University of Alberta Pride Week 2014
Welcome to Tony Luong's Personal Fundraising Page!

Hi, how are you? I am so glad for your interest in supporting U of A's 2014 Pride Week! (:
In the process of finding who we are and the person we want to be, it can be difficult to find our place in a society where gender is strictly defined, constructed, and maintained. Although I am biologically male, I identify as gender creative. It is this unique relationship I share with my gender that I understand how we feel internally as our gender identity, and how we express ourselves externally as our gender expression are not determined by our assigned birth sex. Therefore, I hope that we can challenge ourselves to think beyond the gender binary of male and female, and to consider a gender spectrum that has the potential to better capture and empower all the unique differences of how we feel about ourselves. I believe that the U of A's pride week is a way to celebrate who we are, recognizing that we are all worthy of love and acceptance! This is a campaign that is working towards changing our perception of what it means to be different, and that we all should be treated equally and with respect. And to me, that is really beautiful.
Ultimately, my hope is to make room for all of us, to accept that we're here, and to not change us, shame us, or hide us - and to move together towards a better world where "everyone has equal access to opportunities to develop their abilities, to work, to love, and to be themselves."

Our team has come together with a shared passion for Diversity, Accessibility, Inclusion, and Celebration. Pride Week was created by the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services and OUTreach, and is a colourful and vibrant expression of our diverse campus community. Ultimately, University of Alberta Pride Week is about engaging our campus communities to come together to collectively build and support safe, caring, and respectful campus environments for sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ*) and allied students, staff, and faculty. It is also one key way in which we help to collectively live out our campus commitment expressed in the vision of Dare to Discover, which is “to inspire the human spirit through outstanding achievements in learning, discovery, and citizenship in a creative community” and to foster “a diverse, yet inclusive, dynamic collegial community that welcomes change and seizes opportunity with passion and creativity.” Pride Week includes an eclectic array of accessible events, inclusive activities, and diverse volunteering opportunities. As well, Pride Week provides a networking framework for LGBTQ* students and allies to form lasting friendships and join supportive communities. Tweet your Pride! #UAlbertaPrideWeek

The University of Alberta Safe Spaces Climate Report (2013) report highlights the development, findings, and recommendations of the first research conducted on the campus climate for sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ) undergraduate students at the University of Alberta. The following list of quotes from students and survey stats shows the need for further outreach and visible supports, such as pride week, for sexual and gender minority students at the university of Alberta:
“It's so frustrating, feels like nobody my age gets it. It's weird how it's so acceptable to mock gay people and nobody thinks there is anything distasteful being said.”
“I can tell you from observation these are generally trying and in some cases despairingly difficult times to those who are dealing with [gender] transition.”
“It is horrible when I hear [homophobic language] and it makes me very uncomfortable and angry.”
“…this has all caused a lot of pain for me as I…have been doing so alone, in silence, never having confided in anyone. There isn't a person in the world who knows this about me [that I am gay], which means there isn't a single person in the world who really knows me.”

Wonderfully, University of Alberta Pride week is celebrted and supported by the institution's administration. This support can be summed up by this quote from our University President and Vice-Chancellor, Indira V. Samarasekera:
Pride Week, and the community that surrounds it, empowers the supportive University of Alberta community to encourage safe spaces for all students to excel in. We believe everyone at the University of Alberta deserves to be celebrated for who they are. We want this year’s Pride Week to continue to reflect our diverse campus community, and promote educational resources for all.



Thank you so much for your support, and for joining us on this incredible journey!





