CYNDI LAUPER LAUNCHES FORTY TO NONE PROJECT DURING THE NEW YORK CITY PRIDE MARCH

Feb 08th, 2013 01:17 PM By Admin

Watch the excitement on Cyndi Lauper: Still So Unusual this Saturday night, February 9 at 9|8c on WE tv.

This week’s episode of Cyndi Lauper: Still So Unusual on WE tv follows Cyndi as she launches our sister program – the Forty to None Project – during last summer’s New York City Pride March.

Leading last summer’s New York City Pride March down Fifth Avenue and through Greenwich Village as Grand Marshal was the perfect opportunity for Cyndi to announce the Forty to None Project, the first national organization to solely address the issue of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth homelessness.

It is estimated that up to 1.6 million youth are homeless each year. Up to 40% of these young people identify as gay or transgender, while only 3-5% of the general youth population does the same. The primary factor in these young people being homeless is family rejection.

To learn more about how you can get involved in advocating on behalf of gay and transgender homeless youth, please visit the Forty to None Project at www.fortytonone.org and follow the project on Facebook and Twitter.

Cyndi Lauper: Still So Unusual follows the Give a Damn Campaign and True Colors Fund co-founder through her “struggle of the juggle” of being a rock star, mother, wife, Broadway composer, New York Times bestselling author, and philanthropist. This season also features the launch of our sister program, the Forty to None Project, the first national organization to solely address the issue of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth homelessness.

Watch back-to-back episodes of Cyndi Lauper: Still So Unusual
Saturday night at 9pm EST | 8pm CST on WE tv.

I Stay Strong

Jun 14th, 2012 10:19 PM By thomas

When I was 14, I made the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. I knew I had to come out to my family and friends. I developed the courage one night during dinner to tell my Grandparents (they were my guardians at the time) and I thought they would accept me or at least come around. But, after they heard the words – “I’m Gay” – our dinner immediately turned into a fight and they ultimately kicked me out.

I had to go to a children’s shelter, where I stayed for 5 months, until I got sent to a place that only took you if you had done something wrong. I hadn’t done anything wrong. I was doing the right thing by being honest about who I am. Now, I’m 20 years old and life couldn’t be better. I have made so many friends and I recently reunited with my mother who loves me and accepts me for who I am. My life was so hard and there were so many nights that I thought about killing myself but now I’m an adult who has learned so much from my experiences.

CYNDI LAUPER & FRIENDS: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS SPECIAL PRE-SALE

Oct 26th, 2011 05:13 PM By Admin

A CONCERT TO BENEFIT HOMELESS LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER YOUTH

DECEMBER 4th, 2011 at NEW YORK CITY’S BEACON THEATRE

Special Appearances By: Norah Jones, Amy Lee, Rosie O’Donnell, Wanda Sykes, Lou Reed, Cassandra Wilson, Carson Kressley, Jon Secada, Chely Wright, Skylar Grey, Vanessa Carlton, Angelique Kidjo, Harvey Fierstein, Deluka, Debbie Harry, Alan Cumming, Clay Aiken and more.

Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Fund, the organization behind the Give a Damn Campaign, today announced a star-studded benefit concert on December 4th at New York City’s historic Beacon Theatre to help raise awareness about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth homelessness. “Home For the Holidays,” presented by Deutsche Bank, will feature a night of music from Cyndi as well as special appearances by Norah Jones, Amy Lee, Lou Reed, Rosie O’Donnell, Wanda Sykes, Cassandra Wilson, Carson Kressley, Chely Wright, Skylar Grey, Vanessa Carlton, Angelique Kidjo, Harvey Fierstein, Deluka, Debbie Harry, Alan Cumming and Clay Aiken.

Cyndi Lauper and the True Colors Fund are excited to extend a special pre-sale to Give a Damn Campaign members before tickets go on sale to the general public. The pre-sale runs from 10 am EST tomorrow, Thursday, October 27th until tomorrow night at 10 pm EST. The password you will need to make your purchase is DAMN.

GET YOUR TICKETS! >>

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS >>

“When I first learned that up to 40 percent of all homeless youth in this country identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender I was shocked and saddened,” says Cyndi Lauper, co-founder of the True Colors Fund and Give a Damn Campaign. “For far too long homeless youth have not received the attention, resources and funding necessary to bring an end to this epidemic. My hope is that through this inspiring evening of music and comedy we can raise awareness and much needed funds to help these young people.”

