Sloan Parker

Once a week I post about something I’m loving (tv, movies, books, art, photos, romances, authors, or anything else). So here is this week’s For the Love of…

My Friday post is coming to you on Saturday this week, but I’m glad I was a bit behind. Now I can share this news that I’m currently loving.

In response to the recent horrific news of Greene V. County of Sonoma et al., blogger TeddyPig reached out to All Romance eBooks for help. He suggested they donate a portion of the sales of Henry and Jim by J.M. Snyder to NCLR (the organization representing Greene in the case).

Here are the details from J.M. Snyder’s website:

“My big news this month is that I’m donating 25% of my sales through All Romance eBooks to the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLA). A few weeks ago, ARe forwarded an email to me from TeddyPig, in which he included a link to the California court case Greene v. County of Sonoma et al. He was very angry about the insensitive way the state treated Clay Greene after his lover’s death, even though both men had made provisions naming the other as their legal power of attorney. The story of Clay and Harold reminded him of my own story, Henry and Jim, and he wanted to know if ARe could possibly donate a portion of that title’s sales to the NCLA, who is representing Mr. Greene in the case. ARe forwarded the request to me.

Since that’s an older story of mine, sales have slacked off a bit and wouldn’t make a very large contribution. Therefore, I decided to donate 25% of my royalties in May for ALL my self-published titles available on ARe, and they have graciously agreed to match my contribution.”

You can read more here on ARe’s website

I have to confess when I first saw the story of Clay Greene’s plight, I couldn’t read it all the way through (still haven’t). It’s the kind of story that scares the shit out of me. My partner and I have lived together for almost 19 years, and the thought that we could be separated and one of us left with nothing is too horrific to think about. Drafting up expensive legal documents isn’t enough. We and all other same-sex couples need the same legal rights of every other married couple in this country. We need more people standing up and helping with injustices like Clay Greene’s case.

So kudos to All Romance eBooks, blogger TeddyPig, and author J.M. Snyder for their combined efforts to help with this cause. You all are to be highly commended.

If you have a J.M. Snyder book you’ve been meaning to get, stop on by ARe this month and pick one up. You can view her books at ARe here.

And if you are an author of GLBT fiction, you too can help at ARe. Here are the details from ARe’s site:

I’m an author of GLBT Romance or Fiction:
“If you’re an author of GLBT Romance or Fiction and you’d like to join our group effort by pledging to donate a portion of your proceeds to the NCLR, write to us with your pledge (specify the titles, % of your royalty, and confirm the timeframe of May 1 – May 31, 2010) and we’ll add you to our roll. You will be responsible for making the direct donation to the NCLR. The roll is merely so we can let readers know what purchases will result in a donation.”

Have a great weekend!
Sloan

Once a week I post about something I’m loving (tv, movies, books, art, photos, romances, authors, or anything else). So here is this week’s For the Love of…

Today I’m loving the Give a Damn Campaign

Equality. Get Informed. Get Involved. Give a Damn!

“The Give a Damn Campaign is for everybody who cares about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.

But, it’s especially for all you straight people out there! Whether you’re already an active supporter, want to show your support for the first time, or hadn’t given equality a lot of thought before and now want to learn more, we are here to help you get informed about the issues and get involved, at a pace that works for you.”

Learn more at: wegiveadamn.org And grab a banner for your site at: www.wegiveadamn.org/stuff/ They have some cool ones with stats that I hope will make people think.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Sloan

No regular post today. Instead, I’m donating my scheduled blog post to a non-profit organization – one I think is worthy of attention from anyone interested in making the world a better place. So here’s my pick for “donate a blog post day.” Please take a look.

“Stop The Hate is dedicated to provide the necessary resources and educational training to combat hate on college campuses; and to actively seek partnerships and collaboration among various organizations with similar concerns to address bias and hate behaviors.”

“Stop The Hate is owned and operated by Campus Pride, the leading national nonprofit 501(c)3 for student leaders and campus groups working to create a safer college environment for LGBT students across the United States.”

Check out their site for information on how to stop the hate, become a trainer, empower your campus, volunteer, and more. www.stophate.org

Thanks for stopping by,
Sloan Parker

No regular post today. Instead, I’m donating my blog post to a non-profit organization — one that I think is worthy of attention from anyone interested in making the world a better place. So here’s my pick for “donate a blog post day.” Please take a look.

This week here in the US, we are celebrating Thanksgiving. I thought it was the perfect time to create a new section of my blog titled “Donate a blog post day.” I’ll be posting these occasionally throughout the year. So here’s my first selection…

The Matthew Shepard Foundation
Seeks to “Replace Hate with Understanding, Compassion & Acceptance” through its varied educational, outreach and advocacy programs and by continuing to tell Matthew’s story.

Even after all this time, I still can’t watch or read about Matthew and not cry. If you’ve never seen the video from the foundation’s site, take a look below. And also, please take a moment to think about what you can do in memory of Matthew. I know not all of us have a lot of money to spare, but you can help in small ways. How about sending out a tweet with a link to the foundation’s site so that others never forget the tragedy of what can happen to people like Matthew? Or adding a link on your website or blog to help spread the foundation’s message? Find out how to get a banner ad for your site here.

(embedded video below)

Matthew Shepard Foundation Organizational Video from Matthew Shepard Foundation on Vimeo.

Thanks for taking a minute to read about this important organization. It’s people like you who care who will help make a difference.

Have a great day!
Sloan Parker
www.sloanparker.com