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May, 2020 || In This Issue:
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PPF WANTS TO MAKE SURE YOU COUNT
Don't forget! Submit your response to the 2020 Census now at
2020census.gov or by calling 844- 330-2020 (English) or 844-468-2020 (Spanish).
Since unfortunately questions on gender identity or sexual orientation were removed from the census,
Pacific Pride Foundation has decided to make our own supplemental survey to count the folks in our community!
It only takes a minute to submit, and we will use this information to justify more resources for our clients and our local LGBTQ+ community. Allies are also welcome!
Fill it out now (one submission per person, please) and let your voice be heard!
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PPF UPDATES
A message from PPF Board Chair, Lynn Cunningham Brown:
Sadly, I must announce that PPF's Interim Executive Director, Dr. Bill Skeen, has resigned from his position. While we are sad to see him go, both the organization and the community thank him for all of his contributions during the time he had the helm at PPF. We understand that he must now turn his attention to personal medical issues. Please join me in wishing him well as he does so. Thank you so much for lending us your time and talent, Bill. Be well.
I also ask you to join me in welcoming Kevin Marvin as our new Interim Executive Director. Kevin comes to PPF from the Santa Barbara Symphony where he served as the President and CEO since 2016. He brings many years of professional nonprofit management and board experience to this role. Originally from Colorado, Kevin worked for two decades in banking where he last served as a Regional President for a community bank. In addition to serving on the PPF board, Kevin was Chairman and Executive Director of the Denver Gay Men's Chorus and Denver Women's Chorus, and was a board member and President of the International Associations of Gay and Lesbian Choruses (GALA Choruses, Inc.).
Let me share a quote from Kevin:
"I am thrilled to be able to once again serve the LGBTQ+ community by joining the PPF team in this way. I look forward to working with the board, staff and community leaders as we continue to build upon the upward momentum and growth we have seen." Welcome, Kevin!
We are also excited to announce the hiring of
Sky Limón, our new Community Education Coordinator! Sky identifies as Latinx and Queer, and will be a crucial resource for our clients as a bilingual staff member. They are a UCSB alumni and have been dedicated to PPF's mission as a volunteer for the last few years. "I am honored and excited to come on board and help create visibility, resilience, and a safe space for our community!" Welcome, Sky!
For pronouns and contact information for any of our staff members, please visit
our website.
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SPONSOR PRIDE
It's during these times of uncertainty that we rely on our neighbors. This year's
Pacific Pride Festival is set to take place on Saturday, August 29th, at Chase Palm Park. We are moving forward with planning, and are deeply relying on funding to get that job done. After all, Pride was not created out of a need to celebrate, but out of a response to trauma. Please consider giving us the financial tools to galvanize our community in solidarity and strength!
The Pacific Pride Festival is not a fundraiser for our agency, but a gift to the community. Our main goal is to make it accessible to all by keeping it free. This means that our LGBTQ+ youth, whose family may not support their gender or sexuality, can attend without asking for money from their parents. This also means that no one in our community will be turned away due to financial restrictions - especially in times like these. The typical cost of the Pacific Pride Festival nears $90,000, and we look to our community for support! We hope that we can count on you.
Please consider supporting the Pacific Pride Festival as a
sponsor. Remember that Pride connects us - not only to one another, but to vital services, resources, and opportunities for joy and resilience. We hope you will join us in that mission. Make a
donation now, or contact
Jackie directly for more information.
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CELEBRATE NATIONAL PRIDE MONTH WITH PPF
Join Pacific Pride Foundation for a six week campaign to honor National Pride Month by partnering with Charity Footprints!
Through this fitness program we will challenge you to move in whatever way you can, and raise funds for the Pacific Pride Festival. You can use Apple Watch, FitBit, and cellphones to track your progress along the way.
Registration begins on Monday, June 15th, so get your virtual team together now! More details to follow.
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Photo by Alex Siegel Photography
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PARTNERS IN PRIDE
Please join our monthly donor program, Partners in Pride!
Giving monthly means we can rely on your support for our various programs and services that are essential to 10,000 of your community members each year.
"Pacific Pride is a rock in our city that provides many services for our LGBT community. I started donating monthly when my son was in high school and was able to attend the free weekly peer meetings. Having a safe place he could go to and discuss life with peers gave me great comfort, and it comforted him as well. I am happy to support this organization, I even have them in my will. My heart will always be with PPF." - Nancy Foerster
To get started, click
here and select a monthly donation! Questions? Contact
Jackie.
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SUNSET @ THE CANARY
Due to COVID-19, the Sunset @ the Canary series for May 13th has been cancelled.
Please stay tuned for information on upcoming events from Pacific Pride Foundation to help our community remain connected!
Thank you for your understanding and flexibility during this crisis.
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LGBTQ+ PROGRAMS IMPACTED BY COVID-19
Following Governor Newsom's "Safer At Home" order, most
PPF LGBTQ+ Program groups are still on hiatus until further notice.
This includes: Santa Barbara Lavender Elders, LGBTQ+ Adult Therapy Group, Parent & Caregiver Immersive, PROUD Youth Group, PFLAG Santa Maria, LGBTQ+ Storytelling Workshop, and LGBTQ+ School Club visits. Some of these programs have been transitioned online, with details to follow below.
If you're an older adult who would like to virtually connect with our SaBLE luncheon goup, please e-mail
Keilani to express your interest!
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PROUD YOUTH GROUP
Physical distance doesn't have to mean social disconnect. Join us for Pacific Pride Foundation's PROUD Youth Group!
Following feedback from our youth, we will now meet ONLINE twice weekly at a new time: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30-6pm. Youth group is for youth ages 12-17, and is free, drop-in, confidential, and open to allies.
