The Bilerico Project | Daily experiments in LGBTQ

We all know that scavenger hunts are LGBT-awesome. But Queers for Economic Justice, a New York-based nonprofit organization, has figured out a way to kick up the excitement, while raising money for a great cause!

Now in its 6th year, the Amazingly Queer Race for Economic Justice (no relation to the Amazing Race, I'm sure), turns the city into even more of an LGBT playground than it already was. Here's how it works:

Participants form teams or join existing teams, and those teams fundraise among their friends, co-workers, family members, long-distance pen-pals, secret lovers, etc. Social media plays a role, as it should, with Amazingly Queer Race on Facebook and Twitter.

Then, on May 19th, it's time for six to eight hours of mayhem! The teams scatter across the city, looking for clues and vying for prizes. The team that raised the most money gets a prize, but there also prizes for achieving other goals. And, according to the organizers, you don't even have to live in NY to participate. That's pretty convenient.

Just like the locals, non-New-Yorkers can do things like donate; they can also volunteer from afar and spread the word to their friends in NY (and we've all got at least one!) Heck, if you have the money and time, you could even go to NY just for that day.

Where does all the fundraised money go? If you're not familiar with Queers for Economic Justice (QEJ), this is an organization that deserves your immediate attention. Helmed by Co-Executive Directors Amber Hollibaugh and Brandon Lacy Campos, QEJ's mission is "to challenge and change the systems that create poverty and economic injustice in our communities, and to promote an economic system that embraces sexual and gender diversity."

Amazingly Queer Race participants will see their team's raised funds go to QEJ programs such as their Shelter and Welfare Organizing Project, which, as the name implies, works with homeless shelters to support the needs of LGBTQ shelter residents - as well as providing legal training for the residents. QEJ doesn't stop there; they also give leadership development classes to low-income LGBTQ folks.

But enough about the do-gooder stuff. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Wouldn't you want to spend a day wearing a feather boa and hanging out with these folks?...

img src Syd London