Gaga for HomelessYouth

It's hard to believe it's only been a year since Lady Gaga's first album came out; she has so quickly become an ubiquitous presence in pop culture.  My partner and I went to her concert in Los Angeles on Tuesday night and had a blast.  It's the first concert I've been to in decades. 

I love her music and videos, but I also appreciate that she's already using her fame as a platform for worthy causes...  from appearing at the National Equality March this past fall, to speaking out about homophobia.

This video clip played before her show.

She's teaming up with Virgin Mobile's RE*Generation program to help homeless youth. It's a fact that homophobia is a leading cause of domestic violence, with at least 20% of all homeless youth identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.  Not sure why they call us a threat to the "traditional family" when it's overwhelmingly the conservative hyper-religious types that are kicking their own children to the gutter.

I think about the millions of dollars we spend fighting for the equal rights and protections guaranteed by our constitution and wonder how much better that money could be spent in our own communities.  The Mormon and Catholic churches raise millions to support hate groups like NOM.  Really?  That's the best use of their time and effort when there is so much misery and hunger in the world?  Really?

Check out the website I linked above.  There are lots of ways to help by donating money or volunteering your time and energy.  One really quick and effortless way is to just send a $5 text message donation. See below for instructions.

Text2Donate

You don't have to be a Virgin Mobile customer to give back. Make a donation by texting the word FREEFEST to 85944 and a one-time donation of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. (Remember to reply "YES" to the confirmation sms).

Standard messaging rates and additional fees may apply with Txt2Donate. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donations are collected for the benefit of Virgin Unite by the Mobile Giving Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.hmgf.org/t. Virgin Unite will use $0.50 of your donation to cover administrative costs and the rest will go to The RE*Generation. You can unsubscribe at any time by texting STOP to 85944.

Merry Christmas everyone.