️‍⚧️ San Diego In July Is All About Pride!

Friend, once again PFLAG San Diego County will be marching (and riding!) in the San Diego Pride Parade in support of the LGBTQ+ Community. This annual participation is part of our ongoing commitment of support and solidarity with our beloved family and friends under the rainbow. We hope you will join us either as we march, or from the sidelines, or at any one of the multitude of events surrounding this annual celebration of Pride.

We also need your support of PFLAG San Diego County in turn. Please consider joining our Board in the position of Treasurer to keep our support rolling, or join as a new member or renew your membership today. You can do this from our website at pflagsdc.org/membership or send your renewal to PO Box 82762, San Diego, CA 92138.

Treasurer Wanted!

PFLAG SDC needs you! The treasurer position is currently vacant on the PFLAG SDC Board. Duties include keeping an account of all monies received/expended and making disbursements authorized by the Board. Treasurer must be or become familiar with QuickBooks and other accounting procedures. For more information, contact Board President Nancy Colbert: nancyc@pflagsdc.org.

July Support Group Meeting Changes

Due to the proximity of Independence Day, the North County Coastal Support Group meeting is changed to July 10. In addition, the East County Support Group meeting will be July 24. All other support group meetings remain the same.

Poway Pride Resource Fair

This Saturday, June 29, the Poway Library 5th Annual Pride Resource Fair will take place from 10:00am – noon. The library is located at 13137 Poway Road in Poway.  There will be entertainment, crafts, face painting, as well as special performances, information, and presentations from local LGBTQ resources.

The resource fair is sponsored by the San Diego Public Library in partnership with TransFamily Support Services.

It’s Pride Storytime!

The San Diego Public Library invites you to celebrate Pride season at two special PRIDE Storytimes. The first is on July 6 at 10:00 am at the North University Community Library with Lady Marmalade. For the second treat, on July 17 at 10:30 am, the Oak Park Library will be featuring Willow.

PRIDE Storytime is a family-friendly way of recognizing and celebrating our diversity and individuality through age-appropriate stories and songs. This is a safe space; all families are welcome. No registration is required.

Happy San Diego Pride from the San Diego Public Library!

Black Pride San Diego Events

Black Pride San Diego 2024 is celebrated July 5-7. PFLAG San Diego County, in partnership with PFLAG National, is honored to be a sponsor of Black Pride San Diego 2024. There are so many ways to gather and celebrate, including Fam Bam Beach BBQ at 1010 Santa Clara Place on Mission Bay. This is a free, all-ages event for family fun and celebration! More events below.

July 5, 6 pm Harmony Hour Kick-Off Party
July 5, 11 pm Express Your Essence Mini Ball
July 6, 11 am Fam Bam Beach BBQ
July 6, 5 pm Freaknik Beach Party
July 7, 3 pm Decadent Day Party

Link to all the Black Pride Events: https://www.sandiegoblackpride.org/events

PFLAG Sunday At Metropolitan Community Church ⛪️

Every year The Metropolitan Community Church, which hosts the monthly PFLAG SDC Metro support group meeting, welcomes PFLAG San Diego County at the start of Pride Week to be recognized for our support to the LGBTQIA+ community and its families. This year PFLAG SDC Sunday is July 14 starting at 10 am. It’s an uplifting morning of celebration and gratitude for doing what we do: Leading With Love!

Everyone is welcome regardless of where, how, or whether you worship. A chapter member will also be sharing their PFLAG story. MCC is located at 2633 Denver Street, San Diego.

San Diego Women’s Chorus Annual Pride Concert

You are cordially invited to the San Diego Women’s Chorus’ annual Pride Concert on July 18, 7 p.m. Special guest artist will be Kärntner Landesjugendchor from Austria. This will be a wonderful evening of music for the San Diego community in celebration of Pride. The concert will take place at the Encore Event Center, 8253 Ronson Road in San Diego

Tickets are available for $25 for General Admission. Discount tickets are available for youth, seniors, disabled, and military guests. For tickets: www.sdwc.org.

Just In Time For Pride!

Be part of the PFLAG SDC Family for Pride! Order your PFLAG SDC t-shirt now. They are $10 — a bargain!

To order a PFLAG SDC t-shirt, please email your name and size to admin@pflagsdc.org.

️‍ Join Us For The Pride Parade And Festival! ️‍⚧️

July in San Diego is all about PRIDE! We’d love to have you join us for the San Diego Pride Parade and Festival.

In addition, there are many events leading up to the parade and festival weekend. More info on each event can be found at sdpride.org/events:

7/13: She Fest
7/14: The MET – Rainbow Sunday –Metro PFLAG SDC will have a speaker
7/17: Light Up the Night at St. Paul’s Cathedral
7/19: Spirit of Stonewall Rally
7/20-21: Pride Parade and Festival

The theme for Pride this year is “Making History Now.” PFLAG SDC will, as always, have a contingent marching in the Pride Parade on Saturday, July 20. Of course, we can’t do this without you!

