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Greetings from the Executive Director

Hello Friends,

As this month's newsletter finds its way to your inbox, I would like to pause a moment for us to take a breath. There is so much going on in the world and while it is important we stay vigilant in our awareness and actions, it is also important to be present and take care of ourselves. We cannot pour from an empty cup and joy is a vital part of resistance.

I discussed this very idea on this week’s episode of the ‘A Queer Guide to Democracy Podcast’  with Professor Robin Maril. I really enjoyed our conversation and I hope you will too!

As for joy, we have plenty of that to share this month! I am so excited to welcome Sami Narayanan to our staff here at LOF! Sami has been an incredible support behind the scenes for us since 2024, when she volunteered to assist our diligence process and grant review. Sami is incredibly passionate about human rights and possesses a remarkable foresight that keeps us nimble and able to respond to urgent needs across the globe. We hope you will help us welcome her to our community and cannot thank you all enough for enabling us to expand our team and increase our impact.

We are excited to be kicking off our virtual event series for 2026 with Folx Health! Next Tuesday, March 31st, we will be hosting a webinar together to celebrate Trans Visibility Day and will discuss how we can all work to support the gender expansive community against the harmful policies and stigma we are seeing grow across U.S headlines. We are capable of creating great change when we come together as a community and share our ideas and stories. We hope to see you there!

Read on to learn more about how you can volunteer to join us for the next leg of The Human Tour, this month’s Beyond the Dollar actions, and more!  

Thank you,

Gloria Goeres

She/Her/Hers

Executive Director, Looking Out Foundation

You’re Invited!

Join our next virtual event to celebrate Trans Day of Visibility with Folx Health

This coming Tuesday, March 31st is Trans Day of Visibility! As we continue to see a rise in transphobic policies and headlines, it is all the more important that we come together with our Trans siblings to learn how best to support their joy and protect their rights. 

Join us for a virtual conversation at 3pm PT / 6pm PT with the team at Folx Health. Folx works every day to provide compassionate and comprehensive healthcare designed for the unique needs of the LGBTQIA+ community. They provide a digital platform that connects Trans and Queer individuals to mental health resources, gender affirming providers, and more!

Together, we will discuss the importance of gender affirming care and Trans joy, as well as, how to be a better ally to the gender-expansive community. 

This webinar is free to attend and we will be taking questions from the audience! You can submit yours below…

Welcome, Sami!

Team LOF is growing! Please join us in welcoming Sami to our staff.

Sami Narayanan has joined LOF as our Grants & Research Manager

We are so excited to welcome Sam Narayanan as our new Grants and Research Manager. Sami has been supporting LOF with her incredible research skills and human rights advocacy for a long time and we couldn’t be more excited to have her on board officially.

Sami first joined the Looking Out Foundation as a volunteer in 2024. Sami has a PhD in biochemistry and worked for over a decade in immunology research before pivoting when she became a mother herself and watched children being separated from their parents at the U.S border. She has now worked in humanitarian aid for over 5 years, beginning with her work on the grants and research team at Together Rising. She is an advocate for equity in grantmaking and defending human rights, and is thrilled to be bringing her passion and skills to LOF. Sami lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest  where she loves tide-pooling and is frequently roped into being eccentric characters in her children’s pretend-play.

To learn more about our staff and how we work together to Make Music Mean More check out our website below…  

The Human Tour Continues…

and we want you to join us!

We had a blast meeting you all and working to create change together on Leg 1 of the Human Tour… Let’s do it again!

Signups for volunteering with LOF on tour will begin in June. In the meantime, make sure you have completed our Volunteer Application to be the first to know how you can join us for a show!

Did you know that $2 from every ticket purchased for The Human Tour benefits LOF?

Listen in!

Executive Director, Gloria Goeres joined Professor Robin Maril on her podcast, ‘A Queer Guide to Democracy’ to chat all things LOF, the importance of community in change-making, and how one magical night in Minneapolis became a reality. You can view a clip from the episode above then, listen to the full episode at the link below!

Beyond the Dollar

There are many ways to join a movement for change, and donating money is not the only way to make an impact! Here are some actions you can take this month that are just as important as donating.

A New Way to Volunteer - with Benevity!

This month, we want to spread awareness around a great opportunity that can increase access and ability to volunteering for organizations you care about. From Apple to UPS, Benevity works with companies across the U.S to support their employees in volunteering for nonprofit organizations, including LOF!

Benevity partners with companies to match them with volunteer opportunities and then pays nonprofits for volunteer hours to increase support. Check with your company today to see if they have a Benevity partnership. If they don’t, see if they would consider creating one so you and your coworkers can volunteer together to make an impact!

Do you have feedback for Team LOF?