June, 03 2010, 04:17pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Inga Sarda-Sorensen, Director of Communications
(Office) 646.358.1463
isorensen@theTaskForce.org
LGBT Rights Activists Gathering for California Power Summit
WASHINGTON
As part of the effort to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement at the state and local level in preparation to repeal Prop. 8, activists working to regain the freedom to marry in California are converging in East Los Angeles on June 4--6 for the California Power Summit, one of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's signature grassroots organizing trainings.
The Power Summit is an intensive three-day training designed to hone key leadership skills that are critical for waging effective campaigns for social change. The summit also supports long-term leadership development in the LGBT community, communities of color and other communities typically shut out of power. The gathering is co-sponsored by Equality California, the Vote for Equality Project of the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center, Jordan Rustin Coalition, and Bienestar's Agents for Change.
Participants will learn how to engage in effective face-to-face conversations with voters to build support for marriage equality; recruit a large team of volunteers to engage in collective action; raise money through direct person-to-person asks; and much more.
Most immediately, the summit will bolster current organizing in California to restore the freedom to marry. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has been partnering with Equality California and the Vote for Equality Project of the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center to organize ongoing door-to-door canvasses statewide and within Los Angeles County, respectively; volunteers are primarily engaging with voters that are currently unsupportive, or undecided, on marriage equality.
During the Power Summit, participants will apply skills taught through real-world action. On Saturday, June 5, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., participants will canvass in neighborhoods across East Los Angeles. On Sunday, June 6, from 9 a.m. - noon, participants will call people they know to raise money for their causes of choice.
For more information about the Power Summit, please contact Kathleen Campisano at 202.577.3139 or kcampisano@theTaskForce.org.
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we've made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. These barriers must go. That's why the Task Force is training and mobilizing millions of activists across our nation to deliver a world where you can be you. Join us!
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