The parade begins at the Hillcrest Pride Flag at University Ave. and Normal St., proceeds west on University Ave., turns south on 6th Ave., turns left onto Balboa Dr. and ends at Quince Dr. The route is 1.5 miles. If you cannot walk that distance and want to ride, please contact Pride coordinator Mike Minnick: mminnick@pflag.com. As of the end of June, we do not have our contingent line up number or where we line up. You can email admin@pflagsdc.org if you would like the info emailed to you .The info will also be posted on Facebook, Instagram, and the PFLAG SDC website www.pflagsdc.org.

If you’ve never walked in the Pride Parade with PFLAG SDC, you are in for a treat. Besides all the excitement of the event, the crowd goes crazy when PFLAG passes by.

Now here comes the lecture part – READ THIS BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME! These are suggestions that have stood the test of time:

Get to the shuttle buses early; there are free shuttles from the old Balboa Naval Hospital located on Park Blvd., across from President’s Way. If you are a procrastinator, now isn’t the time, as the buses back up and you’ll be waiting in line so long that you may miss part of the parade. Also:

• Wear comfortable shoes
• Put on lots of sunscreen
• Wear hat/sunglasses
• Bring cell phone to take pix
• Make PFLAG signs and bring them
• Wear as much PFLAG/rainbow clothing and paraphernalia as you own!

Hope to see your decorated selves and signs at the Parade.

We also need volunteers to staff our booth at the Pride Festival (July 20 from 11:00 am-10:00 pm and July 21 from 11:00 am-9:00 pm). To volunteer, please contact Mike Minnick: mminnick@pflag.com. Volunteers receive free entry on the day of volunteering. The Festival is located at Balboa Park’s Marston Point, 6th & Laurel in Hillcrest. We are grateful, as always, that Qualcomm has donated their booth to us for the Festival.

To purchase tickets for the Festival if you are not volunteering: www.sdpride.org/events. High-school aged youth and younger are FREE at the Pride Box Office on the festival grounds. There are discount tickets for Seniors (65+), also at the Box Office.

Get Loud With San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus!

The San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus’s next shows, LET’S GET LOUD: Singing for Change are August 3 and 4. It’s a fun-filled Pride-infused concert, full of pop anthems sure to get your hips moving and your arms pumping! Featuring sets from sibling choruses the San Diego Women’s Chorus and Coro Diversidad Tijuana, over 200 LGBTQ+ singers will unite in song in a spectacular all-gender choral community. Performing music by Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez, and many more, we’ll all “get loud” together in joy and celebration!

The concerts are at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Avenue, downtown. For tickets:  sdgmc.org.

Book Club With Author Tasha Kuxhausen Postponed To September

The next selection for the PFLAG SDC Book Club will be Mommy, I’m a Girl! — My acceptance journey mothering a transgender child by San Diego author Tasha Kuxhausen. We’ll meet Tuesday, September 24, 7-8:15 p.m. on Zoom for a discussion moderated by newsletter editor Louise Julig and will be delighted to have San Diego author Tasha Kuxhausen joining us! You must register separately for each book club meeting. Use the link below to register.

Tasha Kuxhausen’s son was just three years old the first time he said, “Mommy, I’m a girl!” When she heard those words, she knew in her heart it was time to embrace a reality her mind had been unwilling to accept. Charlie’s obsession with all things female wasn’t a phase; he wasn’t confused; he wasn’t gay. Although born with male anatomy, Charlie’s brain and heart were that of a girl. And he knew it by the time he was three years old.

Mommy, I’m a Girl! Takes readers inside the mind of a parent coming to terms with raising a transgender child. Kuxhausen candidly and poignantly traces the highs, the lows, and the missteps during the first seven years of her now daughter Elsa’s journey. In following her child’s lead, Kuxhausen found acceptance. This is the story of how her daughter’s life changed her own, and she hopes it brings clarity to others.

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 the store in person or buy the book through Libélula’s Bookshop.org store.

Anyone wanting a signed copy of the book can contact Tasha directly at Tashakux@hotmail.com.

Click here for a list of all previous PFLAG SDC Book Club Selections.

GLSEN’s 2024 National School Climate Survey

Please spread the word to LGBTQ+ students in middle and high school to complete the https://www.glsen.org/school-climate-survey.  GLSEN uses the data from the survey to ascertain students’ experiences with discrimination, biased language, and availability and utility of supportive school resources. They also use it to create research briefs on school climate in states across the U.S.

