The Greater San Diego Business Association, the Gay and Lesbian Times and the Imperial Court de San Diego have teamed up to raise funds for the GLBT community’s fire victims. Community mambers are asked to donate $10, or gift cards to Target, Ikea or Home Depot to GLBT familes in need. The funds will benefit GLBT families recovering from the October wildfires, as well as the Center for Social Advocacy, which provides housing for the fire victims. For more information, contact Todd at 619-331-7111 or e-mail him at toddk@uptownpub.com.

A San Diego City College and Mesa College student has restarted GLBT student organizations on both campuses. Jason Frye, who currently takes classes at both colleges, said he’s met many students interested in joining GLBT campus groups.

Years after the Queer Student Coalition at Mesa and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Student Union at City stopped meeting, Frye decided it was time to reinstate the clubs on both campuses.

At Mesa, Frye and a committee have started the San Diego Mesa Alternative Lifestyles (ALL) organization, a group that plans to meet Tuesdays at 4 p.m. in Mesa College room D-107.

The LGBTSU at San Diego City will continue under the same, and meet every Wednesday at 4 p.m. in San Diego City College room D-102.

For more information about the Mesa organization, e-mail gaymesa@gmail.com.

For more information about the City organization, e-mail citylgbtsu@gmail.com.

Both groups plan to increase awareness of the GLBT community on the campuses, hold social and educational events and promote other initiatives. All Mesa and City college students are welcome to join.

Sundance Film Festival awardee and Academy Award nominee FREEHELD will screen at the Birch North Park Theatre on Saturday, March 29.

Presented by Sun & Moon Vision Productions and the San Diego Indie Music Fest, FREEHELD has won prizes at 12 independent film fests from coast to coast and is one of many independent films screening from noon to 9 p.m. at Sun & Moon Vision Production’s Indie Film Stage during the San Diego Indie Music Fest.

FREEHELD, a new film by Cynthia Wade of Lieutenant Films, chronicles the final weeks of the life of Lt. Laurel Hester, an investigator for the Ocean County, N.J., Prosecutor’s Office, who is trying to secure benefits for her partner.

For the complete film line-up and screening times visit www.sunandmoonvision.org/events.html or call 760-735-8300. For tickets and information about San Diego Indie Music Fest visit www.sdindiemusicfest.com or 1-800-486-9957.

The San Diego LGBT Community Center is working in partnership with the Equality for All campaign and community support is needed. Well-funded anti-GLBT organizations are paying people to gather signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the November 2008 ballot that would ban same-sex marriage.

In response, the Equality for All campaign has launched a statewide effort to encourage Californians not to sign the petition.

According to the organizations, there are many ways residents can help. Individuals may volunteer to help educate shoppers. The Center will be training and sending volunteers to store locations where petitions are being circulated. Volunteers will not be engaging or discussing the petitions with the paid or volunteer gatherers. Instead, volunteers will talk to shoppers about why they may want to decline to sign.

Individuals are also needed to help track petitions. In order to track the activities and assess the size/funding of the proponents of the amendment, people are asked to be on the look out for people gathering signatures, and report back to The Center.

To report petition gathering sites, for more information or to volunteer, call The Center’s Marriage Project coordinator Kristi Shaw at 619-692-2077, ext. 206, or e-mail her at kshaw@thecentersd.org.

Beginning in March, The Center’s Behavioral Health Services will be offering a new men’s group focusing on health and sexuality. This free group will provide a forum for men to talk openly with other men about their experiences, safety, sex and building relationships. The group will meet Mondays from 7-8:30 p.m. at 2313 El Cajon Blvd. For more information, call 619-260-6380, ext. 105.

The Imperial Court de San Diego will host its annual GLBT Community Children’s Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday, March 23 from 2-4 p.m. The event will take place at Trolley Barn Park in University Heights. The event is free, and all Easter baskets and toys are donated. Volunteers and donations are needed to help make this event a continued success.

For more information on volunteering or making a donation, please contact Michael at 619-254-6372.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego (GMCSD) will kick off its 16th anniversary season of Singing Out with its spring concert, “Heart and Soul – Music of the ‘50s.” The trip down memory lane will be presented on Saturday, April 12 at 8 p.m. and again on Sunday, April 13 at 2 p.m. Both performances will be hosted at David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, in the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center.

Tickets are $35 for Saturday evening’s performance and $30 for the Sunday matinee. Discounts are available for seniors, students and military. Special prices are also available for groups and GMCSD’s season subscribers. Visit www.gmcsd.com to purchase tickets and select seats. For more information about the Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego, call 619-57-GMCSD, send an email to info@gmcsd.com, or visit the group’s Web site, www.gmcsd.com.

The David & Dorothea Garfield Theater is located at 4126 Executive Dr. in La Jolla.

A report titled “The Soul of San Diego – Keeping Balboa Park Magnificent in its Second Century,” commissioned by three San Diego foundations with philanthropic roots in Balboa Park, was recently presented to the City of San Diego. According to City Councilmember Toni Atkins’ office, the report “provides a snapshot of the park’s current conditions and opens a discussion on the future governance of Balboa Park.”

Mayor Jerry Sanders and Atkins tasked the Balboa Park Committee, the appointed volunteer committee that reviews land-use matters in the park, to engage the public in a discussion of the report and to provide a recommendation to the mayor and city council on the future stewardship of Balboa Park.

The Balboa Park Committee and authors of the study have scheduled a kick-off workshop for Saturday, March 8 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Balboa Park Recital Hall (west of Park Boulevard and Presidents Way). At this meeting, the consultants that conducted the studies will present their findings and data sets, and answer questions. The Balboa Park Committee will also present a schedule of meetings over the next few months that include public participation. The Balboa Park Committee has committed themselves to an open and transparent discussion of all the facts.

Atkins invites the public to attend the meetings and is looking for input from citizens. Questions should be directed to Jeffery Tom in Atkins’ office at 619-236-6633.

The full report can be viewed online at http://www.sandiego.gov/mayor/pdf/080130balboa.pdf.

The community is invited to Development In Gardening’s (DIG) second annual San Diego Fund-raiser on Saturday, March 15 from 1-4 p.m. at Hawthorn’s Restaurant Lounge.

DIG’s mission is to provide urban-based HIV/AIDS patients living in developing nations with the highest nutrition possible. DIG accomplishes this by installing vegetable gardens in HIV/AIDS hospitals and orphanages, and educating outpatients, caregivers and hospital staff about the nutritional value that urban gardens provide. By attending this fund-raising event, participants will help to continue this program.

The $25 suggested door donation will include live and silent auctions with local goods and African arts and crafts, light hors d’oeuvres, and a host bar from 1-2 p.m., serving Leblon Caipirinhas.

After the fund-raiser, Hawthorn’s will hold a post-event dinner with 10 percent of the food sales being donated directly to DIG.

This event is being organized by Michael Mack, “Big Mike” Phillips, City Commissioner Nicole Murray-Ramirez, David Cohen, Steve Bolinger, and Sarah Koch. Event sponsors include the Gay & Lesbian Times, Hawthorn’s Restaurant Lounge, Bite, Baja Betty’s, Bubble Gourmet British Food, San Diego Pix, Rage Monthly, The BottomLine, and FlawLes.

Those who are unable to attend the event can still make a donation on DIG’s Web site at www.developmentingardening.org or by sending a check to: Development In Gardening, 1834 Adams Ave., San Diego, CA 92116.

Hawthorn’s Restaurant Lounge is located at 2895 University Ave. in North Park.