Courage to Be Courageous

Richard Christopher Scuderi is an author of two memoirs, "The Lonely Boy" and The Enlightened Man". Richard will show his struggles with ongoing depression, because of trauma in his life. He will show the struggles that he had with his family and also the massive physical trauma recovering from a brain, tumor and loss of eyesight. He will talk about life is a journey and heartbreak will be a part of it, but so will joy and peace. The podcast with Richard will be intriguing, powerful and inspiring.

Vaughn Frisby is the Senior Philanthropy Officer for an international organization called The Trevor Project. This organization provides a 24/7 hotline for young LBGTQ who are struggling to the point of suicide for coming out. Some have been ousted from their homes because they came out. In the first nine months of 2023, Trevor received 350,000 calls, averaging 1800 per day. This is astounding! Vaughn will give us some outstanding characteristics of a survey that is their fifth national survey that was just released. One remarkable characteristic is that when one young person has only one supporting adult in their life, they are 40% less likely to commit suicide. Trevor Project will show you ways to support their organization by becoming a remote volunteer and also financially.

I had the opportunity to attend the Saint Judes Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee because I am a lifetime donor. I had not had the opportunity to tour their facility before, but when I did I was humbly overwhelmed. As many of you know, Saint Judes Research Hospital was founded by Danny Thomas in 1962 and they treat pediatric cancer from children all over the world. Any patient and family who goes there for treatment for pediatric cancer is never ever given a bill for the treatment, the housing, the food or anything else. This podcast that you're going to see will give you some insight as to what I observed on my tour. I encourage all to listen to this podcast. It is inspiring and powerful. You will see the courage that these children have, their parents, the doctors and nurses and staff. None of them run from their fear but embrace it and have the courage to be courageous to get through it. Saint Judes Research Hospital has taken the cancer rate survival of 20% to now it's over 80% survival. This is a must-see podcast.

Fascinating discussion with Jim Hoyt who was a deacon in the Catholic Church. Jim supported several nonprofit organizations and helped those including orphanages where he was able to assist them especially those speaking Spanish. Jim struggled with his sexuality and married a beautiful women and had children with her. Jim came out as gay to her and his children. Jim's wife was supportive of him and he remains a close friend of his ex-wife. Shes help their children to accept their dad as his authentic self.

Jeff Batton was raised in the south and has that southern charm! Jeff used his ministry after reading Isaiah 58:11 and would say" That the Lord will give you to continue if you serve the poor. To deny who he was with so much shame as a gay man, he took his wife and three children all over the world to serve the poor. He has a fascinating story of dealing with drug addicts, prostitutes and taking care of them, feeling that if he was serving the poor, that God would bless him . He continued down this path for over 20 years. He came out with a book called "Grinin Like A Jackass Eating Briars" that is an outstanding read.

Mike Triggs was a highly respected Republican supporter of the governor of Iowa. In fact, he was a manager of the governor's campaign. When a republican opponent to the governor accused Mike of being gay along with many others, he was asked to leave the position as manager of the governor's campaign. You will find this interview funny, exciting, and powerful. Mike wrote a book called" You Can't Make This #,!@# Up". You will also see how he was outed as a gay man.

Katie Hultquist is the Director of Leadership Giving for Outright International, an international organization that fights for the rights of LGBTQ people worldwide. She will talk about what's happening worldwide, discussing what is going on in Uganda, Ukraine, and other countries. You will find this a riveting interview. This is one of the organizations that I support through the purchase of my book. I highly recommend this organization and the fight they are doing for our freedom. Even though you will find some things that will be challenging to hear, Katie also shows the hope and what this organization has done to help people worldwide. Outright International is the first organization to have a LGTBTQ audience at the United Nations.

Landon J Napoleon is my co-author of my book "The Courage To Be Courageous." We worked together approximately year and a half to create my memoir. You will find that we experienced joy, tears, openness and vulnerability between each other In the creative process of writing my book. You're also going to learn where Landon had the courage to leave his secure job at Motorola and become a creative writer. You will also see how deep friendship developed between Landon and my myself.

Kenny L is a high school school teacher in the Phoenix Arizona area. Kenny came out as gay to his parents when he was 26 years old. Kenny will talk about using education addiction to bury who he was earning FIVE undergraduate degrees. By earning all these degrees he thought his résumé would look stellar and make him acceptable because he hated who he was. After seeking help from a professional therapist and Joining several recovery programs he was able to deal with his own internalized homophobia. This is a powerful podcast!

Brian came out and fought for gay rights in the 60s and 70s. With a degree in journalism and working for the Catholic Church who fired him after he came out as gay. This is an incredible episode where Brian has written many books and also travel all over the country to speak at college campuses and large general corporations where his life was even threatened. Brian is a true pioneer of LGBTQ rights.