I’m in Nashville, a town I love dearly. I went to college here and lived here for a year after graduation and every time I come back, it seems more vibrant. You still can’t buy liquor on Sunday, as I discovered today when I tried to get a bottle of champagne to celebrate the end of CMA Music Fest with our film crew, but other than that, it’s a great place. Though it seems conservative, it has progressive pockets; you just have to look for them. Plus, it’s one of those towns that you drive five miles out of the city center and you’re in lush, verdant rolling hills.
While I’m gone from home, I’m missing Pride L.A., which is a huge gay pride celebration in Los Angeles that everyone, gay and straight, is welcome to participate in. It’s a weekend full of pageantry, pride and inclusiveness.
I wanted to combine Nashville and gay issues in today’s giving, so I picked Nashville Cares, an organization that educates the middle Tennessee community about AIDS and advocates for people and families with AIDS. Of course, AIDS is not exclusively a gay disease, by any means, but it is one of the communities most affected by the illness. According to Nashville Cares, men who had sex with men account for 44% of new HIV infections.
All of Nashville Cares services are provided free of charge and they go into nursing homes, jails and prisons; wherever they are needed, to give counseling support, provide transportation and meals, assist financially, etc.
June 9: Nashville Cares
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