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Outguide 2013 2013 1 DURHAM CARY 1125 W. NC HIGHWAY 54 3635 S.W. CARY PARKWAY DURHAM, NC 27707 CARY, NC 27513 (919) 489-6900 (919) 461-7112 HELLO, On behalf of the LGBT Center of Raleigh and the Board of Directors, I welcome you to our 2013 Out! Guide. The following pages are filled with information about the Center, but moreover, organizations and businesses that are engaged in the LGBT community. The LGBT Center of Raleigh has been growing non-stop, adding additional programs and services every month! But this is only possible because of the dedication of our amazing volunteers and community financial support. The Center opened in February 2010 and since then has greeted tens of thousands of people who have walked through our doors. The Center itself is a physical meeting place for individuals looking for a safe and welcoming environment, as well as information about the region. People visit the Center from all over North Carolina, from the great Appalachian Trail to the pristine waters of the Outer Banks. The Center hosts many local organizations that meet at the Center such as Crape Myrtle Festival, Gay Straight Alliances of Wake County, Raleigh Business and Professional Network, the Human Rights Campaign, El Centro, and many more. As you flip through this guide, you will see all of the wonderful programs we offer. We offer the entire spectrum of programming, including Gay & Gray, the Women’s Initiative, MClub, a myriad of Youth Programs, the Transgender Initiative, and much, much more. Keep up to date with us on our website (www.lgbtcenterofraleigh.com) and on the numerous social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc). With four years solidly behind us, we can’t wait for the community to share in our FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY in October! Keep an eye out, because we are definitely not slowing down anytime soon! For Equality, James Miller, MPP MBA Executive Director DURHAM CARY LGBT Center of Raleigh 1125 W. NC HIGHWAY 54 3635 S.W. CARY PARKWAY DURHAM, NC 27707 CARY, NC 27513 WELCOME 3 (919) 489-6900 (919) 461-7112 Welcome to North Carolina’s largest family friendly street festival for LGBT individuals! A brain child of many dedicated volunteers and the LGBT Center of Raleigh, Out! Raleigh is a chance for our diverse community to come together and celebrate life and love. This year, while we may mourn the passing of Amendment 1, we are not without the promise of a better tommorrow. We know “it gets better” but we won’t wait. We are MAKING IT BETTER every day. Join us, won’t you? lgbtcenterofraleigh.com outraleigh.com 4 What you’re holding right now is the Triangle’s premiere LGBT Guide. Look through it— cover to cover. Find a new restaurant! Shop at new and exotic places! Show some huge love to businesses that are always there for us. The LGBT Center of Raleigh hosts numerous programs and services in the community that aim at reducing social isolation, as well as building alliances in the Triangle. Please take a moment to read this guide and find out all of the new and exciting things taking place at YOUR LGBT Center. By the way: Yes, we are the best Center in the South. Come see us at: 411 Hillsborough Street lgbtcenterofraleigh.com Raleigh, NC, 27603 outraleigh.com 5 WOMEN’S INITIATIVE The Initiative aims to address an array of women’s issues within the community through the implementation of volunteer-led projects such as Girl’s Night Out social events, outdoor activities, and family programs. TRANSGENDER INITIATIVE The Transgender Initiative helps to build community with self-identified or perceived transgender, gender variant, or gender non-conforming individuals and trans-positive organizations in the greater NC Triangle region. FIRST FRIDAY The Triangle’s only venue dedicated to showcasing LGBT artists. A percentage of artwork sales are donated to the Center. LGBT GAME NIGHT Free and open to all ages! Enjoy board games in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. This is held every first Friday at Calvary United Methodist Church and every third Friday at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh. COMMUNITY OUTREACH COMMUNITY DINE & DONATE Every month, supporters of the LGBT Center are invited to dine-out at a featured restaurant, which will then donate 15% of the sales from that evening directly to the Center. If you know a restaurant willing to participate, let us know! HEALTHWORKS HealthWorks began as a program of Triangle Community Works, which provided individuals in the LGBT community an opportunity to socialize while participating in fitness-related activities. Programs address our diverse community’s physical, mental, spiritual, financial, and environmental health. RALEIGH IS COMING OUT RICO is an annual, week-long event held