Programs
- BE THE GENERATION BRIDGE
Be The Generation was created by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to maintain and establish relationships with communities most impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in order to promote awareness, understanding, dialogue, and support for biomedical prevention research, including HIV vaccines, microbicides, and pre-exposure prophylaxis. The initiative is supported by the Division of AIDS (DAIDS), part of NIAID at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The House of Blahnik, in partnership with REACH LA and the House of Garcon are partnering together in order to conduct Be the Generation Bridge programming activities to the house/ball community around the country. At select ball events, online, and other media promotion, the Be the Generation Ballroom Team will be coming to city near you in order to educate the event participants and local community about the importance of biomedical research, particularly HIV vaccine clinical trials.
- HOB SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The House of Blahnik Scholarship Fund was developed for members of the house/ballroom community. Members of the house/ball community are historically under-represented in post high school educational settings due to issues of sexual orientation, classism, gender presentation & identity and lack of biological family support among other things. The House of Blahnik is working to counter this by encouraging members of this community to pursue higher education and giving them financial support in that process.
The 2012 scholarship process has closed.
The 2012 House of Blahnik Scholarship external award recipient is Ronald Murray (aka Ron “Drama” Lanvin) and the 2012 House of Blahnik Scholarship internal award recipient is Diondre Warren (aka Yubari Blahnik).
~Please check back soon for details on next year’s scholarship process.
- PROJECT MEE
Mobilize, Educate, and Engage (MEE), It’s all about MEE, was designed by and for transgender persons of color to increase awareness of, and support for, HIV prevention biomedical research among transgender persons nationally and will provide direct programming in Philadelphia, New York City, Atlanta, and Chicago. Project MEE is a community-level initiative that will: (1) build and enhance relationships in and between National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)-funded HIV prevention networks and their respective staff, CBO/ASOs, GALAEI and HOB, and transgender of color communities; (2) establish GALAEI and HOB as community knowledge resource centers surrounding HIV biomedical prevention; and (3) facilitate active participation of transgender persons in shaping culturally-relevant and linguistically appropriate messages that support HIV prevention biomedical research.
Additionally, Project MEE will establish a Trans-collaborative to strengthen the capacity of NIAID-funded HIV prevention networks, as well as CBO/ASOs across the country to engage transgender individuals. Project MEE will create social marketing educational materials, along with a quarterly newsletter, to reach and maintain the support and participation of transgender individuals into HIV biomedical research.
- LEADERSHIP RETREAT
Each year the House of Blahnik (HOB) takes a minimum of 12 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth/young adults of color on a three-day Leadership and Development Retreat. The retreats are designed to re-invigorate their vision and commitment to fulfilling the organization’s mission – and their own. The retreat is a time to collectively step back and reconnect with the organization’s core values, and goals. Ultimately, the HOB’s goal is to improve the broader LGBT community by identifying, motivating and supporting future and existing leaders.
The HOB’s leadership programs employ unique development strategies, innovative coaching tools and proven facilitation mastership, to help youth recreate themselves anew. We guide people to unleash their core strengths and natural intelligence. We help LGBT youth re-center on their own personal effectiveness and motivation, so that they can bring transformational improvements to the broader LGBT community. We help engender highly productive relationships between youth and adults, where transformational learning can be leveraged into positive results.
- I LOVE THE LIFE THAT I LIVE
This is a multi-media project established to increase the number of positive messages in the media through viral video that celebrates, ‘simply loving life’ and one’s unique contributions. This project will include video testimonials of various individuals of different walks of life who share why they love the life that they live. This messaging will be delivered through a dedicated YouTube page and a FaceBook page. Another component of this project is a internet radio talk show that examines issues, then generates ideas and strategies that improve the lives and environments within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersexed communities. The project further identifies key local and national leaders, brings them on the show and provides a format that allows for honest discussions across multiple age, racial/ethnic, gender, sexual orientations, socio-economic classes. Diverse perspectives will be, presented and used to formulate solutions that are based unity.
- FIRE PRODUCTIONS
FIRE is a “solidly established ensemble that draws on a slew of styles, from pop (break-dance, hip-hop, vogue, street funk) to African, modern and jazz, impressively unifying them into a single aesthetic that continues to be dubbed ‘trendsetting & timeless.’” FIRE is delicately crafted blend of skills and disciplines of dance to create a production company that is theatrically and artistically explosive, while still appealing to traditional audiences. The FIRE division of the HOB is responsible for productions, exhibitions, artistic dance/theater workshops and weekly classes, specifically in Runway Modeling and Vogue.
- BALL & EVENT MC/COMMENTATING
For more information about having the Icon Founding Father, Jay Blahnik commentate your event, please feel free to contact him at: Jay Blahnik