Washington, DC —  The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) today announced a call for entries for the Leroy F. Aarons and the Kay Longcope scholarships, which are awarded to students who demonstrate a commitment to providing fair and accurate coverage of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. These annual scholarships are presented in honor of two prominent journalists. Applications are available onlineand will be accepted until January 20, 2012.

“We are devoted to creating educational opportunities to support the next generation of LGBT newsroom leaders,” says NLGJA Executive Director Michael Tune, “There are many still untold stories from the LGBT community and we are thrilled to be able to help further the education of two outstanding students concerned about the fair and accurate portrayal of the community in the news.”

The Leroy F. Aarons scholarship was established in 2005 to honor NLGJA founder Leroy Aarons and to continue his work of fostering fair and accurate coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues from within the news industry. Past winners are: Sharyn Jackson (2011), Mary Susman (2010), Ryan McLendon (2009), Matthew Leung (2008), Colin Dugdale (2007) and Dennis Mitchell (2006).

The Kay Longcope scholarshipwas established in 2008 in memory of Boston Globe journalist Kay Longcope, who co-founded the Texas Triangle, a LGBT weekly newspaper that would eventually grow to become the major source for all things gay in Texas, covering the gamut from news to art, relationships to music reviews. This scholarship has been awarded twice before and will continue to fund a LGBT student of color who plans a career in journalism. Past winners are: Fenit Nirappil (2011) and Carl Gaines (2010).

NLGJA partners with The PhiladelphiaFoundation(TPF), a community foundation established in 1918, to administer the NLGJA Student Scholarship Fund. The DelawareValleyLegacyFund, a component fund of TPF serving to advance philanthropy within the LGBT communities, will disburse the scholarship awards on recommendations from NLGJA during each award period.

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About the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association
NLGJA is an organization of journalists, media professionals, educators and students working from within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues. NLGJA opposes all forms of workplace bias and provides professional development to its members. For more information , visit the NLGJA Web site .

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About the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund
The Delaware Valley Legacy Fund strives to increase philanthropy and grant making to support the community needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) and straight-allied communities. DVLF advances philanthropy for the LGBT community through endowment building, fundraising, community outreach and education. For more information on the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund, visit its Web site at http://www.dvlf.org.

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