Pictured: Jane Daroff, LISW and Jes Sellers, Ph.D., founding members PFLAG Cleveland

PFLAG Cleveland celebrated our 25th anniversary and honored our founding members, Jane Daroff and Jes Sellers, at a garden party on Sunday August 22nd. Nearly 100 people enjoyed the beautiful home and gardens, and a delicious buffet provided by two longtime PFLAG supporters, Ernie Cahoon and Jane Rosenberg. David Horowitz, Vice-president, PFLAG National Board of Directors, presented plaques and congratulatory letters to Jane and Jes, and to chapter president, Sharon Groh-Wargo. The event energized everyone there to contribute to the PFLAG mission of support, education and advocacy.

Please view photo highlights from our Anniversary Party here. Photography by Mark Podulka, Your Photo Here, LLC.

Sharon Groh-Wargo
President, PFLAG Cleveland

Join PFLAG Cleveland for Stonewall Uprising at CMA!
Wednesday, October 13th at 7pm.
Email or call Alan Cohen for reduced price tickets:
amcohen@firstlocal.net
216 321-8452
More information coming soon.
http://www.clevelandart.org/calendar.aspx?eventtype=films

The Northeast Ohio PFLAG newsletter is a joint publication of both the Cleveland and Akron PFLAG Chapters. The newsletter is released monthly and contains updates on the latest news affecting LGBT people and their families as well as information on various PFLAG and LGBT-related events which are up and coming!

View our JULY/AUGUST NEWSLETTER.

You can also view our archived newsletters below. Some newsletters are large, so be patient!

Save the Date!
Monday, December 13th, 2010 at Landerhaven
More information coming!

Tuesday, September 14th at 7:30pm
Trinity Commons
22nd and Prospect, Cleveland

"Out in the Silence" Film will be shown as the educational option this evening. Discussion to follow.
For more information about the film, click here:

http://wpsu.org/outinthesilence

PFLAG Cleveland will host its June support group meeting Tuesday, June 8th at 7:30pm in Trinity Cathedral (E22nd St and Euclid Ave). Free, lighted, secure parking is available at the Prospect Ave entrance to Trinity Commons.

In addition to our regular support group meeting PFLAG Cleveland is offering an educational option titled "Protecting our community: Legal Issues in the LGBT Community" to be led by Maria Shinn, J.D. ( Juris Doctor). If you are interested in this educational option, please meet in the support group meeting room as usual and travel with Maria Shinn and PFLAG leaders to Room #5 in Trinity. Room #5 has a capacity of about 20 people.

Ann and Ed Hoenigman for their education about and advocacy of LGBTQ high school students in the Cleveland Catholic High schools.
http://www.fortunatefamilies.com/Newsletters/Aug2009Newsletter.pdf

John Carroll University Allies for their advocacy for LGBTQ inclusion in the university's anti-bias policy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc3ergeeZok

Please join us for our ANNUAL PRIDE Brunch.
Saturday, June 26th at 10am
Old Stone Church
91 Public Square
Cleveland

Free and open to our allies!

PRIDE Parade steps off at 12 noon.

Cleveland PFLAG is sponsoring a tour of the Cleveland Museum of Art, http://www.clevelandart.org/, on Wednesday, May 26.  Please meet on the UPPER LEVEL LOBBY at the INFORMATION DESK at 5:30 p. m.  The tour will start promptly at 6:00 p. m.

The one-hour tour will be led by a docent who will concentrate on the LBGT connection to the museum's collection.  Also, see recent renovations made to the museum.  The tour is free of charge, however, parking in the museum garage, which is located off Jeptha Drive on the northwest corner of the museum's campus is $5.00 after 5:00 p. m.  Street parking may be available. 

Dinner is on your own at Primo Vino Restaurant, 12511 Mayfield Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44106.1931, 216.229.3334.  The restaurant is located on the lower level, and is one flight of stairs down.  This is in the nearby Little Italy neighborhood.

PLEASE R.S.V.P. to Tom Roese, treehse440@yahoo.com by 24 May, as space is LIMITED to 30 PARTICIPANTS.

Oberlin College’s Theater and Dance Program will host a benefit performance of Jonathan Harvey’s "Beautiful Thing" in support of Cleveland PFLAG on April 23 at 8:00 p.m. at Hall Auditorium.  A portion of the tickets for that evening’s performance will be held in reserve for members of PFLAG as the special price of $5/adults, with free admission for high school students.  Following the performance, the cast and audience are invited to participate in a discussion about the play, followed by an informal reception with light refreshments.  Throughout the run of the play (April 21-24) the cast will solicit donations to be given to a few nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving the quality of life for members of the LGBTQ community, including Cleveland PFLAG.