This is it, the final 2 days of the campaign. We're so close to the end but we still have a little more fundraising to do. As I write this, we are sitting at around 63% of our total goal. While it may seem like a long way to go in a short time, the last few days of of crowd funding is usually the most successful part of the campaign. We can still do this!!
Prideweek has been going very smoothly and has been celebrated on all parts of campus - it really is making a difference. The last couple events are (what I think) going to be a blast! These include the campus Pride Parade, the showing of Paris is Burning and the vogue workshop, the Outreach dragshow and "Ain't I a Woman: My Journey to Womanhood" by the beautiful Laverne Cox. It really is going to be a fantastic end to a fabulous week.
Once again, I am pleading with you to please help us reach our goal. If you can, please donate - even something as small as $5 adds up and goes a long way. Also, please, please, please, PLEASE share the link below with your friends, families and networks. Just take 2 minutes to shoot an email, post it on facebook or send a tweet. Together we can and will meet our goal.
Love,
Shane and the whole Prideweek team!
P.S. Here's the Link: https://ualberta.useed.net/projects/91/home
Here is the article to take a look at: http://metronews.ca/news/edmonton/954808/u-of-a-shows-its-pride-in-week-long-celebrations/
We encourage you to share this article as well as the fundraising page among all of your networks. With only 8 days in the campaign, we need to keep the ball rolling1 Together we can meet that goal!

P.S - Here is a picture of just some of the many folks on campus wearing pink shirts on Wednesday. Yeah!
The start of Pride Week 2014 means the start of a busy 10 days. There are numerous, fabulous events planned ranging from performances of the “Coming Out Monologues” to Aboriginal Student Services serving Rainbow Bannock and everything in between. Check out the Prideweek website to see a full listing of events: http://prideweek.ualberta.ca/Events
With only 10 more days of the University of Alberta’s Prideweek, it also means there are only 10 days left in our fundraising campaign, and in turn, 10 days to reach our goal . While it may seem redundant to raise money for a week that’s already here, the donations from you fine folks will be used to help make Prideweeks to become substantially more sustainable and a lot more successful. We encourage you to donate if you can and most of all, share the campaign with people you know. If everyone donates, forwards the link to people they know who may be interested and shares it on facebook or twitter, we will have no problem reaching our goal.
Together we can create build and support a safe, caring, and respectful campus environment for sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ*) and allied students, staff, and faculty.

(HUB Mall sporting rainbow colors for UAlberta Prideweek)
1. Make a Donation: Donations start at 5$ and can be as small or as large as you want them to be! Are you planning on coming to one of our free Pride Week events? Think of a 5-10$ donation as the equivalent of a ticket. By donating you help us keep our events free and accessible during future Pride Weeks!
2. Share Our Campaign: Share our campaign with your friends and family! Here's a sample email you can send (look how easy we've made it for you!).
Hi!
I recently supported a great cause, University of Alberta Pride Week, and thought you would also be interested in it.
Here's the link where you can check it out: https://ualberta.useed.net/projects/91/home/386
3. Facebook, Tweet, and Blog About Our Campaign: Reach out to your social networks! Our core fundraising team consists of 15 dedicated volunteers who have been spreading the word to our networks for the past 10 days but guess what?! You know people who we don't and the more people who know about our campaign the more likely we are to reach our goal! Consider posting our campaign to one of the social networking sites you use. Here are some sample "fill in the blank" posts you can make when you share the campaign link!
Pride Week is important because ...
I support Pride Week because ...
Join me in supporting Pride Week!
Pride means ...
I show my pride by ...
4. Give Us a Lead: Know of someone influential who you think should know about our campaign? We've done a lot of brainstorming as a team but again, you might think of someone who has slipped our minds! Get in touch with us by emailing Alexis.Hillyard@ualberta.ca so we can reach out to them.
5. All Of the Above: Want to go above and beyond? Consider supporting us in all of these ways!
THANK YOU!
I am just completely thrilled and in awe of our community for coming together in such an amazing way to support the University of Alberta Pride Week campaign. THANK YOU. We have reached 42% in just 10 days! 20 days to go - let's keep the momentum going!
Our goal this year is a mere $15,000 which will go towards both this year’s campaign while establishing a nest egg for years to come. These funds go towards a wide variety of things including but not limited to bringing fantastic presenters and speakers in, advertising for the jam packed week, raising glorious rainbow flags high above our beautiful campus, and much, much more. As you’ve probably already seen, we’ve established some milestones for those who are considering to donate to see what a difference even $5 can make. I encourage you check them out and donate.
The University of Alberta Pride Week is all about engaging the campus community to come together to develop and support a safe, caring, and respectful campus for sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ*) and allied students, staff, and faculty. I really encourage you to check out the Pride Week website to see a complete listing of the many events taking place during the week: http://prideweek.ualberta.ca/
Cheers from the Pride Week USEED Fundraising team. We look forward to an awesome ride over the next 60 days with you all.


