The Trevor Project

Good morning, gentle readers.

Sorry for going MIA last week, but things were a little nuts here at Casa de George.  Basically, I'm having work done on the place, and it's reached the stage where the workmen are banging the hell out of things, making it difficult to think, let alone write.

As I sprawl on the floor here, laptop resting on my upraised legs, a pair of beefy guys are tearing the hell out of my master bathroom.  Downstairs, I've got other guys working on my kitchen and a painter eying the ceiling and trying to decide where to start today.

So, as you can probably imagine, this is not the most conducive environment for writing. Or blogging. Which I'm starting to think are two very different things.

But I'll go into that later.

Today, I'm not going to talk about writing. Today, I'm going to use this space to promote a worthy cause.

Some of you may be familiar with YouTube sensation, Tyler Oakley.  Others among you may have heard of the Trevor Project, a 1-800 line for LGBTQ youth providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services.

It's a worthy cause and for the last few weeks Tyler Oakley has been using his celebrity status - He has millions of followers on YouTube and Twitter - to fund raise for the Trevor Project.  As of this morning, Oakley and his followers have raised almost $250,000 for the charity.  Most of the money has been acquired through microdonations of $10 with a few people donating more.

Numerous studies have shown that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth have a higher rate of suicide attempts than do heterosexual youth. The Suicide Prevention Resource Center estimated that between 30 and 40% of LGBT youth, depending on age and sex groups, have attempted suicide.  A U.S. government study, titled Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide, published in 1989, found that LGBT youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than other young people.

A $10 donation may not sound like much, but it could help save someones life. 

If you'd like to learn more about The Trevor Project and donate to them, you can check out their website at www.thetrevorproject.org.

You can also donate through Prizeo, and win a chance to hang out in Los Angeles with Tyler Oakley himself, via http://www.prizeo.com/prizes/tyler-oakley/an-LA-date?utm_content=tyler&utm_campaign=tyler .