Youth are required to sign up online for each youth group session ahead of time, to ensure confidentiality and safety for all taking part. The sign-up link for each week's session can be found
here. Questions? Contact
Patrick Lyra!
Genders & Sexualities Alliance (GSA) teacher advisors and students: please update us if/when your club is back to meeting again! We want to support your clubs but also give you space to get settled in to the new normal. Please email Keilani to let us know about your GSA!
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PROUD YOUTH LEADERSHIP
Given current safety concerns, the PROUD Summer Program will meet online - and
we need stellar LGBTQ+ Youth Leaders to help run our twice weekly meetings!
The PROUD Summer Program is a free life skills-building program led by LGBTQ+ youth & allies FOR LGBTQ+ youth & allies. This summer we'll partner with the Santa Barbara Public Library to embrace LGBTQ+ young adult literature and storytelling. Youth ages 12-17 won't want to miss out!
Interested youth may apply to be Youth Leaders
here. Youth Leaders must be available Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30-6pm for a majority of the summer (mid June - late August). Questions? Contact
Patrick Lyra!
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COUNSELING AT PACIFIC PRIDE
Pacific Pride Foundation will continue to support LGBTQ+ mental health by continuing to see existing individual and couples counseling clients at our Santa Barbara and Santa Maria offices via teletherapy.
We're pleased to announce that
we are now accepting new clients for teletherapy, and the Transgender Adult Therapy Group is now open through teletherapy and taking new members. Simply visit
our website or call 805-963-3636 x103 to request a free intake.
If you're a parent seeking consultation around your LGBTQ+ child or teen, feel free to schedule a call with our LGBTQ+ Program Manager
here!
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LGBTQ+ CURRICULA SUPPORT
We believe at-home education should align with the
FAIR Education Act and the
California Healthy Youth Act, and continue to teach youth K-12 about LGBTQ+ contributions to history, gender identity, and sexual orientation. But parents and caregivers can't do it alone!
Our LGBTQ+ Program Team is uniquely positioned to support your students (or a collective of students learning from different homes) with this material! Regularly featured in health classes and schools across the Central Coast, our team can provide tailored LGBTQ+ history and identity education to most ages via secure video conferencing.
Schedule a phone consultation
here with LGBTQ+ Program Manager
Patrick Lyra to learn more!
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LGBTQ+ COMPETENCY TRAINING
As local organizations learn to work remotely, serving diverse clients across the Central Coast, it's never been more important to ensure your systems, staff, and online access points are welcoming to all LGBTQ+ people.
Don't hesitate to
schedule an online training, featuring presenters live on video with the same raved-about training content from the PPF LGBTQ+ Program Team. Schedule a training for your organization today!
Note: Training will be provided free of charge to local non-profits during COVID-19!
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HEALTH & PREVENTION DURING COVID-19
The PPF Health & Prevention Program Team is sorry to report that HIV & Hep C testing continues to be on hiatus at Pacific Pride Foundation while our team complies with Governor Newsom's "Safer At Home" order.
We encourage folks to reach out to our community partner
Planned Parenthood or your primary care physician for testing in the meantime.
We will resume testing services as soon as possible! Thank you for your understanding.
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SYRINGE EXCHANGE & OPIOID CRISIS SERVICES REOPENED
We're pleased to share that in a span of just a few weeks our Health & Prevention Program Team was able to shift our Syringe Exchange and Opioid Overdose Prevention Program to a safe, biweekly (every other week), physically distant model in light of COVID-19.
We will be at our usual locations on May 6th in Santa Maria (Wednesday 4:30-6 pm) and May 7th in Santa Barbara (5:30-7pm).
We've extended Syringe Exchange in both locations by a half an hour, and adjusted our Santa Maria exchange so it can meet the needs of our many clients who are necessary workers on a 9 to 5 schedule.
Interested in volunteering to support this critical program? Join our Harm Reduction Task Force by emailing
Patrick Lyra!
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PPF IN THE NEWS
Don't miss these stories covering PPF's programming and advocacy in light of COVID-19:
Santa Barbara News-Press
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SOCIAL JUSTICE BOOK CLUB
Pacific Pride Foundation is excited to partner with the Santa Barbara Public Library and other social justice organizations to offer a Social Justice Book Club! We meet every third Tuesday of the month to discuss books that examine various social injustices, stereotypes, and prejudices that exist in our current world.
This month we are reading
Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li.
We will discuss Tuesday, May 19th at 6pm via a Zoom virtual meeting. For more information, please contact
Jennifer.
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SUPPORT PPF WITH AMAZON SMILE
If you shop on Amazon, consider changing your bookmark to
smile.amazon.com (rather than amazon.com) - you'll see the same website and products, but purchases made through this website will trigger donations to a charity.
When prompted to select an organization, consider searching for and selecting Pacific Pride Foundation! If you need help editing or selecting a charity on Amazon Smile, click
here.
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SHOP AT RALPHS? SUPPORT PPF!
Pacific Pride Foundation is a member of Ralph's Community Program so you can support your local LGBTQ+ center while you shop!
Get started:
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Login to your Ralph's account
- Click on your name on the next page
- Click on My Account
- On the left side menu, click Community Rewards
- Search for "Pacific Pride Foundation"
- Click "Enroll"
If you encounter any issues, please call 1-800-443-4438 between 8am and 4pm for assistance!
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OTHER NEWS & EVENTS
PFLAG - New Virtual Support Meeting
May 11th | 7pm | Click here to register!
During times of stress and crisis, support is more important than ever. The pressures and questions facing LGBTQ+ people and their families continue - and may even be intensified. That is why we are planning to offer our regular Santa Barbara support meeting while inviting PFLAG Santa Maria to join us online using the Zoom platform via PFLAG Connects.
All those who
register will receive a follow-up email confirmation with a link allowing you to enter the meeting.
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