Melissa Fabrizio

Eric Sirockman

Emily St-Aubin

Alexis Hillyard

Shane Scott

Kiana Chouinard

Connor Yuzwenko-Martin

Alannah Twin

Erin Lange

Melissa Casey

Tony Luong

Ian Armstrong

Brent Saccucci

Nick Yarmey

Sheila Graham
Andrew McCloskey
Gave $50.00
Hailey Markowski
Gave $20.00
Jennifer Duffy
Gave $50.00
Abner Brown
Gave $10.00
Simon Goyeau
Gave $30.00
Mary Yuzwenko
Gave $100.00
Rathi Kumar
Gave $10.00
David Mah Ming
Gave $155.00
David Mah Ming
Gave $100.00
David Mah Ming
Gave $100.00
LIsa Cook
Gave $25.00
Shelane Jorgenson
Gave $50.00
Melissa Casey
Gave $40.00
Sarah Stewart
Gave $50.00
Taylor Rubin
Gave $5.00
Kalyna Horocholyn
Gave $50.00
Kerstyn Lane
Gave $25.00
Wendy Doughty
Gave $250.00
Jane Banks
Gave $100.00
Renée Laporte
Gave $30.00
Nicole Sander
Gave $50.00
Emma Kartes
Gave $10.00
Doreen Logue
Gave $5.00
Jody Morrison
Gave $50.00
Michael Serpe
Gave $10.00
Billy Poon
Gave $10.00
Gerry Kendal
Gave $130.00
Tim Walsh
Gave $50.00
Connor Yuzwenko-Martin
Gave $100.00
Heike Juergens
Gave $100.00
Fern Snart
Gave $250.00
Jason Sirockman
Gave $100.00
Will Chang
Gave $10.00
JAMES WILBUR
Gave $100.00
John Andrusiak
Gave $100.00
Barbara Maywood
Gave $25.00
Melinda McNie
Gave $100.00
Crystal Snyder
Gave $25.00
Melanie Machado
Gave $10.00
Matthew Buhler
Gave $10.00
Paige Switzer
Gave $20.00
Randy Lievers
Gave $25.00
MARTIN NEON MARTIN NEON
Gave $100.00
Christie Hutchinson
Gave $50.00
Saul Ansbacher
Gave $25.00
Megan and Ana Kyriacou and Antonescu
Gave $40.00
Laurie Russell
Gave $50.00
Melissa Rodenburg
Gave $25.00
Parker Leflar
Gave $50.00
Julian Faid
Gave $50.00
Sean Mowat
Gave $50.00
Action Flooring
Gave $100.00
M. Dennis
Gave $50.00
Cathy Flood
Gave $250.00
Robert Desmarais
Gave $50.00
Sarah Treit
Gave $25.00
Carolyn Grogan
Gave $25.00
alvin schrader
Gave $100.00
Elaine Goldie
Gave $100.00
Judy Birdsell & Terry Brooker
Gave $200.00
Luanne Whitmarsh
Gave $100.00
Pat Dunnigan
Gave $100.00
Judy Lloyd
Gave $500.00
Alex Hillyard
Gave $500.00
Angela Huber
Gave $10.00
lori Christie
Gave $200.00
Laura Boisvert
Gave $25.00
Stephanie Ibach
Gave $50.00
paul armstrong
Gave $150.00
Debra Russell
Gave $25.00
Gerri Lasiuk
Gave $50.00
Petra Cegielny
Gave $40.00
Julie Couture
Gave $50.00
Lynn Hruczkowski
Gave $100.00
Geraint Osborne
Gave $25.00
Patrick and Ronan Graham
Gave $25.00
Nancy Goebel
Gave $25.00
Nancy Goebel
Gave $25.00
Lucy De Fabrizio
Gave $100.00
Leanne Wruck
Gave $50.00
Chris McTavish
Gave $10.00
Cynthia Strawson
