9.0
Friday, April 24, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 7
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Birthday celebrates life by giving
Former professor wants donations instead of presents
By Marcelo Vilela
mvilela@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Ben Zimmerman is commemorating his 80th birthday with a "benny-fit."
He's having a party, but there will be no gifts for him. Zimmerman requested donations to organizations he's involved with instead of gifts for himself. He calls it "benny-fit." Even though donations are the spirit of the party, they are not mandatory, Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman is a retired University of Kansas professor of social welfare and prominent figure in the civil rights movement.
Zimmerman's party will be at 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Teepee Junction, a party center off Highway 40. Alice Lieberman, professor of social welfare and one of the originators of the benefit party idea, said she was expecting about 200 people to attend the party.
"I think he really liked the idea of using his birthday as a vehicle for raising money to causes that are important to him," Lieberman said. "He's been a role model for the community of activists and organizers in this town."
Funds raised at Zimmerman's party will be directed to Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, The Freedom Coalition and Women's Transitional Care Services.
Zimmerman said he was looking forward to the party.
"I'm very gratified," he said. "I don't necessarily want anybody looking up to me. I just hope they
"He has a wonderful and unique ability to mobilize people and make them believe that the impossible can happen."
Alice Lieberman
Professor of social welfare
can benefit from my experience."
Zimmerman came to the University in 1973. He was the first chairperson of the Discrimination Hearing Board at the University and was the faculty advisor of Gay Services of Kansas, the group today known as Queers and Allies.
He was involved with the foundation of Day Care Coalition of Lawrence & Douglas County, the Lawrence Alliance, the Freedom Coalition, the Douglas County AIDS Project and the Lawrence-Topeka Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
In 1995, he was co-chairman of the Simply Equal campaign, a community-organized effort to add sexual orientation to the Human Relations Ordinance in Lawrence. The campaign succeeded.
Throughout his career, Zimmerman worked in several social welfare programs and organizations. He now serves on the local boards of The Freedom Coalition, the League of Women Voters, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
"He has a wonderful and unique ability to mobilize people and make them believe that the impossible can happen," Lieberman said. "This party is a testament of how well loved he is for what he does for this community."
Ben Zimmerman, former University of Kansas professor of social welfare, sits in his rocking chair at his house. Zimmerman is a role model for the gay community. Photo by Lizz Weber / KANSAN
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