Cyndi was inspired to help after meeting an extraordinary group of young homeless gay and transgender people several years ago. Already a longtime advocate for the LGBT community and equality, she co-founded the True Colors Fund in 2008 as a major step in this effort. Then, created the Give a Damn Campaign to raise awareness, especially among straight people, about the many issues, particularly youth homelessness, impacting the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

100% of the net proceeds from “Home for the Holidays” will benefit the True Colors Fund so that Cyndi, the True Colors Fund and the Give a Damn Campaign can continue to further its work to help homeless LGBT youth.

In addition to Platinum Sponsor Deutsche Bank, other sponsors of “Home for the Holidays” include American Airlines, Creative Group and Van Gogh Vodka. Additional support is provided by the Human Rights Campaign.

GET INFORMED, GET INVOLVED

• Buy tickets to Home for the Holidays
• Learn more about Home for the Holidays
• Learn more about Youth | Homelessness

The Story I Am Sharing

Oct 11th, 2011 05:23 PM By Rob

I care about equality, but the reason I joined this site today was Ms. Lauper’s essay on Huffington Post today about homeless youth and the prevalence of LGBTQ youth in the homeless population.

I work as a case manager for a program in NYC called HASA. It’s a city agency that provides case management and financial assistance, among other things, to low income adults and children with HIV. On my caseload there are men and women from 19 to 70 who are struggling to live their lives with HIV. Some of my younger clients have spent time on the streets and there are many who left home at a young age because of discrimination and abuse directly related to their gender or their sexuality.

So I am for equality wholeheartedly. I joined today because I completely agree with Cyndi that people need to know that there are children who need a lot of help. I believe that parents of children who are dealing with issues of gender and sexuality also need help to better address the needs of their LGBTQ children.

WHY CYNDI LAUPER GIVES A DAMN ABOUT HOMELESS YOUTH

Oct 11th, 2011 04:45 PM By Admin

Today is National Coming Out Day! It is a time for all of us – straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender – to speak up about why we support equality. It is a time to let the people in your life know why you give a damn.

Give a Damn Campaign founder Cyndi Lauper wanted to share with you one of the reasons why she cares. It is an issue that has not received enough attention and resources. It is gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth experiencing homelessness.

In honor of National Coming Out Day, the Huffington Post posted an Op-Ed she wrote about why she gives a damn about helping these brave young people. Here is just the start of what she had to say:

Twenty to 40 percent of homeless youth identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, yet only 3 to 5 percent of the general population does the same. Shock was the first thing I felt when I heard this statistic, and then sadness that there are so many young people who are either thrown out of their homes or run away out of fear and despair because they are gay or transgender.

But, while the disproportionate numbers are disheartening, what really matters and makes a significant impact are the young people themselves, their struggles and their desire to live a life that they dream about and deserve to live…

Please take a moment to read her story and take action yourself. Share the post with your family and friends on Facebook and Twitter, or just forward this email, so they can get informed and get involved as well.

GET INFORMED, GET INVOLVED

• Read Cyndi’s Op-Ed
• Learn more about Youth | Homelessness

If we all join together we can make a difference.

Step Dad Wanted Me Gone

Aug 15th, 2011 10:29 AM By Ethan

When I was 15, My parents got a divorce. It happened right before holiday season. My mother accepted me, and my father seemed like he disapproved of me being gay. My father throughout my life had been physically and verbally abusive to me from when I first started remembering, to about 13 or so. Which is when I finally got up the courage to tell him to deal with his own issues or I would call the police.

My mother started dating again. After a week or two of dating a guy, she brought him home to meet me, and my 18 year old brother. We got along alright, but then my mother told him that I was gay. This changed his attitude towards me, instead of welcoming me into his life he began to isolate me from my mother. At this point my father had moved 600 miles away to live with his brother, taking my brother with him. I didn’t want to live with him because he was so abusive earlier in my life that I was afraid of what he would/could do to me without my mother there to stop him. So I decided to live with my stepfather’s negligence.
more…

I Almost Didn’t Make It

Aug 10th, 2011 05:41 PM By Ryan

I never used to talk about my experience as a young, gay kid in Colorado Springs, CO. It was just too painful, too personal for me to want to talk about. As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized that telling my story sheds light on the truth, and illustrates–vividly–why issues that affect the LGBT Community are so damn important.

