In the past two years, Rainbow Rumpus has become the most prolific publisher of LGBT-family fiction worldwide. In two months we’ll begin a pilot project with school and public libraries. This project will bring our site and stories to more children, letting them know that there are many families with gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender parents. Kids and young adults from these different family types will be speaking about their families on the site, building a community with each other, and getting the opportunity to tell folks who don’t know much about LGBT families what they’d like them to know. Brief, fun interviews are in this month’s Kids section. Interviews and youth voices will play a larger and larger role on the site in the coming year.
I’m sure you’ve noticed how much bigger and more exciting the Parents, Teachers, and Friends section has become in the last two months, thanks to the direction of Editor Alison Walkley. It’s wonderful to see conversations about the laws and policies affecting LGBT families become international in scope. We have much to learn from each other. Our young adult section is also expanding under the direction of Erica Schwanke and will continue to grow in the coming year.
It’s volunteers like Erica and Alison who pull together all of the content you see on the site. I’d like to welcome Karl Smith, from Liberia, who is the newest member of our rapidly growing web team. We’ve updated the list of our volunteer staff. You can see their pictures and read their bios on our “Meet the Staff” page. You can also see an updated list of our board members on our “Meet the Board of Directors” page.
One of the things I remember from when my kids were two was our utterly predictable morning and midday routine: breakfast, dog walk, play group, lunch, and nap. Turning two at Rainbow Rumpus has meant solidifying our editorial and administrative routines so that we can continue to publish great fiction, expand its readership, and keep bringing forth the voices of youth with LGBT parents.
As I write this, our site visits are averaging 290 a day. More and more of you are joining us as donors, and we are receiving increased support from corporate sponsors and foundations. I would particularly like to thank those of you who have been giving yearly since our inception and those of you who are making recurring monthly or quarterly donations. This kind of sustained giving provides a base we can count on and reduces our administrative costs. I’d also like to thank the corporate sponsors who have provided multiyear support: Brian Severts, Twin Cities realtor, and Fair Hills Resort. Great appreciation also goes to the Philanthrofund Foundation, whose support has enabled us to connect with many youth in the upper Midwest and build our capacity. Many thanks go to our wonderful home state, Minnesota, whose legislature provides funding for the arts, some of which has come to us through grants from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council.
Thanks for being one of our readers, and for all you do to support the voices of youth with LGBT parents.
