Annual Report 2015
the samara fund at the
Vermont Community
Foundation
Supporting Vermont’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Allied Communities
Pride Center of Vermont’s 2014 Pride Festival, Burlington
Honoring Our History, Moving Forward Together Since joining the Vermont Community Foundation in 2011, the Samara Fund has awarded over $200,000 in grants and scholarships, growing every year. With a record high $72,506 awarded in 2015, Samara’s goal is to award at least $100,000 each year by 2017.
Despite our gains, the need is as strong as ever. Excellent work is being done and the Samara Fund helps make it happen. Please contribute today.
Cherie Tartt and Yolanda, hosts of a popular public access live call-in and variety show on VCAM that aired in the late 1990s and early 2000s, reunited in 2015 at the 20th Annual Winter is a Drag Ball to film one more live episode. Two of the most visible grassroots LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS activists during the “Take Back Vermont” era, Cherie and Yolanda played an important role in the history of Vermont’s struggle for LGBTQ rights. A $2,500 grant will support digitizing all episodes of this groundbreaking TV show, currently available only on VHS tapes.
2015 Samara Grant Awards and Scholarships We awarded $60,506 in grants to 16 LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS organizations and projects across Vermont. Chandler Center for the Arts – Randolph – $4,000 for the Chandler Pride Theater Festival. Common Ground Center – Starksboro – $5,400 for Camp Outright, a summer camp for queer youth. Green Mountain College – Poultney – $3,000 for a web-based telenovella-style mini-series by and for LGBTQ college students. Green Mountain Crossroads – Brattleboro – $5,000 for community building in Windham County. Lamoille Union High School – Hyde Park – $250 for hosting the 2015 Annual QSA Summit. Outright Vermont – Burlington – $5,900 for queer youth leadership programs statewide. Pride Center of Vermont – Burlington – $8,400 for the annual Vermont Pride Festival and “Coming Out Later in Life” events for people over 50. Richford School District – Richford – $1,000 for a new queer-straight alliance for grades 7-12. Rivendell Interstate School District – Orford, NH – $556 to add LGBTQ literature to the Academy’s library. Vermont Performance Lab – Guilford – $5,000 for a residency with queer performance artist Ain Gordon.
Continuing our partnership with the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, we awarded six $2,000 scholarships to exceptional LGBTQ and Allied student leaders. Kalob Daniel Gabree, Fairfield, will attend Johnson State College. As President of GLOW (Gay, Lesbian, or Whatever), Kalob helped to create an anti-bullying campaign on campus. Lilith C. Dyke Gragg, Chester, will attend Smith College. The leader of CIRCLE (her school’s GSA), Lilith has been “the first to speak out when an issue arises, not to scold but to educate.” Mariah C. Holroyd, Hartford, will attend Johnson State College. As President of Rainbow Squad, Mariah “chooses to find ways to allow others the opportunity to lead projects.” Tia Hunt, Addison, will attend Northeastern University. At her school’s Peace One Day celebration, Tia courageously spoke about her experiences as an out gay female in her rural school. Alexia Long, Burlington, will attend Boston University. Alexia helped create Outright’s Peer Education Program, training students to speak at middle schools on being an ally against bullying. Kyle Shekinah-Roark, South Royalton, will attend Pratt Institute. In a school presentation, Kyle talked about how he had always known in his heart he was male, helping his high school to better understand transgender issues.
Better Together The Samara Fund is grateful for the support of all our donors, including the following people who made gifts in 2014. The Samara Fund Donors Anonymous (4)
Mary Loney & Linda Hollingdale
Robert C. Aldrich & Kenneth G. Kornfield
Anita M. Long
Joe Bertolino Molly Bidwell & Susan Klaiber Joseph A. Boisse & David L. Williams
Jason P. Lorber Pamela Macy Carol Maloney Lawrence T. & Sheila R. Markin
Naomi Bossom
Mary W. Mathias
John P. Bouffard
James Mcfadden
John Byer & Mac Lippert
Allan Michaud & Stephen Booth
Steven A. Cadwell
Francesca G. Moravcsik
Joan Carson
Donald L. Morrison
Concept2, Inc.
