Thursday, December 2, 2010

Join us - A message from Chris Hughes & Sean Eldridge


As the end of the year nears, organizations like the Empire State Pride Agenda take stock of the support they've received in order to plan for the year ahead. And here in New York, there is a lot of work ahead in 2011.

With a pro-marriage equality Governor and majority public support, we have an opportunity to secure the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in New York. But it won't be easy.

To implement the field, lobbying, and communications strategy needed to win, the Pride Agenda needs our support.

That's why we're committing to match every tax-deductible donation made to the Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation between now and the end of the year, up to $50,000. Will you join us and make a donation of $25 or more today?

By giving today, your donation will be doubled -- your gift of $25 will immediately become a $50 contribution, your gift of $50 will immediately become a $100 contribution -- to fuel the campaign to win marriage equality in New York.

We met in 2005 while living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Though we were young, we knew that we had found something special. Over the following years, work and school took us through numerous states, but we're now proud New Yorkers.

And like so many same-sex couples living in New York, we dream of the day when we'll share in the freedom to marry the person that we love. We hope to raise children and build a family in New York, but we know how difficult that will be without the rights and protections that come only with marriage.

Marriage matters. Whether it's the critical safety net of rights, protections, and responsibilities or the simple desire to celebrate love and commitment with friends and family, marriage touches every aspect of life. And the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage is one of the harshest inequalities still inflicted on LGBT New Yorkers.

It's time for New York to join the five states and District of Columbia that have already ended the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and made families safer, while hurting no one. And the Pride Agenda is the only state organization capable of doing the work that's needed to end marriage discrimination in New York.

We're matching contributions because we know that victory will only come when all New Yorkers who believe in fairness and equality contribute their time, their resources, and their voices to this important cause. We hope you'll join us in supporting the Pride Agenda at this critical moment. Every dollar contributed will go to work immediately and fuel the fight to secure the freedom to marry for all loving and committed New Yorkers.

Will you join us in helping the Pride Agenda in this critical fight here in New York?

Thank you,

Chris Hughes & Sean Eldridge
Co-Founder, Facebook, and Founder, Jumo; Political Director, Freedom to Marry

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