Gave $50.00
Paige Giesinger
Gave $50.00
April Banigan
Gave $10.00
Don Yuzwenko
Gave $100.00
Shelley Klatt
Gave $50.00
Raymond Matthias
Gave $25.00
Raymond Matthias
Gave $25.00
ainsley hillyard
Gave $100.00
Alison Brooks-Starks
Gave $50.00
Kim Riley
Gave $200.00
Amy Shostak
Gave $25.00
William ("Bill") Lee
Gave $50.00
Mike Harding
Gave $50.00
Evan Will
Gave $20.00
Linda Slater
Gave $50.00
Jane Potentier
Gave $25.00
Manda Champagne
Gave $10.00
Dana Wight
Gave $50.00
Lyle Watling
Gave $100.00
Kristopher Wells
Gave $100.00
julea and len boswell st-aubin
Gave $50.00
Karsten Mundel
Gave $100.00
Doreen Logue
Gave $100.00
Chris Daberer
Gave $100.00
tanya kaye adler
Gave $25.00
Trevor Buckle
Gave $25.00
Robert Ford
Gave $100.00
Andre Grace
Gave $250.00
Cristine Myhre
Gave $100.00
Margot Burstow
Gave $25.00
Amber Nicholson
Gave $40.00
Carla Dupras
Gave $50.00
Jodie Lightfoot
Gave $50.00
Scott Leithead
Gave $50.00
Sheila Graham
Gave $25.00
Emma Wilkins
Gave $50.00
Lindsay LeBlanc
Gave $100.00
Susan McNeill-Bindon
Gave $100.00
Winnie Vanderkloor
Gave $10.00
Alison and Jeff Thompson
Gave $100.00
Gerry Kendal
Gave $100.00
Paul Blinov
Gave $50.00
Stephanie Hartwig
Gave $25.00
Rhys Brooker
Gave $100.00
Wade Kelly
Gave $30.00
Tyler Bindon
Gave $50.00
Katherine Binhammer
Gave $50.00
Robert Moyles
Gave $25.00
Gregory Ash
Gave $25.00
Sean Mowat
Gave $50.00
Matthew Racz
Gave $25.00
23 supporters have chosen not to be listed for "University of Alberta Pride Week 2014 ".
Make an Impact
Advertise Us!
Give $5
Help us raise awareness of the awesome events we’re hosting throughout UofA Pride Week. $5 covers the cost of printing 5 colored posters or one lawn sign!
Wave to Us!
Give $10
Provide 20 rainbow flags so UofA community members can ‘wave’ their pride during the Pride Parade!
Celebrate Us!
Give $25
Help provide Pink T-Shirts for students to wear on Pink T-Shirt Day!
Feed Us!
Give $50
Help us provide gluten free and vegan food options at our events. This helps keep our events accessible for people who have dietary restrictions.
Raise Us!
Give $100
Help us be visible to every student and staff at the UofA by supporting a Pride Week flag-banner!
Speak to Us!
Give $250
Help support speaker honouraria and room bookings for the Coming Out Monologues, Intersectionality Series, and other key events!
Include Us!
Give $500
Supply ASL interpretive and CART (closed captioning) services at an event to ensure we make our events as accessible as possible!