Today marks the one-year anniversary of the sudden death of Allen Thornell, an Atlanta activist who worked tirelessly on LGBT, HIV and other issues.

Thornell died Aug. 3, 2009. He is survived by his partner, Chad Prosser, his close-knit family, and many friends in Atlanta and around the nation.

To honor the memory of Thornell, whose record included running for the Georgia House and serving as executive director of gay political group Georgia Equality, the Victory Fund is seeking funds for a scholarship to help future LGBT political leaders.

"We want to make sure that Allen’s legacy lives on – not just in our hearts, but in the lives of all who would be impacted by having strong openly LGBT elected officials influencing policy and creating legislation in their state," notes the scholarship announcement.

The Victory Fund is a national organization that supports qualified LGBT candidates for public office through endorsements and fundraising.

The Allen K. Thornell Scholarship Fund will help cover costs for LGBT political hopefuls to go to the Victory Fund's intensive candidate training, which Thornell attended and later helped lead workshops. The goal is to raise $20,000 to endow the fund.

"While there’s no way we could ever replace Allen, we can recruit and support people who are cut from the same cloth and care about the same issues," the announcement says. "In doing so, his life’s work continues."

You can learn more about the scholarship and make donations here.