Charities for 2010

The Women’s Leather History Project (WLHP) represents the LA&M’s ongoing commitment to making the diverse voices of women in leather visible and heard. The WLHP will collect artifacts, stories, and other items that represent the experience of all women (straight, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, women of color). The resulting collections will be featured in future exhibitions at the Leather Archives & Museum.

Please join the WLHP and the LA&M by becoming a part of this urgent and very important project of collecting and protecting Women’s Leather History! 

The WLHP is a multi-year project. Our target fund-raising goal for 2010 is $10,000, and we hope to collect an additional $2,500/year for each additional year. Donations to the WLHP will only be used for program items related to the collection and exhibition of women’s leather history at the LA&M. Your donations will fund the hiring of a professional curator, the creation of museum exhibits at the LA&M, and the acquisition and storage of women’s leather resources including:

•        Papers
•        Video recorded interviews
•        Personal histories—oral, film, and written
•        Art and visual resources
•        Media—books, magazines, films, and digital media
•        Artifacts—organizational and personal

Spearheading the WLHP for LA&M will  be Sarah Humble and Leigha Fleming. Says Humble, “I am so excited to be involved in leading this project. I have my video recording equipment ready. It’s so important that as women we take the lead in collecting and preserving our own histories!” 

Says Fleming, “We will be present at events, scheduling interviews and soliciting donations to make this project a reality. Vi Johnson & Jill Carter have become our first individual donors and SouthEast Leatherfest has become our first event donor.

The Leather Archives & Museum is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, therefore any contribution you make to this project is tax deductible in accordance with IRS regulations. Donations can be made via the LA&M website or by mailing a check/money order to: Leather Archives & Museum, 6418 N. Greenview Avenue, Chicago, IL 60626. Please mark your contributions “women” or “WLHP.” If you have any questions, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

SouthEast LeatherFest is thrilled to support women's history and intends to make a multi-year commitment to WLHP.   SELF has a strong commitment to the women's community and intends to fully embrace this project.  SELF's sponsorship of WLHP is multi-leveled.  

WLHP will be conducting interviews at SELF and there will be other related activities.  Please stay tuned for more news on WLHP related events during SELF's weekend.

* * *

SELF is equally thrilled to support

Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities

Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities (CARAS) is dedicated to the support and promotion of excellence in the study of alternative sexualities, and the dissemination of research results to the alternative sexuality communities, the public, and the research community.

Founded in 2005, the Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities (CARAS) is a national-level, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports research addressing understudied sexual communities, with a current focus on BDSM/leather/kink/fetish sexualities and consensual non-monogamous relationships such as polyamory. Employing a community-based research model, CARAS has assembled a network of academics, clinicians and respected members of these communities who will work directly with researchers to promote scientific and other forms of scholarly research.

SELF is proud to support an organization creating scientific studies of alternative sexualities without bias or the premise of illness.  We believe change may happen one study at a time and couldn't be happier supporting a non-political organization dedicated to science.