The Campaign for Southern Equality is participating in a 24-hour online fundraising contest called Twive and Receive and representing the city of Asheville. We’re competing with 200 other non-profits from around the country and, on top of that, we’re the only LGBT organization in this contest.
Here’s the deal: If we win the contest Razoo will donate $15,000 to CSE. Second place is $10,000 and third is $5,000. This funding will go toward the WE DO Campaign and our free legal workshops for LGBT people in the South.
Here are a few ways you can help us get there:
- Give $10 or more right now.
- Email or call your friends and family and ask them to do the same.
- Update your status on Facebook and send a tweet urging your friends to help us finish in the top 3!
A little bit of background about CSE in case you’re not familiar with our work.
On May 9th, the Campaign for Southern Equality (CSE) launched the third stage of our WE DO campaign in Wilson, N.C. It was not a coincidence that we began our campaign the day after the Amendment One vote. Regardless of the outcome, we knew that LGBT individuals would still be second-class citizens in the state of North Carolina – unable to marry or complete second-parent adoptions, subject to employment and housing discrimination and lacking many other basic legal rights.
From May 9th to May 15th, 38 courageous LGBT couples applied for – and were denied – marriage licenses in their home towns, from small towns such as Wilson and Bakersville to population centers like Winston-Salem and Charlotte. Because these couples stood up to affirm their rights as fully equal citizens and to show what happens when a discriminatory law is enforced, the nation is beginning to hear a new story coming out of the South. The BBC and MSNBC interviewed us twice during the course of the campaign and CSE was quoted on the front page of the NY Times. WE DO was also covered by the Raleigh News and Observer, Charlotte Observer, Winston-Salem Journal, Asheville Citizen-Times and The Guardian (UK) among many other publications and blogs.
Please stand with these brave LGBT couples by giving a tax-deductible donation to the Campaign for Southern Equality and help us win an additional $15,000. That money will go towards the next stage of the WE DO campaign and towards offering legal workshops across NC to help people how to best protect their rights now that Amendment One has passed.
