At the beginning there were only a few, but the number of supporters is growing. Thanks to this, more and more offers could and can be realized.
A big thank you to all supporters, especially to all helpers, volunteers, members and private donors!
KAI GEHRING, member of the Bundestag
The member of the Bundestag from Essen stands up for (young) LGBT*I* and supports the together youth projects as a patron. Bundestag – Berlin – far away – no time… all things that go through your mind when you think of a member of the German Bundestag; but Kai Gehring takes the time.
He wants to know how young LGBT*I* are doing in “his” city, what they need and what matters to them – and not just from research and surveys. He prefers to ask those who know best: young LGBT*I* themselves. He knows from his own experience how important that is.
Every now and then he comes by or sends out invitations to Berlin. In direct conversation, not only he makes an impression, but also shows that politicians are real people and do not always know everything better. He talks openly, honestly and authentically about his coming out, about what has changed in recent years, what still needs to change, how politics works and what he will stand up for in the future. However, he still needs to practice a bit on the football table.
KORDULA VÖLKER
As a patroness, Kordula Völker supports the together youth projects. The cabaret artist and social pedagogue, who lives in the Wesel district, knows what she is talking about: she had her coming out in 1981, at a time when there were no lesbians, gays, bisexuals or trans* on television.
She was not afraid of losing her job at the Catholic Vacation Service. “My love of life is more important than any job,” she said even then, and since then she has never left this path, but has changed again and again. The social pedagogue turned into a radio journalist and the songwriter into a professional cabaret artist. In 1994 – and there were still no lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans* on TV – she brought her first lesbian cabaret program “Love, Lust and Passion” on stage. With this, she outed herself as the first cabaret artist in public and ventured onto the nationwide cabaret stages.
Times have changed – lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans* are now on TV, but Kordula still isn’t ;). And there is a reason for that: still Kordula Völker is the only artist who brings lesbian and gay topics to the cabaret stage. Whether CSD and LFT, civil partnership and the desire to have children, dragking or the queer movement – Kordula doesn’t mince words and comments on homosexual life in her programs with a lot of humor and self-irony.
Kordula is catchy, real and honest. Her openness is disarming and her humor unbeatable. She is full of creative ideas, does not speak in riddles and phrases, but straight out. She says what she thinks, stands by her quirks and sometimes mixes 3 machines of white laundry with colorful things. But what really makes her tick – and that from the bottom of her heart – is her unrestrained curiosity. What do others think, what drives them, how can I support them? She asks questions, wants to know how young women are doing today, how their coming out is going, what they need. And that’s what’s unusual about Kordula Völker: she doesn’t give advice but listens. She’s the friend next door, a buddy to steal horses from, and in any case a great patroness.
