Loda Artwalk Pride
This year’s Pride-themed Artwalk in Mobile was a night of community coming together in exuberant celebration.
- We marched the streets surrounded by our LGBTQ+ siblings and allies;
- We cheered as local drag queens electrified the crowd;
- We shared time and conversation with the City of Mobile’s new LGBTQ+ Liaisons Dr. Natalie Fox and Michael Tyner; and
- We spoke to hundreds of people about the work we do.
The night also brought a couple huge surprises:
- We got to celebrate the announcement that Rainbow Mobile and MobPride would be merging to form Rainbow Pride of Mobile; and
- In a spectacular moment, Prism United was called up to the stage to be presented with a pledged donation of $25,000 from Glamazon, an Amazon LGBTQ+ affinity group.
Color Fairhope With Pride
Just one week later, we joined our Eastern Shore community to celebrate Pride in the heart of Fairhope, beside Mobile Bay.
Color Fairhope With Pride, organized by Prism United’s Fairhope Chapter, was Fairhope’s first full-scale Pride festival and the largest Pride even in the area’s history. Despite the record heat, an astonishing 300+ people came out to enjoy the day and show their support for area LGBTQ+ youth and families, and that doesn’t even include the numerous venders, volunteers, and sponsors amidst the crowd.
From the stage, we were treated to performances by singer-songwriters Emily Stuckey and Meredith Hicks. The headlining act was a Pride Flag Fashion Showcase, emceed by drag performer King Braxton Hicks.
And not to be outdone by LoDa Artwalk Pride, Color Fairhope With Pride brought it’s own tremendous surprise when Shey Thorn of AIDS Alabama South took the microphone to give an impassioned speech about our work, concluding with the presentation of a $20,000 check.
And So Much More…
There have been so many other efforts in the works this month to raise money for Prism. Our friends at the Causeway Rebellion, Citrus & Cane, Fading Amy, Hair-do Salon, and Kind Cafe are just a few of the businesses and individuals lifting us up. We’re so full of gratitude for everyone who believes in and shows up for our work.
How Prism Will Use the Funds
As you’ve just read, Pride Month surprised us with an unprecedented number of large-scale donations. A lot of these funds are earmarked for the LGBTQ+ Community Needs Assessment, a collaborative effort between Prism United and 20+ area organizations to gather and organize comprehensive data on the experiences and needs of LGBTQ+ populations in southwest Alabama. This project will take an estimated $50-60,000 to complete.
Some of the funds will go to our Prism Teens programs to update and expand our curriculum.
Finally, we are excited to be able to allocate a substantial portion of the funds to paying two new, much-needed staff members: our new Prism Teens Program Director and a new Administrator who will help with volunteer coordination and community outreach.
Help Us Dream Bigger
We are proud of what Prism United has been able to do in such a short amount of time with such a limited budget. As our programs grow, so do our needs as an organization.
- We dream of adding a couple more staff members whose presence would give our current staff members the freedom to focus their time on moving Prism United’s goals forward.
- We dream of finding a building that could both house our programs and give us a place to provide essential services and resources for our area’s housing insecure youth.
Your financial support is more important than ever as we begin to see opportunities on the horizon that could turn these big dreams into big realities. It’s going to take all of us to make that happen.
Thanks for being a part of the Prism Team!