The San Diego chapter of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund will host the organization’s third annual Women’s Pride Brunch at Terra Restaurant, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Saturday, July 26. Openly lesbian elected officials and other community leaders will gather to discuss the state of lesbian representation in our nation’s elected offices. People of any gender interested in learning more about this important initiative are invited to attend.

Kecia Cunningham, a city commissioner from Decatur, Georgia, will serve as the event’s keynote speaker. She will be joined by other notable Victory Fund-endorsed officials, such Assemblymember Christine Kehoe, San Diego City Councilmember Toni Atkins and San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.

Cunningham was first elected to the five-member Decatur City Commission in 1999. Since then, she has won domestic partner benefits for city employees and has expanded the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity. She has also worked extensively to overcome homophobia in Georgia and within the African-American community. Cunningham will address efforts to increase the number of openly lesbian candidates elected to public office nationwide.

Terra Restaurant is located at 3900 Vermont Street in Hillcrest’s Uptown District. Host admission, which includes a full Victory Fund membership, is $125. Additional contribution levels are available for Victory Fund supporters. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.victoryfund.org or at the door. For more information, contact Pamela Wilson at (619) 233-1888, ext. 257.

Dr. Deborah Morton, out lesbian and assistant professor of Epidemiology at UCSD, will be recruiting research subjects at the CLOE booth at the pride festival for a study of bone density and osteoporosis risk screening of lesbians and bisexual women. Lesbians and bisexual women age 30 and over are eligible for the study. By visiting the CLOE booth at the pride festival, women who participate will receive free bone density scans on two different state-of-the-art machines, as well as blood pressure, height and weight checks. A confidential survey will also be completed. The objectives of the study include an evaluation of bone mass, bone-loss risk factors, and general health-behaviors in lesbians and bisexual women, a population demonstrated to be underserved in many areas of preventive and other health care. Also addressed in the study is a groundbreaking analysis of participants’ outness and its relationship to physical health, all completely confidential. To participate in the study, or for more information, visit the CLOE booth at the Pride Festival, or call Dr. Deborah Morton at (760) 747-6634.

The American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER), San Diego’s GLBT Vets, are helping raise money to acquire wheelchairs for disabled and aged veterans in San Diego. Due to the closing of the Veteran’s Administration Home for disabled and aged veterans in Barstow, California, many veterans are being transferred to San Diego’s Chula Vista Veteran’s Home. However, they are being forced to move to their new home without their wheelchairs.

AVER feels this is a great opportunity to demonstrate that we are Americans too and that the GLBT community is an integral part of the whole San Diego community. Each chair costs approximately $300. The gay vets are looking for businesses, groups or individuals to sponsor chairs.

County Supervisor Ron Roberts has already secured 30 wheelchairs to help alleviate this problem, but more than twice as many are needed.

For further information or to help, contact San Diego County Veteran’s Advisory Board member and local AVER president Bob Lehman at (619) 291-4043 or e-mail marineguy@aol.com.

Free, confidential, legal consultations for GLBT community members experiencing same sex domestic violence are available weekly at The Center’s Health Services building at 2313 El Cajon Blvd. Services are provided by the Mobile Domestic Violence Clinics of the YWCA of San Diego County and include: free restraining orders; family law matters; referrals to counseling, shelter and job training. Services are available in Spanish as well as English. Clinics are held every Thursday from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at The Center’s Health Services Building. For more information, call (619) 239-2341.

The annual San Diego Democratic Club Pride Reception and Fundraiser will be held Friday, July 25, from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m. in the courtyard of Casa del Prado in Balboa Park. The cost is $45 and proceeds will benefit the Christine Kehoe for State Senate campaign. The reception venue is within easy walking distance of the Organ Pavilion, where the Spirit of Stonewall Rally will be held. Kehoe is seeking election to the 39th District State Senate seat, which is currently represented by Dede Alpert, who cannot run for reelection due to term limits. For more information or to RSVP, call (858) 496-3312.

San Diego PFLAG will hold their next meeting this Monday, July 28, at 7:00 p.m. at First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4190 Front Street, Hillcrest (across the street from the UCSD Medical Center, parking will be validated). Pastor Tony Freeman, from the Metropolitan Community Church of San Diego, will share the history of MCC and its importance to the GLBT community. All are welcome. For more information, call (619) 579-7640.

