Are You A Loyal Fan? ⚽️
Join SD Pride for Pride Night on Saturday, August 5 at 7:00 pm when SD Loyal Soccer Club takes on Orange County Soccer Club. You will receive a Pride Hat with every ticket you purchase, plus $5 will benefit San Diego Pride! Tickets range from $30-60. For tickets: www.sdpride.org/events. The match will be held at Torero Stadium, 5998 Alcala Park Way in San Diego
PFLAG SDC Metro Moving To In-person Meetings Only
Starting in August, PFLAG SDC Metro is moving to in-person meetings only. On Thursday, August 10 the support group will meet in person and for every second Thursday moving forward. There will be no Zoom meetings. Email metro@pflagsdc.org for location and to be on the mailing list for reminders. We hope to invite a guest speaker to some meetings. If you cannot make the in person meetings, please message other sites to join their zoom meetings. https://pflagsdc.org/support-meetings/ We are all PFLAG San Diego County!
️PFLAG SDC Ramona Support Group!
PFLAG San Diego County is excited to announce a new meeting site for our chapter in Ramona! St. Mary’s Episcopal Church will host a support and education group on the fourth Tuesday of every month! The first meeting will be Tuesday, August 22nd, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 1010 Twelfth Street, Ramona, 92065. Ramona has a welcoming community of parents and allies ready to bring increased support to local LGBTQ+ community members and those who love them. Contact ramona@pflagsdc.org for meeting site information and time. Congratulations, Ramona! Welcome to the PFLAG SDC Family!
South Bay Pride Art And Music Festival
South Bay Alliance proudly presents its 15th annual South Bay Pride Art and Music Festival on Saturday, August 26 from 11:00 am-10:00 pm. This free, family-oriented Pride event features two musical stages, DJs, dancing, children’s entertainment, great food, artists, over 100 vendors, local resources, and more. If you would like to be a vendor, please sign up at: https://southbaypride.org/vendors/.
South Bay P.R.I.D.E. goals are to make this event not only a celebration of the community and educational outreach, but also to provide funds in order to assist in creating a bi-national resource center in the south San Diego County where youth and the aging community can be supported and have a safe haven.
If you would like to volunteer at the PFLAG SDC booth, please email admin@pflag.com.
The festival is at Bayfront Park, 980 Marina Way, directly west of the I-5 and J Street exit.
️ PFLAG SDC Book Club
The next selection for the PFLAG SDC Book Club will be the novel Lawn Boy, by Jonathan Evison. We’ll meet Tuesday, September 26, 7-8:15 p.m on Zoom for a discussion moderated by newsletter editor Louise Julig. You must register separately for each book club meeting. Use the link below to register.
Lawn Boy is the story of twentysomething Mike Muñoz, working as a landscaper in the Pacific Northwest. Mike can’t seem to catch a break in either his work life or romantic life, and feels himself drifting farther and farther from the American Dream. Can he latch on to something good with the help of a cast of quirky friends and family?
We’ll be discussing this book just before Banned Books Week, October 1-7, 2023, as Lawn Boy was in the ten most-challenged books for both 2022 and 2021, for LGBTQIA+ content and being “sexually explicit.” Read for yourself and come to your own conclusions; our discussion will include the effect of book banning on the LGBTQIA+ community.
We are proud to partner with Libélula Books and Co., a local queer-owned, Latinx-owned, Indigenous-owned independent bookstore at 950 South 26th Street in Barrio Logan. Check out their in-person location or buy the book through their Bookshop.org store. If audiobooks are more your thing, check out the indie-supporting Libro.fm.
Registration Opening Soon For AIDS Walk San Diego
AIDS Walk & Run San Diego will take place Saturday, September 30, and PFLAG San Diego County will be registered to participate as soon as available. The day’s events include the opening ceremony, live musical performances, recognition of top teams and fundraisers, T-shirt distribution, a remembrance altar, and remarks from our most committed community leaders.
The AIDS Walk is San Diego’s largest HIV/AIDS fundraiser and the biggest non-governmental financial provider for HIV/AIDS in San Diego County. Dozens of agencies, serving thousands of clients, rely on funds raised at the annual Walk/Run to help provide essential prevention and care programs to thousands of men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS. Our visible support for this event shows people living with HIV that they are not alone.
When we are registered, the info will be on our FB page and IG. More details will be in the September newsletter.
️ Another Successful Pride! ️⚧️
As you can tell by the photos below, PFLAG SDC members had a blast at this year’s Pride Parade!