"Beautiful Thing" is a hilarious urban fairy tale that tells the story of Jamie and Ste (short for  Steve), teenage boys and neighbors in a working class housing project in south London. Over the course of one long, hot summer, the nature of their relationship begins to change from friendly to romantic, much to the surprise of the boys and their family and friends. It’s an endearing comedy about a boy who falls in love for the boy next door. "Beautiful Thing" speaks directly to the nature of love, life, and what it means to be a gay/questioning teenager in today’s world.

For ticket information to the benefit performance (or any performance),call the Oberlin Central Ticket Service at 440-775-8169. Be sure to tell the agent you’re with the PFLAG group, so that you receive the special discount or free admission.

Saturday, May 1, 2010, 8:30am The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum
The Diversity Center Annual Walk, Rock & Run
3 mile walk or 5K run
Registration and info at:
http://www.diversitycenterneo.org/walkandrock.asp

Important Information for LGBT People

http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/pdf/LGBTFactSheet.pdf

www.census2010.gov

Trinity Cathedral
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Preaching at 9am and 11:15am
The Dean's Forum at 10:10am

Harry Knox is the director of the Human Rights Campaign's Religion and Faith Program.
http://www.trinitycleveland.org/index.php

Trinity Cathedral
Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 7:30pm
"Why I, A Citizen of the 21st Century, Believe in Life Beyond Death"
http://www.trinitycleveland.org/index.php

Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C ®) Metropolitan and Eastern Campus Theatre Departments will present “The Laramie Project,” a compelling play about life in a small town after the horrific murder of a gay University of Wyoming student. In October 1998, 21-year-old Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, severely beaten and left to die, tied to a fence in the middle of a prairie outside of Laramie, Wyo. “The Laramie Project” is one of the most performed plays in America today.

http://www.tri-c.edu/events/pages/laramie219.aspx

Please call Trinity at 216 771-3630 to find out if PFLAG Support Group has been cancelled due to weather conditions. If events have been cancelled at Trinity, PFLAG meeting is cancelled.

Hello PFLAG members,
We are all deeply saddened by the loss of longtime PFLAG Cleveland member, Margot Cohen.  Margot was a tireless advocate for PFLAG's mission and an active Advisory Board member.  She was an ardent supporter of the arts.  Margot loved to attend the plays and films that PFLAG sponsored.  She was also a primary contributor to the annual brunch sponsored by PFLAG Cleveland at PRIDE. Margot's cheerful attitude and easy smile brought joy to everyone around her.  She will be greatly missed.

We grieve with Alan, their children and their extended family and friends.

A memorial service will be held Saturday (tomorrow) 1/30 at 1:00 PM at the Shaker Nature Center. I have received several requests for Alan's address (see below). Requests for more
Information can be made through mail@pflagcleveland.org.

Kindly
Sharon

A group of PFLAG Cleveland support group members and their guests are shown here enjoying a dinner at a local Cleveland restaurant, Latitude 41, before they attended a showing of the first run film “A Single Man.”  It is a film based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood about an emotionally wrenching day in the life of a 1960’s homosexual college professor. The movie was showing at the newly renovated Capitol Theater located right around the corner from the Cleveland LGBT Center and was the first gathering of what is hoped to be several social gatherings throughout the year trying to establish an alternative for members outside of the support group setting in order to keep members involved and connected.  Keep your eyes on the website and e-mails for notices of future events of this type in the coming months.

Please join us for the official public launch of the Ohio Department of Health’s “ButtOut Ohio” program, to educate and inform LGBT youth about tobacco use and resources for quitting.

The launch will take place on Wednesday, January 13, at 11:30 a.m. at John Marshall High School, home to one of the nation’s largest Gay-Straight Alliance groups, with more than 100 members.  We will be proud to have in attendance representatives from the City of Cleveland, the City of Cleveland Heights and a range of other LGBT community and health organizations, showing their support for the need to reduce tobacco use and smoking among LGBT youth.

John Marshall High School is located at:
3952 West 140th Street
Cleveland, OH 44111-4998
(Parking access off Viola Ave.)

To RSVP or for questions, please contact project coordinator Jonah Weinberg at jonahbw@gmail.com or via telephone at (619) 846-9733.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you at this exciting event.

Graduating high school seniors:
Check out the PFLAG National Scholarship link!

http://community.pflag.org/scholarships

PFLAG Cleveland members and friends enjoyed a delicious lunch and seasonal program at beautiful Landerhaven on Monday December 8th.  Executive Caterers generously underwrites this yearly event.  All proceeds from tickets purchased for the PFLAG table come directly back to us.  Great fun and our largest fund raiser for the year.  Thanks for all you attended or purchased a ticket.  Look for Phil~an~thro~pi~a  next year when PFLAG Cleveland turns 25!

Sharon Groh-Wargo
President, PFLAG Cleveland

Show your support in Cleveland's bid for the 2014 Gay Games! Cleveland is one of three finalists bidding for the games! PFLAG will be in attendance. Please come and wear your PFLAG t-shirts!!

