Team Chicago applauds you for joining us in supporting the Gay Games VIII Scholarship Program

Did you know that many of almost 100 GG scholarship recipients rode on a plane for the first time thanks to a GGVII scholarship? Their lives will now be positively changed forever by the trip and the Gay Games. Thanks to people like you who will contribute to the GGVIII scholarship fund, many more people from around the globe will take their first plane ride to GGVIII in Cologne, Germany.

To make a contribution to the Gay Games VIII Scholarship Program, please CLICK below. It will take you to PayPal, where you can make a contribution. These contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Your credit card billing statement will state that you have been charged with a "purchase" by Team Chicago. Team Chicago will donate all proceeds, less the PayPal service charge, to the Federation of Gay Games. The Federation will restrict those funds so they can be used for scholarships to attend the 2010 Gay Games. Team Chicago donated $2500 to the Gay Games VII Scholarship fund last summer and is fully supportive of these scholarships.

Gay Games Scholarships create opportunity

Bringing new participants to the Gay Games is critical to continuing the growth of this movement, which began in 1982. Through the outreach efforts of the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) and each host organization, more people within and outside lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community learn about and are inspired to participate in a Gay Games event. A key outreach objective is to encourage people from underrepresented areas and demographic groups to participate in the Gay Games. Scholarship programs are a crucial component of outreach to this group of people for it makes the Gay Games accessible; and, potentially, it inspires new leaders to take home the spirit of the Games to grow local LGBT sport and cultural activities.

The Goals of the Gay Games VIII Scholarship Program for the Cologne 2010 Gay Games are to:

• Increase participation in the Games by under-represented groups,
• Bring new participants into the Gay Games movement,
• Serve as a catalyst for building and strengthening LGBT sports and cultural organizing throughout the world, and
• Provide a blueprint for developing and implementing a scholarship program for host organizations of future Gay Games.

We anticipate that scholarships will be available for:

• Basic event registration fees (participatory athletic and cultural events)
• Travel costs to and from Cologne
• Accommodations
• Daily allowance for the Games period

Although the Gay Games VIII Scholarship Program will attempt to accommodate as many people as possible, it is not possible to accommodate everyone with regard to special needs, variation in demographic traits, and financial need.

If you have questions about the Gay Games Scholarship Program, please contact scholarships@gaygames.org.

If you have any questions about Team Chicago, please contact paul.oostenbrug@teamchicago.org.