RAINBOW FAMILIES NEWS

  • 11/03/2020 5:25 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Rainbow Families is delighted to announce our Annual Holiday Bazaar!  This will be a fun aspect of our yearly Winter Fundraising Program, this one is about supporting small business in our community.

    When you visit the virtual bazaar (launching Thanksgiving Day), you help build community and celebrate local businesses, many of whom have struggled tremendously with the pandemic.   You'll find inspired, unique, creative holiday gift ideas (and treats for yourself), where you can feel GOOD about your purchases - shopping small and shopping local.

    And when you buy through this Bazaar, the business will make a donation to Rainbow Families!


  • 05/01/2020 5:31 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    We are happy to say that the implementation of online programs and events has gone wonderfully.  Thank you to all our volunteers and participants.   Programs like our Support Groups, Maybe Baby, Story-Times have been wonderful, and we're offering most of them at no-charge during this time.  Please stay safe and know that Rainbow Families is here to support LGBTQ+ families, and always will be.

  • 02/08/2020 11:15 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Rainbow Families Announces
    2020 Hero Award and Volunteer of the Year Recipients

    WASHINGTON, DC    February 7, 2020  – Rainbow Families (www.RainbowFamilies.org) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 HERO AWARD, and VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR, to be presented at the Annual Family Conference May 16 2020 in Washington DC.

    Ellen Kahn was selected by the Rainbow Families Board of Directors to receive the honor this year.   “We started the Hero award in 2019 to recognize and honor someone who has contributed significantly to the LGBTQ+ family community, particularly in the areas of advocacy, support, family, education or acceptance,” said Darren Vance, Executive Director of Rainbow Families. “For decades, Ellen has contributed her time, talent, and resources for us  –  plus, she was a founding member of Rainbow Families over 20 years ago.  She’s a true hero for our community.”

    Christine Lane, Rainbow Families Board President, said, “We are honored to recognize Ellen in this way.  She is an icon in the Mid-Atlantic region for her enduring work and we couldn’t be more excited.”

    The 2019 Hero Award recipient was Michele Zavos, who has spent 40 years fighting for the legal rights of LGBTQ+ families and individuals in the Washington DC region, and continues to do so,

    The Volunteer of the Year Award will be presented to spouses Sequoia and Shay Taylor-El, who donated weeks of sign language service for educational programs, providing tremendous value not only to Rainbow Families, but for the group’s deaf members as well.  “Rainbow Families is a lean, volunteer-driven organization.  Without the selfless contributions of people like Shay and Sequoia and others, we couldn’t do what we do.  We appreciate them, and all our wonderful volunteers”, Vance said.

    About Rainbow Families:

    Rainbow Families is a nonprofit organization which began in the 1990s as an AOL listserv for gay parents seeking support and community connection.  Today, Rainbow Families provides an array of educational programs such as Maybe Baby, numerous support groups, social activities for children to be around other families like theirs, a family camping weekend, and much more.  Rainbow Families hosts an Annual Family Conference & Gathering each May in Washington DC, and in was named “One of the Best” nonprofits by the Catalogue for Philanthropy. Visit www.rainbowfamilies.org to discover more and follow on Facebook @OurRainbowFamilies.


  • 01/08/2020 4:11 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The Rainbow Families Board of Directors and Executive Director are delighted to announce the details of our 2020 Family Conference!

    The largest of its kind in the region, our conference provides a full day of valuable workshops, information sessions, guest speakers, and the opportunity to connect as a community.   The conference is for LGBTQ+ parents, prospective parents, LGBTQ+ families, and our beautiful allies too.

    We also have the popular Resource Fair, with providers who serve our community,  super-fun KIDS CAMPS, breakfast and lunch, and more.

    Info HERE 

  • 11/20/2019 5:08 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Rainbow Families is delighted to announce that our Resource Directory has been launched.   We hope this will serve as a tremendous value and benefit to our members, as they search for LGBTQ+ competent service providers, especially in health care/medical fields.

    This listing is available only to dues-paying members.  To view, simply log on to your account, it will then appear at the top pull-down menus.

    More info can be found under : Member Benefits

  • 09/12/2019 5:03 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    On Wednesday September 11, 2019 employees of Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association selected Rainbow Families as their partners for their 9/11 Community Day of Service. 

    We gathered to clean Oxon Run Park in Southeast Washington DC with great impact!

    We were further honored to receive a major grant from BCBSA, which will help us continue the good work we do for LGBTQ+ families.

    THANK  YOU, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association!


  • 07/11/2019 3:33 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    We are pleased to announce, Rainbow Families has been approved and will be included on the upcoming CFC Campaign!   Federal employees will have an opportunity to help support the good work we do through this program.

    Our Campaign #    72636

    What is the CFC?  The Combined Federal Campaign is the workplace giving program of the federal government of the United States. The mission of the CFC "is to promote and support philanthropy through a program that is employee focused, cost-efficient, and effective in providing all federal employees the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all".

  • 06/12/2019 10:57 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Rainbow Families is proud to share the news that Michele Zavos was awarded the prestigious Justice William J Brennan Jr  Award on June 11 by the DC Bar.   The honor is presented biannually to a DC Bar Member in recognition of "outstanding work toward furthering the public interest and equal justice."   

    Michele has dedicated her work to securing the civil rights of LGBTQ folks, and we couldn’t be more pleased that she received this well-deserved recognition.   She is one of the founding members of Rainbow Families/Maybe Baby and donates significant time to volunteer at Rainbow Families programs.

    In May of this year Michele was also awarded our first annual Rainbow Families HERO AWARD, honoring those in our community who go above and beyond to support and advocate for us.



  • 06/05/2019 2:35 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Rainbow Families is excited to announce the continuation of our very popular monthly Surrogacy/ART Support Group, which after taking a summer break will resume in September of 2019.

    We are also delighted to announce two NEW support groups which will add tremendous value to our community as well:

    Pregnancy & New Parent Support Group

              and

    Adoption Support Group (details will be posted in July)


  • 06/04/2019 9:25 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Tune in to this important presentation on What being Out Means in an LGBTQIA+ Interracial Adoptive Family, featuring Rainbow Families Board Member Beth Wheeler and Rainbow Families past-Board President Tony Hynes.  

    Inside Out LGBT Radio wants to hear from you. Join us live Tuesday, June 4th 2:00-3:00pm EST

    Tony Hynes, author and interracial adoptee of same sex parents, hosts a show that will cover what it means to exist as an LGBTQIA+ Interracial adoptive household for parents, adult adoptees, and adopted children. This show will examine how coming out, as well as being out, is multifaceted in this type of family structure. Guests and adoption experts Beth Wheeler, a White adoptive parent of two African American boys, and Schai Schairer, a Haitian adoptee, will talk about how to make connections across difference, the importance of parenting for queer and trans openness, how microaggressions highlight the double and triple consciousness parents and adoptees need to possess in order to navigate through life, and the real and perceived dangers their families endure as members of marginalized communities. The guests will tell us what pride in their families means to them, what it might mean to adopted children from these backgrounds, and the increased importance of implementing a model of Tolerance, Acceptance, Inclusion, and Advocating (TAIA). (Schairer, Wheeler, 2019).

    Tune in LIVE this Tuesday and every Tuesday 2:00-3:00pm EST by going to WWW.WPFWfm.org or WPFW 89.3FM.