Sweet, a lesbian travel company with a green twist, is now a Silver Sponsor of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), the nation’s premier national legal organization committed to advancing the legal and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education.
“Sweet and NCLR both share a passionate commitment to achieving civil rights protections for the LGBT community,” says Sweet CEO and founding partner Shannon Wentworth. “NCLR is leading the legal charge for equal rights on critical fronts nationwide. Now is a crucial time for giving so we can help keep the positive momentum going.”
The Sweet / NCLR sponsorship agreement is worth an estimated $35,000, including donations of cash, gift matching, and donations of balcony staterooms on the widely anticipated Sweet Caribbean Cruise to be featured at a series of live and silent auctions to benefit NCLR. The Sweet Caribbean Cruise sets sail from New Orleans on November 8, 2009, for a weeklong tour of the Western Caribbean. Two representatives from NCLR will be on board the cruise to educate guests about NCLR’s work towards achieving full and equal access to civil and human rights for every LGBT person.
“We are experiencing a watershed moment in our movement,” said NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell. “With the recent gains in marriage equality and the promise of real change on a federal level, we have more support for LGBT civil rights than ever before. Support from businesses that serve the LGBT community, like Sweet, helps us weather these rough economic times, and ensure we’re able to continue our work on behalf of the LGBT community.”
Since Proposition 8 passed last November, NCLR has worked alongside Lambda Legal and the ACLU to challenge its legal validity in California’s Supreme Court. In addition, NCLR has continued to provide groundbreaking LGBT Family, Youth, Immigration, Elder, Transgender, Employment, and Sports Law services to the community.
“We couldn’t be more excited to help NCLR raise critical funds and reach out to a whole new audience,” says Wentworth. “They do such important work for our community, the least we can do is let them soak up some sun and have a little fun in the process.”
Tags: meet Sweet, NCLR