I was a good kid growing up in a middle class family in Colorado Springs. I attended private Christian schools, I loved my family, and I had amazing parents. My parents were so devoted to their children, always showering us with love and attention. My mother used to make my lunch every day with a little note telling me how much I meant to her. Each day my parents would drive us to and from school, and once a week we had a family movie night–our’s was the American family ideal, and I was truly blessed.

Unfortunately, one day that changed. When I was 13 years old, my parents found my journal in which I had admitted to myself that I was gay. In the space of 5 minutes my life changed drastically, and permanently.

Being raised in a conservative Christian family certainly isn’t a bad thing, but being taught that homosexuality is pretty much the worst thing under the sun and also happening to be gay don’t work well together. From the moment my parents discovered I was gay, till I legally separated myself from them (at the age of 16) my life was a living hell. My parents became verbally and emotionally abusive–telling me that they would have rather had an abortion than a gay son, or that it would have been better had I been born mentally retarded or with Downs Syndrome. Pretty bad, huh? Oh it gets worse. Thanks to the folks at Focus on the Family, my parents were referred to a “conversion therapy” organization known as NARTH–the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. These are the people who think that being gay is something that can be “cured”.
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Why I Give a Damn

Aug 10th, 2011 05:26 PM By kelly

When I was a teenager in the 1990s, I realized I needed to come out, but I had no one to talk too. I confided in a friend of mine, who betrayed my trust and told kids at my school. I was verbally abused, physically hurt, and taunted by classmates, so I told my mother. Instead of being supportive, I was told to change my mind about being bisexual. When I didn’t change my mind (because I couldn’t…) she sent me to my grandmother’s home up north where she would “straighten me out.”

Feeling isolated, I found a school support group (called GLOBE) and went to it where I was accepted and welcome. Unfortunately, the guidance counselor, a friend of my grandmother, found out I was in GLOBE and called my grandmother and told her, and I was kicked out of her home and sent back to my mom’s who didn’t want me there so she put me in a behavioral hospital for no other reason than I was “bi”– and to my mother– she rationalized there must be some sort of psychosis causing it.

I hope ALL people, gay or straight, support this cause because NO ONE should have to face homelessness or be harassed, or abused physically and/or verbally, like I was, because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

My Want to Help

Aug 09th, 2011 09:27 AM By Jessica

I have to say that from a young age I have wanted to try and help out with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. I grew up with a lesbian mother most of my life and I knew from a young age that I was bi-sexual. At the age of 16, I knew I wanted to start a LGBT teen group home for displaced teens, but I also knew I had to have a plan, that I had to be older before I could try to run my own group home.

So, I started planning with my moms. We started thinking what kind of house we would want and how we would want to run it. As I got older, I found out that LGBT teens and LGBT people in general have the highest suicide rates in the country. I found out that so many kids get put into the system when their parents find out about their sexual orientation. That so many of these kids get put into the foster care system, bounced around because no one wants them for the same reasons, and then they end up running away or getting into drugs and a lot of them eventually commit suicide.
more…

It Truly Gets Better and Pay It Forward

Aug 04th, 2011 12:40 PM By Brad

I am a 57 year old male that has found love in a relationship of 20 years. I did not find it until later in life, as I had to find recovery to find my partner. We have a great life together, not perfect but more than I ever expected. I also found with sobriety that I had to find a larger purpose, so I went to college and got myself a new career as a substance abuse counselor. I was led to this by a force much larger than me. I have now worked in the field of addictions and social service for over 20 years.

I am currently working for an amazing program in Downtown Phoenix with homeless youth ages 18 to 21 who are transitioning to adulthood and need support to do this. Many of the youth that I work with have been disposed of or had to run from violence due to their being gay, lesbian, transgendered or just different. I love the work I get to do and love that I can be an out and proud gay man as an example to these youth. That is taking what some would call an ISSUE and turning it into a real positive. We need more role models. SO?