How I'm Celebrating Pride
Someone pretty close to me asked me recently if I had just "come out" on facebook. I replied that I've been "out" for 15 years. But it got me thinking...maybe I should be a little more visible? So here's one way...
Some of you may have met or heard about my "little" brother-in-law from Romania, Constantin. Well, the young guy who came to New York weighing less than 100 pounds is now a power-house athlete!
This rock of our family is a stay-at-home dad to my 4 year old nephew, and a caregiver to 2 dogs, my mom, and all the other people in my family with health problems or otherwise (that's a lot). And, he's expecting another child on the way with my sister. For fun, he channels his incredible energy into athletic training.
He is participating in Pull for Pride at my queer invitation, to support the queer community, to raise his son in a queer-friendly environment, and to showcase his athletic prowess. This is a very challenging time for his family right now back in Romania (his father is terminally ill), so all the support you can offer him and by extension the Ali Forney Center will go a long way!
Pull For Pride is a nationwide deadlifting fundraiser, open to all gender identities and experience levels. Participants will be raising $1 for every pound they plan to lift, to uplift homeless youth around the country. All seven Pull For Pride events will be fundraising for nonprofits in their community that provide direct support to LGBTQ youth struggling with homelessness. Go to PullForPride.com for more information on this powerhouse event.
Who Pull For Pride Brooklyn is Supporting: The Ali Forney Center
The Ali Forney Center encircles youth with quality services in an LGBTQ-Positive environment. Given the discrimination and harassment that so many of these young adults have faced, they need comprehensive support and encouragement to develop pride and security in their LGBTQ identities. AFC’s clients come from all walks of life. More than 80% are kicked out of their homes for being who they are. The remainder run away due to abuse, neglect, or a combination of rejection and abuse. About half of AFC's clients come to us from other states and some are even from around the world. About The Event: At the event over 50 lifter-fundraisers will take turns deadlifting progressively higher weights, aiming to match dollar for pound to help lift up these often-unnoticed homeless youth. The deadlift, for the uninitiated, involves stepping up behind a loaded barbell, grasping the bar, standing up with the weight, and setting it back down on the ground. It is a simple lift that is imbued with meaning: coming forward to face a challenge, and succeeding through the simple mechanism of one’s own strength.
