ACLU of Florida Creates John C. Graves Gay Rights Fellowship with,Grant from Community Foundation of Broward
Tom Dempsey
Grant from Community Foundation of Broward
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Contact:
Alessandra Soler Meetze at 305-576-2337 ext. 16
MIAMI – Thanks in-part to a $50,000 grant from the Community
Foundation of Broward, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
of Florida today announced that it has created the John C. Graves
Fellowship to advance gay and lesbian rights, and hired attorney
Robert Rosenwald Jr. to lead the group's statewide efforts to combat
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
"With this generous grant, the Community Foundation of Broward has
shown its commitment to safeguarding equality for all people," said
Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida. "The ACLU
sincerely thanks the Foundation for helping the ACLU advance its
work on behalf of the gay and lesbian community."
The fellowship was made possible thanks to the John C. Graves
Charitable Fund, which was established by Dr. John C. Graves, who
died in 2003. Dr. Graves was a beloved supporter of civil liberties
and the gay community in Broward County.
The ACLU Foundation of Florida used the generous contribution from
the Community Foundation of Broward to award the first John C.
Graves Fellowship to Rosenwald, who has been in private law practice
in Miami since 1998. He is a 1997 graduate of the University of
Pittsburg Law School, and clerked from the legendary former U.S.
District Judge C. Clyde Atkins.
During the one-year fellowship, the Graves Fellow will focus on a
variety of public policy issues that impact the gay community,
including the anti-gay initiative threatening protections for the
families of same-sex couples, as well as discrimination in Florida's
adoption policies, and discrimination and harassment against gay
youth, especially in public schools.
Throughout the year, the Community Foundation of Broward awards
grants from more than 350 family Funds established by donors who
support a wide range of causes. Distributions are based on donor
interest and a competitive process designed to fulfill needs and
address issues of an ever-changing Broward County. Grantmaking focus
areas include youth/family, foster care transition, civic
empowerment and health/wellness, while countless other areas of
interest are supported as well.
The Community Foundation of Broward helps donors become
philanthropists by connecting them to causes they care about so they
can make a difference through strategic giving. A public
organization with more than $60 million in assets, it has allocated
$25 million to the community in its 21-year history. As a community
foundation, it changes lives across Broward County every day – from
those who wish to enhance the impact of their gifts to those who are
in need. Click here for more information on the Community Foundation
of Broward.
Through litigation, public education and lobbying, the ACLU of
Florida advocates for fairness and equality for all. Working with
the National ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, the organization
challenged Florida's discriminatory ban on gay adoptions. The ACLU
of Florida joined other gay rights organizations in defeating
efforts to repeal an ordinance in Miami-Dade County that protected
people from discrimination based on sexual orientation, and also
lobbied for laws that prohibited discrimination based on sexual
orientation in Orlando, Sarasota, and St. Petersburg. The
organization also went to court to help defend the City of
Gainesville's domestic partner arrangement for city employees from
legal challenge.