Dear Friends,

Sanford Asch, husband to Carolyn Asch and the father of Bob and his sister Terry Asch, died Tuesday morning. He was 91 years old. Sanford Asch was a long-time member of PFLAG Cleveland and he will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Asch family.

Please send your condolences to Bob Asch: itsabouttimein2004@hotmail.com

Thank you for supporting PFLAG Cleveland at Cleveland Pride 2009

If you are a long-time supporter or first-time visitor of PFLAG Cleveland, thank you for attending our brunch honoring Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman, thank you for marching with us and showing your solidarity, and thank you for visiting our booth at the Cleveland Pride Festival.

If this is the first time you've visited our website after reading our literature at Pride, please browse our website and learn about the services we offer and explore our online resources. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please e-mail us at mail@pflagcleveland.org.

Thanks again!

PFLAG CLEVELAND
invites you to their annual pre-parade
PRIDE BRUNCH

== FREE AND OPEN TO ALL OUR ALLIES ==

June 20, 2009 @ 10:30am
at the Old Stone Church, 91 Public Square, Cleveland
(use Ontario Street entrance)

The 2009 Bruce G. Kriete Community Award of PFLAG Cleveland recognizes
Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman
whose extraordinary leadership helped pass the Cleveland Domestic Partnership Registry of 2008.

While PFLAG Cleveland can not and will not endorse any political candidate for public office, we will, when warranted, recognize the efforts of an elected official who courageously supports the civil rights of our LGBT community.

Thank You Fat Fish Blue for contributing food to PFLAG Cleveland's Brunch.

E-mail mail@pflagcleveland.org for more information.

State PFLAG Meeting ~ Spring 2009

Approximately forty dedicated PFLAG chapter leaders and members from around the state of Ohio bucked the urge to get out into the beautiful spring weather and attended the annual Ohio State meeting for PFLAG on Saturday, April 25 @ Trinity Cathedral in downtown Cleveland.  Chapters from throughout the state including Alliance, Akron, Youngstown/Warren, Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton arrived for the day and were welcomed by PFLAG Cleveland’s founder and support group co-facilitator, Jane Daroff with her compelling story of how she came to found the Cleveland chapter at the urging of her gay son.  PFLAG Cleveland President Sharon Groh-Wargo and her board had assembled an impressive slate of speakers for the event that started out with Patrick Shepherd, Associate Director of the Cleveland Film Society which had just presented the Cleveland International Film Festival, the largest film festival in the country between New York and Chicago. He spoke to the group about how MTV, HBO specials, and film along with a supportive family and friends helped his coming out process in the 80’s.  With this in mind he showed the group how film could be used as a “change agent” in society and for PFLAG chapters in their mission to educate by showing a short in this year’s festival, “Second Guessing Grandma.”

Tami Brown, Vice President in Marketing and Communications at Positively Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau also spoke to the group about the her work on the LGBT Visitor’s Guide and website, an initiative pioneered by her group and the first of its kind in the state.  This work had earned them the PFLAG Cleveland Bruce G. Kriete Community Award of 2007.  The Guide focuses on the needs of the LGBT traveler and noted gay friendly businesses useful to tourists.  She also spoke about her department’s involvement on bringing the Gay Games to the area in 2014.

After Ms. Brown’s presentation, an emotionally charged session was presented by Mary Lou Wallner and her husband Bob about their journey after the suicide of her lesbian daughter, Anna.  Following her death, the couple had to reconcile their condemnation of her homosexuality that was based in their church and its interpretation of the Bible.  They founded “TEACH” (To Educate About the Consequence of Homophobia) Ministries and have worked with many pro-LGBT groups such as SOULFORCE to present her life-changing story.  It was spotlighted in the 2007 Sundance film festival Grand Jury award winner, “For The Bible Tells Me So,” a movie which chronicles several individual and family experiences with their sexual orientation and the church’s teachings and also in the November 2007 issue of PEOPLE magazine.

Brooke Smith, National PFLAG Field and Policy Coordinator, rounded out the program with a workshop on chapter financials despite fighting an awful cold.  All the chapters shared their current projects in their communities such as scholarships, fundraising events and of course the PRIDE celebrations in the upcoming month of June. Overall it was an enjoyable and moving day disguised as a meeting!

Submitted by,
Pat Brandt
PFLAG Cleveland Newsletter Editor

PFLAG Cleveland gratefully acknowledges the generous gift by Tim Leiden and Robert Dubbs which makes PFLAG sponsorship of a film and reception at the annual Cleveland International Film Festival possible.

Please click on the Events tab more information.

2008 - Senator Dale Miller Ohio 23rd District

Previous Awardees:
2007 - Convention & Visitors Bureau Of Greater Cleveland
2006 - Dick Feagler, Plain Dealer Columnist