The Creating Change Host Committee heard about various ways to attend the winter conference at an affordable rate at a June 21 meeting.
Active host committeemembers can attend the conference, hosted by The National LGBTQ Task Force, at no cost. A link will be sent in December for subcommittee members. Others who can attend for free include anyone over 60 and volunteers who sign up for at least a four-hour shift each of the four days of the conference.
“I’ve never paid more than $100 to go to Creating Change,” said Aneesah Smith, who works on LGBT services at West Chester University and serves as one of four co-chairs of Creating Change in Philadelphia. She’s also leading the community housing subcommittee that is looking for 75 free places to stay for conference attendees who may not be able to afford a hotel. Smith said a subcommittee member had suggested getting hotel or hostel rooms donated.
Samantha Giusti, executive director of DVLF and another co-chair for Creating Change in Philadelphia, said she would also like the development subcommittee to kick-start fundraising for the hospitality suites, which provide lunch and dinner every day to various interest groups, from transgender people and bisexual people to elders and youth.
Full host committee meetings take place the third Tuesday of every month. The conference is Jan. 18-22 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, 12th and Arch streets.
For more information, visit www.creatingchange.org/host-committee-2017.