A mass commitment ceremony for same-sex couples will be held at this weekend’s Pride festival, by the main stage area, at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, July 27. The 20-minute ceremony will be presented by Metropolitan Community Church of San Diego and Dignity of San Diego. A large celebration cake contributed by San Diego LGBT Pride will be served immediately after the event. Additionally, the LGBT Center’s public policy department will host a domestic partnership registration table the same day, from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m., near the main stage. Notaries and forms will be available for couples seeking to register for California’s domestic partnership benefits. Those interested must present a valid driver’s license.

The Center is offering a professionally facilitated support and discussion group for men and women who are coping with grief and loss. The group will meet once a week for ten weeks beginning in early August. For more information or to schedule an initial appointment, call The Center’s Health Services at (619) 260-6380, ext. 116 and ask for Dr. Carrie Sakai.

Mama’s Kitchen, a non-profit meal delivery service dedicated to providing meals 365 days a year to San Diegans affected by AIDS, needs volunteers to deliver meals to clients who live throughout San Diego County. Specific needs include delivering meals to clients in the areas of Hillcrest, Rolando, National City, Mission Valley, North Park, Lemon Grove and Chula Vista. While Mama’s Kitchen headquarters is located in downtown San Diego, satellite locations have been established around the county for the convenience of volunteers. Couriers are also needed on Thursdays and Fridays to deliver the meals to their East County satellite location. Each route typically has 12 clients, and all deliveries need to be made between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Drivers must be at least 18 years of age and have car insurance. Companies are encouraged to adopt a route, where employees give one day a week to deliver meals. Driving duties can rotate among employees. For more information about all volunteer opportunities, please call Bill at (619) 233-MAMA (6262).

Reservations are now being accepted for the S.A.G.E. (Seniors Active in a Gay Environment) weekend retreat and fundraiser, to be held at Stallion Oaks Ranch, Sept. 19-22. Reservation information is available by calling the S.A.G.E. Center at (619) 298-9900. Tickets for the Sunday fundraiser are $35 each. For further information on S.A.G.E. events, contact Tom at the S.A.G.E. Center at (619) 298-9900 or e-mail sagesd@sage-sd.com.

The July 27 Carlsbad meeting of Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays will feature a review and discussion, with some video, of the Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade of the preceding day. The meeting will be held at 2:00 p.m. at the Pilgrim United Church of Christ, 2020 Chestnut Ave., Carlsbad. Call (760) 726-7524 for information.

A grant-writing seminar for nonprofits will be held Monday, Aug. 18, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at SDSU Gateway Center, 5250 Campanile Drive, Room 2509A. This is an opportunity for non-profit organizations to learn the grant writing process, how to write a successful grant, and how to avoid common mistakes. Representatives from federal agencies will give their insight and answer questions. Call (619) 280-5353 to RSVP for this event.

Gypsy, a loving, nine-week-old Australian Husky-mix (pictured above) is currently available to a stable, responsible home. This female pup gets along well with adults, children and other animals. Call Vaughn at (619) 295-6140 to make an appointment to meet Gypsy.

Special Delivery, San Diego’s all-volunteer meal delivery service for people living with HIV/AIDS, will hold its eighth annual Pride BBQ at the Top of the Park at Park Manor Suites Saturday, July 26, from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. All proceeds benefit clients of Special Delivery San Diego. “In light of the fact that our agency was recently denied Ryan White Care Act funding, we appreciate the community’s support now more than ever,” said executive director Ruth Henricks. Tickets for the BBQ are $6 at the door or $5 in advance from Special Delivery. For more information, contact Special Delivery at (619) 297-7373.

The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in North Park held its final worship services in the church building it has called home for 20 years last Sunday. The GLBT-affirming church has sold its campus at 4333 30th St. in order to supplement a capital campaign to gain funds for a larger facility for their growing ministries.

As of Sunday, Aug. 3, MCC will begin holding services in its interim worship space at The Center, 3909 Centre Street in Hillcrest. Worship will still be at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., along with their regular youth group and ASL signing at 11:00 a.m. MCC’s Spanish service will move to Bienestar at 11:00 a.m. on Sundays.

The church offices will be moving to an interim office space in Mission Valley as the church’s property acquisition team continues to search for, as Pastor Tony Freeman describes it, “that new right church home that God has planned for us and the community.” For more information, call (619) 280-4333 or e-mail www.mccsd.org.