April 21, 2011

Without your help, Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center may soon close its doors after 22 years of advocating for LGBTQ rights in the Mid-South. Despite enacting cost-cutting measures over the past year, we are at a turning point. We desperately need your help to continue providing services to our LGBTQ community and to provide us time to enact our plans for growing revenues. Diminishing donations and scarcity of grant opportunities have left us in this difficult position. 

MGLCC Needs Your Support

MGLCC was founded to provide a safe space for LGBTQ gatherings, to offer support groups and a sense of community. In the past three years, we have grown far beyond those initial functions. We have established ourselves as an essential organization for Memphis and the communities in a 200-mile radius. Without MGLCC, people who depend on us for their lives, safety and well-being would have nowhere to turn. In particular, our Youth Services is a critical program for the community. Josh is just one example of the many people who come to us for help:

Josh grew up in a community where LGBTQ people were ridiculed, described as sick and disgusting, and called horrible names. When Josh realized at the age of 15 that he was attracted to another boy, he panicked. He wanted to be safe and to feel loved, but all he ever felt was fear and shame. He just wanted the pain to stop. After a failed suicide attempt, Josh's school counselors looked for support from MGLCC. We invited him to our Queer as Youth group. Josh now has at least one place where he can feel safe and supported. Hopefully, Josh will not be just another statistic in an epidemic of gay teen suicide.

We provide a safe haven every day for those who think they are alone. We build community among people whose families have rejected them. We advocate for social and political change. We assist other agencies in Memphis to better address the needs of their LGBTQ clients. We represent the Memphis community in local and national media. We maintain the only LGBTQ history archive in the Mid-South. We speak out against intolerance. We work actively to make our community a better place to live.

We need your help to continue the dream of our founders and benefactors and to continue operating as a vital organization in the Mid-South. With very little left to cut from our $125,000 budget, our only remaining option is to lay off our executive director, the only employee we have. This would greatly diminish our ability to function in the way that our community needs and expects.

We have set a goal to raise $45,000 by the end of May to ensure we can keep our executive director and implement our plans for future stability, to keep the Center thriving and growing for many years to come. Please give today and please give with all of your heart. You are the key to saving lives and protecting our rights in Memphis. Kids like Josh need your help. Your community needs your help.

To make a donation, please click the "Donate Now" button on our HOMEPAGE 

Sincerely,

Board of Directors

Memphis Gay and Lesbian  

Community Center