to Ken Manford, co-chair of our Board of Directors, for getting Family Pride involved in this fantastic competition. A very special thanks to our friends over at the Houston Equal Rights Alliance (HERA) for partnering with us on this exciting challenge. We couldn't have done it without you, HERA!
Thanks again for being a part of this groundbreaking campaign! We're strong, we're powerful, and together, we can do anything. Here's to love, justice, family and equality!
Sincerely,
The Family Team
Jennifer Chrisler
Lisa Bahr
David Jacques
Dustin Kight
Kimberly Lang
A. Charlene Leach
Sara Leckey
Kent Peacock
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What is the $10,000
Kevin Bacon challenge?
Inspired by 6 Degrees of Separation, Kevin Bacon launched sixdegrees.org to benefit charities. He’s agreed to match up to $10,000 for the six non-profits with the highest number of unique donors. Family Pride Board Co-Chair Ken Manford created a “badge” for Family Pride. Family equality supporters donated through the badge by clicking the orange donate button.
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tell-a-friend
about the Kevin Bacon challenge
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