Dear Family,
As June comes to a close, we could not be more proud to be the Co-Chairs of GAPIMNY. From the tragedy in Orlando to impassioned celebrations of Pride, events throughout the month have brought our community together in strength, mourning, and jubilation. We cried. We cheered. We danced. We fiercely advocated for our civil rights in the face of violence and adversity. For many of us, this month was a powerful, kaleidoscopic burst of life in all of its joy and sadness.
As we continue to process recent happenings, we are grateful that your support has led GAPIMNY through the biggest period of growth in our 26-year history. Our mailing list has expanded to 1,091 subscribers, and the Proudly GAPIMNY membership drive achieved results well beyond our goal of 100 paying members. Not only did we hit this goal almost two months early, most remarkably, we are now the largest organization of our kind nationally!
In addition to expanding membership, we have also welcomed two new members to our Steering Committee and several other individuals who are planning to join in the near future. These individuals helped us organize more than ten events during Pride Month, several of which surpassed prior attendance records, including the Queens Pride March (50 individuals) and the GAPIMNY Pride Picnic in Central Park (150 individuals). Thanks to your generosity, we also raised $257 at Elixir in support of victims of the Pulse shooting.
As you may know, “Creating Safe Spaces” is GAPIMNY’s theme for 2016. Recent events only continue to remind us of the power and relevance of this work. Looking ahead, we invite you to join us in creating safe spaces—workshops, discussions, happy hours, parades and more—where we can support each other in becoming truer, more authentic versions of ourselves.
GAPIMNY will lead a workshop on What Safe Spaces Look Like in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned for details and let us know if you would like to get involved in planning the workshop!
Love is love is love is love is love,
Rafael Flores & Jason Kwong
Co-Chairs