in October that coincides with National LGBT History Month and National Coming Out Day. It is an opportunity to spotlight the Center’s accomplishments and to discuss new ways to move forward in the future. This year, we are renaming and rebranding our awards dinner; the ‘LGBT Center Awards Gala’. SAGE RALEIGH (Gay & Gray**) This initiative grew out of the desire to respect and advocate for our mature LGBT members, who often find themselves socially isolated and ignored. Some of the approaches that we have implemented for these individuals include a robust social calendar, a health initiative, and a senior housing component. **Formerly known as the Gay & Gray Initiative LGBT LIBRARY Opened in October 2011, the collection has increased to nearly 2500 volumes focused on celebrating LGBT life. The Library is a welcoming place for family members and allies of LGBT people, offering access to indispensible resources not available elsewhere. ASPYRE YOUTH CAMP The ASPYRE Youth Camp is a program of the LGBT Center of Raleigh, aimed at empowering our youth and young adult leaders to be the best they can be. This year’s cam p will take place in early March over a weekend at Camp Weaver in Greensboro, NC! Youth from across the state are encourgaged to apply. Diversity makes us strong GENERATIONS GENERATIONS is a group for our LGBT parents and their children to meet monthly for social playtime activities at the Center as well as outings in our community. GAY PARENTS INITIATIVE This initiative seeks to provide programming and events of interest to LGBT parents and their kids of all ages. YOUTH COFFEE HOUSE This program is aimed at youth, ages 12-18, who are questioning, or have self-identified but are not yet ready to be out to the general public. Events are also open to any youth in the community who want a safe place to make new friends. Meetings are currently held monthly with notices posted on the Center’s event calendar. MAKING IT BETTER This youth project aims at showing our young adult population that it just doesn’t get better on its own, we have to MAKE IT BETTER. YOUTH OUTREACH YOUTH Whatever the need is, the library at the LGBT Center of Raleigh has a resource to help. Thanks to contributions from community members and the dedication of our volunteers, the library opened in October of 2011. We offer an important service to the LGBT community, their family members and allies by providing books that celebrate the LGBT life. The library is the largest LGBT library in central North Carolina and quite possibly, the entire South! We have 2500 volumes of LGBT friendly books, resource and reference materials and DVD’s. There is a special collection of rare and vintage books that are available for viewing at the Center as well. The library is responsible for several of the Center’s more popular programs including Rainbow Reading Group, Family Story Time and Meet the Author, which spotlights an LGBT author several times a year. We welcome visitors from around the Triangle and beyond. Feel free to stop by and check out the LGBT Center of Raleigh’s library, you’re sure to find something you love! LIBRARY The ASPYRE Youth Camp promoted leadership among LGBT youth and provided opportunities to network and build advocacy skills in a safe and supportive environment. The curriculum was constructed using a Positive Youth Development Model and focused heavily on self-advocacy in their personal space. But it was not through education that they found their voice; it was from the interpersonal relationships that were developed over the 72-hour camp. Many left with a new definition of ‘family’-- family with whom they know they could share and depend upon in the future. ASPYRE offered these youth a safe space to voice their concerns about local, state, and national issues, and how these events would affect them not only today, but also well into the future as members of the community. With the leadership of the LGBT Center of Raleigh, Equality North Carolina, and OutRight Youth Catawba Valley, this small group of young leaders identified opportunities in their own communities that could be improved upon: ideas ranging from starting new GSA’s in their schools to giving presentations about marriage and employment rights to their county’s commissioners. Everyone involved in this camp was genuinely touched by the dedication and passion these youth showed, and we can’t wait to put it on again next year. ASPYRE YOUTH CAMP YOUTH ASPYRE I was feeling increasingly alienated when Amendment 1 was passed and people rose to power who I didn’t think were going to take care of the LGBT community. I was feeling depressed, thinking that this is my home, where I have lived for 10 years, but I would never get to share my life with someone I love in this state.
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