Laura Moskowitz
John G. Crane & David L. Chambers
Carmen Murray
Grant Crichfield
Jeffrey A. Nelson & Paul Mahan
Jeanie Crosby & Cynthia Baldwin
Laura Nowak
Daniel Drish & Ron Lenker Russell M. Fellows & Bob Coates
Meg H. O’Donnell & Patricia Orr
Gay & Lesbian Fund of Vermont
Brooke Pearson
Judy Geer & Dick Dreissigacker
Physician’s Computer Company
The landmark Henry Sheldon Museum Exhibit
The Gilmour-Jirgens Fund
David G. Rahr
Peter Gould
In 1804, more than two centuries before the Supreme Court’s historic ruling on same-sex marriage, one couple, Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, built a little house together in Weybridge, Vermont and opened their own tailoring business. This action marked the beginning of what many of Charity and Sylvia’s neighbors would come to see and respect as a 40-year marriage between the two women.
Mariel Hess
Mary Alice Schatzle & Glendowlyn Howard
Charity & Sylvia
Last November, the Samara Fund contributed $1,500 to the Henry Sheldon Museum in Middlebury to put on an exhibit and related events commemorating the untraditional lives of these women. The exhibit, on view from November through January, displayed Sylvia and Charity’s letters, love poems, and the striking image above of the two women’s silhouettes framed by their braided hair. Charity and Sylvia were buried together in the Weybridge Cemetery; the joint headstone commemorating their relationship can be seen there to this day.
Harry & Theo Howe Raymond Huessy James J. & Mary K. Hunter Gale S. Hurd Indian Tree Charitable Fund Jamie Kanzler Memorial Fund Christopher Janeway Thomas P. & Ina Smith Johnson Rona Klein Kathy Lacroix
Pamela Myers & Ruth Dickey
Harry S. Scott Jayne Sheridan & Stevie Spaulding Leigh Steele & Joannie Wales Maida F. Townsend Upstairs Antiques Bruce T. & Lillian H. Venner Vermont Gynecology PC John S. Walters & Dr. A. Evan Eyler Fay H. Weber David & Margot Wizansky
Denise E. LaPre
Richard M. Wizansky & Todd W. Mandell, MD
Estate of Mary Alice Lippert
Ken Wolvington
Robert N. & Dency A. Lippert
Darlene Young & Jerome E. Andrews, III
Andrea Livermore
The Samara Fund Advisory Committee Dr. Joseph Bertolino, Ph.D. of Lyndon* John Byer of Jericho Dr. A. Evan Eyler, M.D. of Montpelier Emily Hawes of Montpelier Carol Maloney of Middlesex (Chair) Brooke Pearson of Montpelier* Lydia Winter of North Bennington Richard Wizansky of Guilford *completed their service in the past year
25 Years of Caring & Advocacy
Contact Us
Four Vermont organizations have served those affected by HIV/AIDS since the 1980s. Vermont People With AIDS Coalition, the youngest of the four organizations, observes its 25th anniversary this year. We applaud these organizations’ commitment and longevity. AIDS Project of Southern Vermont received $5,000 to support their work in Windham and Bennington Counties. Founded in 1988, direct services have morphed from mostly end-of-life care to case management for people living with HIV. HIV/HCV Resource Center received $3,000 for services in Orange and Windsor Counties. Founded 26 years ago by volunteers who wanted to help their friends who were sick and dying, the organization expanded their mission to include people affected by the Hepatitis C Virus and opened a syringe exchange in 2006. Vermont CARES received $5,000 to provide services to ten counties in Northern and Central Vermont. The organization, founded in 1986, launched a new campaign, “Getting Vermont to Zero,” on National HIV Testing Day in 2015. The campaign seeks to end new infections in Vermont by 2020. Vermont People With AIDS Coalition received $5,000 for statewide programming including their 25th annual educational retreat. Made up of peers living with HIV/AIDS, the Coalition seeks to improve quality of life through mutual support and by serving as a unified voice for the HIV positive community.
the samara fund at the
Vermont Community
Foundation
samarafund@vermontcf.org 802-388-3355 ext.295 www.vermontcf.org/samara
Photo Credit David Garten, cover photo Bill Simmon, p.2 Henry Sheldon Museum Collection, p.3 Roy Belcher, back cover