Steve Kornell for St. Pete City Council No matter where you live, you can make phone calls for Steve Kornell. We have an easy-to-use online interface, complete with the script for our calls. We will provide you with a username and password, and you can log in and start making calls. Mike Fox can get you connected. Simply call him at 727-320-4502 or email him at field@stevekornell.com

OUT is conducting a training session on grassroots organizing and fundraising as a part of OUT Univermsity’s Fall Semester.

OUT's goal at this training is to increase the capacity of local organizations and local leaders to do their local work and to contribute to the statewide movement. We will need strong local organizations if our state is to pass a statewide anti-discrimination law and defeat any future effort to add the adoption ban into the Florida Constitution. The Caucus and the Dolphins are OUT members.

This training session is for Florida's LGBT & allied organization leaders, and individuals in our community that want to learn critical skills for helping us end discrimination in Florida.

The training is Saturday November 7th and Sunday November 8, both days 9am to 5pm, and will be held here in Fort Lauderdale at the ArtServe Auditorium. The cost is $40 for OUT member organizations and $45 for non-members. The fee will help cover a small portion of the cost of flying in the out-of-state trainers, providing lunch and refreshments, supplies for the participants and rental of our meeting location. Need-based scholarships are available upon request.

Please note that registration fees will increase after October 25^th, and that registration will close November 1^st. If you know someone from out of town who wants to attend we have a discounted group rate at the Embassy Suites Hotel on 17^th St. Causeway.

Trainers include national, state and local subject matter experts, who will provide training on the very best practices and practical applications for these essential skills:

• David Caldwell, National LGBT Mentoring Project (Cleveland, OH)
• Dan Hawes - Director of Organizing & Training, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (Washington, D.C.)
• Moof Mayeda - Senior Field Organizer, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (Los Angeles)
• Todd Ruopp - Co-Founder of Unleashing Performance, Inc. (Orlando)
• Deborah Tannenbaum - Finance Consultant for Fair Districts Florida
• Juan del Hierro - Community Outreach Chair, SAVE Dade
• Pamela Sweeney - Co-Chair, Grassroots Action Committee, SAVE Dade

Saturday, November 7th, will provide in-depth training on volunteer recruitment and volunteer leadership development and some of the basic tools for grassroots organizing such as leadership development, volunteer phone banking and volunteer support.

Sunday, November 8th, will provide in-depth training on major donor fundraising and how to raise money through fundraising phone banks, including a hands-on training where participants will raise money for their own local organizations or any cause or organization of their choosing.

These OUT University Capacity Building Trainings are part of OUT's larger public education project, the End Discrimination Project, that will include OUT University trainings, a semi-annual statewide leadership conference hosted by OUT, a speaker's bureau, and web-based education and trainings by member organizations and state and national partner organizations.

Organizations will be offered trainings designed to build their capacity to more effectively achieve their respective missions, while individuals will be trained on powerful and effective communication skills to discuss the need for basic nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people in the state of Florida.

OUT Federation's End Discrimination Project is supported by the Tides Foundation's State Equality Fund, a philanthropic partnership that includes the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, the Gill Foundation, and anonymous donors.

If you have any questions, please email OUT at: OUTuniversity@OUTFL.org, or call 813-817-6095.

Video montage of the National Equality March in Washington D.C. on Sunday, October 11, 2009 (on National Coming Out Day). Over 200,000 LGBT and Straight Americans descended upon Washington D.C. to demand equal protection under the law in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states, as entitled by the 14th Amendment to our United States Constitution. The video includes appearances by Lt. Dan Choi, Cleve Jones and the Broadway cast of Hair. Set to an original song wrote for the National Equality March called "Equality Now".

Wearing pink in solidarity with women who -- like her -- are breast cancer survivors, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, testified Wednesday on behalf of legislation aimed at raising awareness of breast cancer and providing resources for young women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her legislation would promote breast cancer testing and exams. Wasserman Schultz learned in 2007 that she had breast cancer. Listen to my news Podcast http://RonMills.us/news Visit My Social Media Blog http://ronmills.us/ Visit me on twitter http://Twitter.com/RainbowUSA Visit Me On Face Book  http://RonMills.us/facebook My Biz on Twitter http://Twitter.com/theRbuzz

GLBT History Month 2009 Starts Today! Starting today, a GLBT Icon is presented daily, with a video, bio, bibliography, downloadable images and other resources - all provided for free. The 31 Icon videos can be embedded without charge on Web sites or blogs. Once embedded, the video player will automatically update the daily Icon video. [More] GLBT History Month 2009 Icons Thursday, October 1 - Sunday, October 4th October 1st - Alvin Ailey Jr. Alvin Ailey Jr. was an internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer. He founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, a dance company hailed as an ambassador of American culture. A prolific choreographer, Ailey created 79 original works for his company. His signature piece "Revelations" is touted as the most-watched work of modern dance. [More] October 2nd - John Amaechi John Amaechi is the first NBA player to speak publicly about being gay. In 2007, three years after retiring from pro basketball, he became one of only six male professional athletes in the four major U.S. sports to come out. "It was absolutely my ultimate goal to play in the NBA," says Amaechi. In 1995, his dream became reality. [More] October 3rd - Tammy Baldwin Tammy Baldwin is the first out lesbian elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She is one of three openly gay members and the first openly gay non-incumbent elected to Congress. "There will not be a magic day when we wake up and it's now OK to express ourselves publicly," says Baldwin. "We make that day by doing things publicly until it's simply the way things are." [More] October 4th - John Cage Twentieth century composer John Cage pushed the boundaries of traditional music, experimenting with sound, environment and audience perception. His avant-garde work influenced music, painting, dance, performance art and poetry. "I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas," said Cage. "I'm frightened of the old ones." [More] See GLBT History Month videos and more at LOGOonline.com Watch from the pre-19th century through the 2000's as Logo presents a video course on the people and events that make up LGBT history through this unique collection of bios, documentaries, films, interviews, and coverage of major events. [More]

Modeled after Black and Women’s History Months, GLBT History Month highlights annually the achievements of 31 gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender Icons—one each day