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It gets better

Posted by Dan Leveille at 2:56pm
Support Your Favourite LGBT Organizations When You Make a Purchase on Amazon
Donating to your favourite LGBT organizations just got easier! Amazon recently launched Amazon Smile, a feature where the company will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to...

Support Your Favourite LGBT Organizations When You Make a Purchase on Amazon

Donating to your favourite LGBT organizations just got easier! Amazon recently launched Amazon Smile, a feature where the company will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to an organization of your choice. 

Amazon’s database includes almost a million charities, schools, and other nonprofits, including many LGBT organizations.

“Tens of millions of products” on Amazon are eligible for AmazonSmile donations, and those are marked as “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation.” All you need to do is select an organization and shop!

Can’t think of an organization to donate to? Here are just a few LGBT organizations available on AmazonSmile:

  • Iola Foundation (The It Get’s Better Project)
  • Human Rights Campaign Foundation
  • Trevor Project
  • Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. (GLAAD)
  • GLSEN, Inc.

Which organization will you be donating to?

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Posted by Dan Leveille at 11:44pm

A message to the homophobes: It doesn’t get better
(Warning: explicit language)

FKCH8 released a new video parodying the It Gets Better Project, featuring YouTube personalities. From the video’s description:

Snarky Gay & Straight YouTubers Come Together 2 with FCKH8.com to make a HILARIOUS “It Doesn’t Get Better” Video 4 the Forgotten Victims: HOMOPHOBES!

More information on FCKH8:
Posted by Dan Leveille at 5:57pm

It Gets Better - Parents of Transgender Children

The first “It Gets Better” video of its kind: Featuring parents from PFLAG’s support group for families of transgender children sharing their personal struggles to understand their child’s needs and find support for both themselves and their families.

(via Huffington Post)

Posted by Dan Leveille at 1:08pm

Gay California teen Eric James Borges commits suicide, weeks after posting an It Gets Better video

This is Eric James Borges. He posted this It Gets Better video last month. Yesterday, he committed suicide. Eric, 19, was an intern with the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBT youth.

Jim Reeves, Vice President of Queer Landia, had met Eric personally. He reports about his suicide:

Word began spreading late Wednesday among shocked and saddened friends and acquaintances.  Not accepted by his birth family, EricJames was striking out on his own, trying to deal with his personal situation, but also wanting to help others.  Sadly, even involvement with the Trevor Project was not enough to help him navigate the turbulent waters of young adulthood.

Update: Stephnie Davison, a classmate and good friend of Eric's responded to this blog post by sharing a bit about Eric:

He was an amazing person who was bullied throughout his entire life. He was beaten at home for being gay and kicked out multiple times. His mother never approved of him being himself. When he tried to be Eric, he couldn’t. He was an artist, a friend, a boyfriend, and a truly amazing individual. EricJames Borges will always be remembered and he was my friend.

[…]

His mother disowned him, and refuses to talk to him. I’m not sure that she knows he even committed suicide tbh.

Posted by Dan Leveille at 3:29pm
It Gets Better by Allie Osterloh
An illustration created by Allie Osterloh for Spirit Day 2011.

It Gets Better by Allie Osterloh

An illustration created by Allie Osterloh for Spirit Day 2011.

Posted by Dan Leveille at 9:30pm

Google Chrome runs television ad featuring the “It Gets Better” project

Google Chrome is running a television ad featuring Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” project. The commercial is part of Google’s biggest offline ad campaign.

The video, which was uploaded to Google Chrome’s YouTube account on Monday, features Dan Savage any the many other videos that were created for the project.

“Beginning with one inspiring video, Dan Savage used the web to create the It Gets Better project–a movement that has generated thousands of uplifting videos that give hope to teens.”

According to the New York Times, Google Chrome’s overall television campaign is “the biggest offline campaign ever for Google.”

Countless others have been joining in on the project. Just last month, Apple employees launched their own video.

Last year, Google announced that it would offer gay employees extra pay to allow for tax inequality.

Did you know?: A “Gaygler” is a gay Google employee?

(Video via Reddit)

Posted by Dan Leveille at 6:00pm
Posted by Dan Leveille at 6:42pm

WATCH: Katy Perry’s new “Firework” video, dedicated to the “It Gets Better” Project

Katy Perry just released a music video for her song “Firework,” which she dedicated to the It Gets Better Project.

On October 28, she posted on her Twitter account:

I am officially dedicating my new video to #itgetsbetter, because everyone has the spark to be a FIREWORK.

Dave Meyers, the director of the video, wanted it to be “100% real,” so they moved away from the Hollywood feel and found real people rather than actors.

“Finding two gay guys in Budapest was a challenge, because it’s not as accepted there as it is in West Hollywood. I found an actual, real couple.” Meyers said in an interview with MTV.

Recently, Pink told indemand.fm that her "Raise Your Glass" video will celebrate gay rights by featuring a gay wedding.

Posted by Dan Leveille at 6:17pm