Marriage Equality Rhode Island

Get Involved / Take Action

Host a House Party

House Parties are an invaluable way of connecting and educating people about marriage equality in a non-threatening, casual and friendly atmosphere.

Fund Raising Party

Gather your friends together to support a cause you believe in. We can help you identify other marriage equality supporters in your area if you’d like to expand your circle and invite them as well.

Set your agenda

Whether you simply want to collect fund raising checks after a night of mingling, or to view a documentary and conduct a round-table discussion — house parties work well when there’s an agenda leading to a specific goal.

You might decide to raise a certain amount of money, or to ask your guests to fill out postcards to send to the legislature. You may decide to put a house party together in response to a specific action. MERI can help you set an agenda for your party, and we can provide guest speakers to help lead the discussion.

Educational Party

Consider opening your home to a range of friends, family and co-workers. This is a chance to have an open, honest discussion about marriage equality and why it’s important to you. Don’t be afraid to reach out to acquaintances who might not agree with you.

Suggested Format

Hosting a House Party for MERI is easy and fun, even if you’ve never done something like this before. A typical evening might look like the following:

Guests arrive. Serve refreshments, mingle.

Introductions. Once everyone’s arrived, introduce yourself formally, talk about MERI and the reason for gathering.

The Big Event. Introduce the guest speaker or activity.

Discussion. Open the floor for a group dialogue or Q&A.

Wrap-up. Thank everyone for coming, sign-up guests that want to get more involved with MERI, and pass the hat.