I won’t be at PASS Summit this year, so unlike last year, I won’t be organizing an LGBTQ Meetup at PASS Summit. I’m hoping that even without the meetup, all my LGBTQ #SQLFamily friends will still get together for some fun and networking.
Keep scrolling down for a full list of all the LGBTQ happenings at Summit in Seattle. But first, lets talk about my fundraising page.
Fundraising for Trevor Project
I’m writing this post, just at the end of National Suicide Prevention Month, and just a couple of weeks before National Coming Out Day on October, 11. Homophobia thrives in an atmosphere of silence and ignorance. Once people know that they have LGBTQ loved ones, they are far less likely to maintain homophobic, hateful, or oppressive views. I came out in 2003, and vowed to always be supportive of others in the LGBTQ community throughout their journey. One way that I do that is through my annual fundraiser for The Trevor Project.
The Trevor Project provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people. Not everyone who contacts The Trevor Project is suicidal. Their mission also extends to life-affirming resources, education, and advocacy For US youth between the ages of 10 and 24, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death nationwide. Please donate on my fundraising page, and help The Trevor Project continue their work helping these at-risk young people.
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of meeting with The Trevor Project, and learning more about them including the technology that supports their programs. In the past year, Trevor has…
- Scaled up their TrevorText and TrevorChat services to be 24/7 in order to serve more LGBTQ youth where they are most comfortable.
- Offered a safe, affirming online community to 175,000 young people via TrevorSpace.
- Hired a full-time product manager for TrevorSpace, Mani Cavalieri–a former database architect with years of experience as an active member, top user, and moderator on multiple online communities.
- Implemented a completely new analytics platform to track the impact of TrevorSpace.
- Deepened the connection between TrevorSpace and crisis services so that TrevorSpace users in crisis can access Lifeline, Chat, and Text as easily as possible.
- Continued their campaign to end conversion therapy in every US State, and around the world.
Last Year’s fundraiser raised over $15,000 to support Trevor. Let’s try to do it again this year. Please donate, and don’t forget to ask your employer about their matching program!
UPDATE: Rune Ovlien Rakeie (twitter) has created a T-Shirt design, with proceeds going to this fundraiser!
Unofficial Queer Guide to PASS Summit
If you’re going to be in Seattle for PASS Summit, and want to have a gay old time, there’s plenty to do, both with and without your conference-going friends.
- Use the #LGBT channel on SQL Slack to find other LGBT friends at the conference, and meet up.
- Follow @QueeryTSQLRex on Twitter. If you’re having a little LGBTQ meetup, tag Queery–they’ll be RT’ing a bunch of tweets!
- Go to the Birds of a Feather Lunch on Wednesday, Thursday, and/or Friday and hang out at the LGBTQ table.
- Attend the Women in Tech(WIT) Luncheon and WIT Happy Hour, and support Diversity in Tech. (No, you don’t have to be a woman to go!)
- Walk up Pike Street from the Convention Center (up the hill, headed away from Pike Place Market), and you’re quickly in Capitol Hill, Seattle’s gayborhood.
- Capitol Hill is full of gay bars. Queer/Bar has the best fried chicken sandwich in Seattle, and pre-con attendees will love Monday Night’s Queeraoke. Leathermen will love The Eagle. C.C. Attle’s is a laid back neighborhood bar.
- There’s nothing queer about Dino’s Pizza, but it is the best pizza in town. (And the best website, too!)
Let me or Queery know if there’s anything else happening at Summit that the LGBTQ Data Community might be interested in hearing about! Oh, and did I mention that you could donate to The Trevor Project?