A weekend-long fundraiser for the new Stratford Pride Community Center is off to a hot start.
Organizers launched the city’s first Winter Pride celebration Friday evening by announcing a pair of significant grants – $30,000 over three years from TD Bank Group and another $20,000 this year from United Way Perth-Huron.
“It tells us that we’re on the right track,” Stratford Pride Community Center president Bruce Duncan Skeaff said. “It tells us that we’ve got a very good idea of what supports … are needed to make life better for LGBT people in the area and that major funders of charitable work feel the same way.”
Skeaff and a group of volunteers launched the Stratford Pride Community Center in August. Their vision is to address a need for resources and social activities geared toward local members of the LGBTQ+ community, Stratford and Perth County’s many LGBTQ+ visitors, and others thinking about settling down in the region.
“We are committed to helping build strong, inclusive communities, where everyone has the opportunity to feel connected, respected and confident in what the future holds for them.” TD district vice president Ester Condello said in a release. “Supporting initiatives like the Stratford Pride Community Center is one of the ways we work to reach this goal and continue our journey to a more inclusive tomorrow.”
“Our New Initiative Grants are all about new approaches and innovations in community services and programs and this project addresses a real need for our local LGBTQ+ community,” added Ryan Erb, the executive director of the region’s United Way branch. “We look forward to seeing this project continue to evolve.”
The Stratford Pride Community Center has been operating virtually since it was launched this summer. The new grant money, as well as funds raised this weekend during Winter Pride, will help the community center close in on a physical location.
“We are now very close,” Skeaff said.
The community center’s first Winter Pride event, Love is Love, is taking place at the Queen’s Inn in downtown Stratford until Monday. Weekend of activities include a Saturday evening dinner and comedy show hosted by Toronto-based comic Robert Watson and a Sunday brunch drag show produced by Guelph drag show producer TroyBoy Entertainment.
Both events have already sold out, Skeaff said.
A drop-in center with snacks and non-alcoholic drinks, sponsored by Partners In Employment, will be running all weekend, and Fanfare Books will host a window display of titles with queer subjects or by queer authors.