Thank you a million times over to Mike Minnick, Pride Parade and Festival coordinator for PFLAG SDC. We are grateful for all the time and effort spent to make the day a success. Thank you to Terrie Vorono, who patiently drove her car in the Parade and to Pride Festival volunteers Mike Minnick, Marie Minnick, Nancy Colbert, Bill Luna, Vicki Luna, Elizabeth Santillanez, Lonnie Brunini, Theresa Burke, Frank Burke, Heather Meyer, Jonathan Meyer, Tom Pastuszka, Fernan Balsalubre, Sim Scano, Luca Caputo, and Sherry Cohen-Richards. These fantastic volunteers made the booth the most fun and caring!
Champion of Pride
Congrats to PFLAG SDC member Christynne Wood (second from left) for being selected as the Champion of Pride at the Spirit of Stonewall Rally. The rally kicked off Pride Weekend and PFLAG SDC is full of pride that she was chosen. Everyone loved her speech! The annual Spirit of Stonewall Rally was another powerful reminder of the leaders and visionaries amongst us that we are fortunate to recognize during San Diego Pride.
Christynne is photographed with PFLAG SDC members Emily Okerlund, Elizabeth Santillanez, and Terrie Vorono.
Thank You, Qualcomm
PFLAG SDC President Nancy Colbert showing our gratitude to Qualcomm. They have donated their Festival booth to us since well before Covid. We are very grateful!
Metropolitan Community Church Honors PFLAG SDC
Every Sunday before Pride Weekend, Metropolitan Community Church invites PFLAG SDC to speak before the congregation. Pictured are Terrie Vorono and Mike Minnick. Folx were touched by Mike’s story.
Rep. Mike Levin Honors Jeri Nicolas
Rep. Mike Levin honored Jeri Nicolas as June Constituent of the Month. Jeri is a PFLAG SDC Board Member and one of the hardest working employees at the North County LGBTQ Resource Center. Rep. Levin said Jeri embodies the Center’s mission by advocating for resources and promoting educational programs to assist members of the LGBTQ+ community and create a more equitable and safer region. We agree! Cheers to Jeri! You can read the press release at https://levin.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-mike-levin-honors-local-oceanside-lgbtq-advocate-jeri-nicolas-as-june-constituent-of-the-month
We are very proud of PFLAG SDC member Kathe Dunn. Every year, several of her jewelry pieces place at the San Diego Fair. This piece is particularly noteworthy.
Don’t Miss Out On Your PFLAG SDC T-shirt!
New design PFLAG San Diego County t-shirts are $10 and there are a limited quantity. To reserve a PFLAG SDC t-shirt, please email your name and size to: admin@pflag.com.
We Love Our PFLAG SDC Scholarship Awardee Sponsors
We deeply appreciate the 2023 Launching Leaders Scholarship Awardee Sponsors: The San Diego Foundation, represented by President and CEO Mark Stuart (top left), Bill Hanson, who has donated $24,000 in scholarships over the past three years (top right), Charles Schwab, represented by Thu Nguyen (bottom left), and Congressman Scott Peters, represented by Brianna Coston (bottom right). They greatly assisted in sponsoring tables for some of the scholarship recipients, their families, and special guests. Thank you! ♥️
Thank You To Our Donors!
Thanks to the following individuals who donated to PFLAG SDC this past month:
Mishelle Banaga
Stephanie Cernek
David Milroy
Mary Lou Strong
Thanks to our regular monthly donors to PFLAG San Diego County. A monthly donation helps provide predictable sources of funding for our programs and scholarships and we appreciate it very much!
Donna and Jim Bowersox
Lonnie Brunini
B Fit by Bryann
Nancy Colbert
Anna Covici
Charles Kaminski
Stephen Miller and Michael Wasilewski
Maureen Steiner
Terrie Vorono
☎️ 988 Suicide Prevention Hotline Now In Place
The nonprofit that operates the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline launched a pilot program for LGBTQ individuals, veterans, and anyone who feels they may be experiencing a mental health crisis; you may call or text 988.
One of the goals is to dramatically decrease the number of calls made to 911 in the time of crisis, as 911 wasn’t set up to address mental health needs. Please note, this new program does not track your location.
Support Groups
❗️Note: some support group information has changed since last month
Most support groups will continue to meet virtually, but some groups are returning to in-person meetings. Check individual group for details. We encourage you to contact your support group facilitator at any time, as they will remain excellent resources for information. The support group locations, dates, and times will continue to be posted on the PFLAG San Diego County Facebook page. You can join in any of the digital meetings. For Zoom links, contact each support group.
Our Vision
PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all people are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
Our Mission
By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through: Support for families, allies and people who are LGBTQ+; Education for ourselves and others about the unique issues and challenges facing people who are LGBTQ+; Advocacy in our communities to change attitudes and create policies and laws that achieve full equality for people who are LGBTQ+.
