This is the third and final installment of our Pride Edition newsletter.
Alongside our participation in recent Pride events, we had a lot going on, and we’re excited to tell you about it. But first:
It takes dedicated work to keep our programs in motion. That’s why we’re looking to expand our leadership team—so that Prism can continue providing high-quality programs in a way that’s sustainable for the organization. One way to help us expand our leadership team is by becoming a sustaining member.
Our deepest gratitude to our newest sustaining members: Alysandria Embergale, Jason Pritchett, Angela Pinkston, and Lisa Harvard.
If you’d like to be our next sustaining member, just click the “Make this donation every month” box when you donate on our website.
Now, here’s a look at what we’ve been doing these past couple months in addition to Pride. We’ve provided:
- LGBTQ+ Competency Training for The Bridge, a substance use disorder treatment and behavioral rehabilitation center for adolescents.
- Safe Zone Training for Penelope House, an organization that helps victims of intimate partner violence gain social and economic independence.
- A virtual workshop on Bullying & LGBTQ+ Youth for the Mobile County Coalition Against Bullying.
- A video on Trauma & the LGBTQ+ Community for Project THRIVE.
- A virtual discussion with a master’s-level psychology class on LGBTQ+ Struggle and Interventions taught by Dr. Jamie Franco.
- A virtual discussion with Women in Philanthropy on Being Allies to the LGBTQIA Community.
- A virtual discussion with United Way of southwest Alabama and Shey Thorn of AIDS AL South on LGBTQ+ struggle and allyship.
Within our regular programs, we’ve:
- Interviewed 10 new volunteer applicants and are currently taking them through our orientation process.
- Completed another unit of our virtue-based Prism Preteens program with our middle school-aged youth. Participants will receive their latest virtue badge (pictured above) when we return to in-person gatherings in August.
- Hit double-digit participation at our last two in-person Prism Families gatherings.
- Provided 16 virtual gatherings through our Prism Teens program between the months of May and June for our high school-aged youth.
And the work doesn’t stop there. For next month’s return to in-person gatherings across all programs, we’re busy preparing our gathering spaces, training facilitators, coordinating with food volunteers, revising curricula, planning event nights, lining up special guests, and more.
Thanks to everyone who made this year’s Pride Month our best yet. Now it’s up to us to make sure that the dream of Pride lives on in our work. We hope you’re with us.
Warmest regards,
The Prism Team