Amplify Austin 2015: Under the Rainbow
We hat-tip the Amplify nonprofits that serve and support LGBTQIA
By Blake McCoy, 3:25PM, Tue. Mar. 3, 2015
With just a day or two left until Amplify Austin cranks the giving up to 11, your friendly neighborhood Gay Place has taken the liberty of compiling a list of a few LGBTQ-supporting faves.
The first link in each listing goes to each group's Amplify page. The end URL links directly to each homepage. We've listed alphabetically, but trust you to cruise through all the letters.
• ALLGO Our statewide queer people of color group is all that …and a bag of chips (and a case of mangos). www.allgo.org
• ASA AIDS Services of Austin leads the conversation on enhanced healthcare and well-being for those effected by AIDS and HIV. www.asaustin.org
• Austin Film Society Always on the forefront of film, AFS's support for local LGBT filmmakers is stellar (PJ Raval! Kyle Henry! etc.). www.austinfilm.org
• Austin Free-Net Founded and run for years by local lesbians in tech (Sue Beckwith, Ana Sisnett), Free-Net still carries the cause that everyone deserves free web access. www.austinfree.net
• Austin Gay & Lesbian Pride Foundation (AGLPF) Because you can't support LGBT issues without feeling a little bit of pride. www.austinpride.org
• Austin History Center Association We salute our history center's LGBT archives outreach. We've written about them more than a few times: Here, here, and here. Make arrangements to donate your personal contributions to Austin gay history (letters, papers, flyers, pamphlets, local magazines, etc.). www.austinhistory.net
• Care Communities The angels at Care Communities provide familial support to those struggling with illness so they don't have to do it alone. www.thecarecommunities.org
• The Contemporary Austin Art historian (and Gay Placer) Dr. Andy Campbell teaches courses. That's reason enough for us. (Trust us, there are plenty more reasons.) www.thecontemporaryaustin.org
• Esquina Tango Their inclusion of Austin Queer Tango has us doing some serious off-axis twists. esquinatangoaustin.com
• Equality Texas The name says it all, Equality Texas strives to better us all by leveling the playing field. They are our front line at the crazy Texas lege. www.equalitytexasfoundation.org
• Family ElderCare Yes, they are the folks behind the annual summer fan project. We also love them for AGLSS (pronounced “ageless”), Austin Gay & Lesbian Senior Services. www.aglss.org
• Girl Scouts of Central Texas Every year, a certain troop rolls in the Austin Pride parade. Generally, the org is LGBT-accepting. Plus… those cookies. www.gsctx.org
• Ground Floor Theatre A black box, 140 seats, and thou. Austin icon Lisa Scheps has her own joint, y'all. www.groundfloortheatre.org
• Harry Ransom Center Another example of a place that incites our love for a number of reasons. But if it were only for being the Austin house of Gertrude Stein (her archives, among so many other treasures of LGBTness), wouldn't that be enough? Enough? Enough? www.hrc.utexas.edu
• Inside Books Project IBP has an initiative to get books to incarcerated queers. Black-and-white-and-read-all-over is the new black. www.insidebooksproject.org
• OutYouth For simply providing a safe space for LGBTQIA youth in need of community. www.outyouth.org
• Project Transitions Decades of service to folks living with HIV/AIDS. Plus, you can find some great, queeny swag at their Top Drawer Thrift Store. www.projecttransitions.org
• Salvage Vanguard Theater SVT gets our love for their support of OUTsider Film & Arts Fest alone, but they’ve always been a hub for queer creativity. www.salvagevanguard.org
• Teatro Vivo Peeps that address social issues bilingually, breaching the language barrier, and unifying us all. www.teatrovivo.org
• Texas Mamma Jamma Ride These babes ride for the one of the breast causes possible. www.mammajammaride.org
• Waterloo Counseling Center Counseling services for a sexually diverse community (aka: reality). www.waterloocounseling.org
• Women's Community Center of Central Texas Women’s rights issues intersect (and are at the core) of LGBTQ rights. Just ask a sexist. www.womenctx.org
• Wright House Wellness Center Their affordable services employ a holistic approach to healthy living and foster much dignity in times of need. www.thewrighthouse.org
• ZACH Theatre Engaging Austin in a cultural dialogue since 1933. www.zachtheatre.org
OK, pals: These nonprofits have made a longstanding commitment to bettering our community, LGBTQIA or otherwise. Thanks to Amplify Austin, we have a unique opportunity to partner with these folks and support all of their hard work. Time to turn it up.
Also, if you feel we've left off a crucial LGBTQ support group off this list, drop us a line at gayplace@austinchronicle.com.
Stay tuned to our Amplify Austin 2015 series at austinchronicle.com/daily for developing details on all things Amp'd.
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.
Sarah Marloff, Aug. 30, 2018
Blake McCoy, Aug. 28, 2015
The Gay Place, Amplify Austin, nonprofit, LGBTQIA, Gay Place, OutYouth, ALLGO, Equality Austin, HRC, Waterloo Counseling Center, Austin Film Society, AGLPF, Wright House