Our hearts are filled with sorrow and love for the LGBT+ community in Orlando.

June is the month of Pride, and we encourage all who can to get out—see the parade, volunteer, be with your friends and family—and show your support and solidarity with Orlando. Pride Portland has events going on all this week, leading up to the parade and festival this Saturday. Details here: www.prideportland.org.

LT Staffers are keeping their eyes peeled for local memorial events, like vigils in Portland and Boston, and other ways to help.

If you, like many of us, feel compelled to do something in the face of such tragedy, here are just a few ways you can help:

• Give blood. Our local blood donation centers are here: Portland and Boston. The Red Cross and Oneblood are both great ways to find donation centers and blood drives in your area. If you donate blood and tell us about it, you can have a lifetime LibraryThing membership, on us. Just send us an email.
• Donate money. There’s a dedicated fund for Orlando victims set up by Florida’s LGBT Civil Rights organization here: https://www.gofundme.com/pulsevictimsfund. If you’d like to donate locally, we recommend for PFLAG (Boston) and Outright (Portland, Maine). Both organizations have branches around the country, as well.
• Read up. Representation in books and other media is just one part of the ongoing struggle for LGBT+ folks. Come check out two relevant LT lists, Best LGBT Fiction and Good LGBT Fiction for LGBT Folk and Friends, to add or pick up suggestions.

If you have any other ideas on ways to help, or thoughts you’d like to share, join us on Talk, or let us know in the comments.

ALA Annual

As many of you know, the American Library Association’s Annual Conference is happening later this month in Orlando. If you’re attending, we highly recommend checking out their page on Orlando Support Activities.

Further recommended reading: this statement from the chair of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Round Table at ALA.

Love is love is love.

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P.S. In honor of Orlando and Pride, we’ve updated our Twitter and Facebook logos.

Labels: events