Congrats To 2024 PFLAG SDC Scholarship Recipients

(And it’s not too late to donate to the Scholarship Fund for next year )

Our scholars (first photo):  1st row – Derrick Herrera, M. Lynne Austin Memorial Scholarshp; Kiera Feighan-Patrizi, Gary A. Marcus Scholarship for the Fine & Applied Arts; Abby Beulke, Raytheon RAYPRIDE & NXGEN STEM Scholarship; Lucy Shen, Trischman Family Scholarship; Angel Huete, Bill Hanson Community College Scholarship; Chelsea Long, Stephen G. Bowersox Memorial Scholarship; Hisami Oliva, Daniel J. Ferbal Memorial Scholarship; Kingston Tran, Jeffrey D. Shorn and Charles S. Kaminski Scholarship; Bea Colobong, Qualcomm STEM Scholarship. 2nd row – Julian Lopez, Personal Achievement Scholarship; Brayden Pape, Kendall Family Memorial Scholarship; Natalie Scott, Raytheon RAYPRIDE & NXGEN STEM Scholarship; Roberto Hernandez Rodriguez, Jeffrey D. Shorn and Charles S. Kaminski Scholarship; Sada Cuzick, Rob Benzon Memorial Scholarship; Jarod Yun, John Bessemer Memorial Scholarship; Athena Bernheim. Mary Wagner Memorial Scholarship. Not pictured – Marion Demailly, Qualcomm STEM Scholarship; Thuy Hong Phan, Personal Achievement Scholarship; Jade MacEoghain, Bill Hanson Community College Scholarship.

At the Launching Leaders Scholarship Luncheon June 8th, State Senator Steve Padilla (top left) provided Opening Remarks, Christian Mauricio (top right) was emcee extraordinaire, and Derrick Herrera accepted his fourth PFLAG SDC scholarship in a row, from donor Ray Aller (bottom).

The awardees’ bios and essays can be found at https://pflagsdc.org/scholarships.

The 2024 Scholarship Committee (above): Joe Wahl, Christian Mauricio, Co-chair Donna Gray-Bowersox, Terrie Vorono, Co-chair Sherry Cohen-Richards, Nick Lima. Not pictured: Jackie Trischman

Scholarship Donors:

Rob Benzon/Dan Ferbal Foundation
Qualcomm
Raytheon Technologies
Donna & Jim Bowersox
Marilyn & Art Carpenter
Ray & Jan Aller
Bill Hanson
Gary Marcus
Charles S. Kaminski
Terrie Vorono & Lonnie Brunini
PFLAG San Diego County
Trischman Family

Table Sponsors:

Bair Financial
Barona Band of Mission Indians
Bowersox Family
Lonnie Brunini & Louie Chavez
Marilyn & Art Carpenter
North County Inland/PFLAG SDC
State Senator Steve Padilla
Raytheon Technologies
Maureen Steiner
Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay National
Terrie Vorono
Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians

Last, but definitely not least, our Awardee Sponsors:

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

The San Diego Foundation
Congressman Scott Peters
Bill Hanson
San Diego LGBT Community Center
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs
Assemblymember Chris Ward/CA LGBTQ Foundation
Assemblymember Akilah Weber, MD

️ Pride By The Beach

Another successful Pride by the Beach —the 17th Annual — was held on June 1. There were festivities galore. Besides having the main stage with exceptional local entertainment, there were exhilarating dance performances, tantalizing food, and a wide array of over 130 retail and resource vendors. Attendance tops 23,000 every year.

A huge thank you to Heidi Meyer (bottom photo) and Jonathan Meyer (not pictured) for holding down the fort.

Ramona Pride

The third annual Ramona Pride was a vibrant and inclusive event – a big success. Many locals and non-locals supported the Ramona LGBTQ+ community by joining with them on a Visibility Walk. The Walk was followed by food and fun in the park with various LGBTQ+ organizations tabling. It was a great opportunity to celebrate diversity and community spirit!

Sister Ida Know, Board members Belinda Long and Sherry Cohen-Richards at the PFLAG SDC table (top); Belinda and her son Ashton having some bubble fun (bottom left); Visibility Walk (bottom right).

Santee Pride Walk

The 3rd Annual Santee Pride Walk was, again, a huge success. Prior to the Pride Walk, there was a rally at which there were local speakers and the San Diego Women’s Chorus (upper photo) entertained the participants.

Everyone was decked out in their Pride colors. It was a great opportunity to show support for the LGBTQ+ community and celebrate diversity and inclusion within the Santee community.

Tabling at the Walk were East County Facilitator Emily Okerlund, Board Members Elizabeth Santillanez, and Belinda Long (middle photo). Christynne Wood, co-facilitator of PFLAG SDC East County, shown with Emily (bottom photo) was also one of the speakers.

OUT at the Fair® ️‍

Let’s Go Retro is the theme for the 2024 San Diego County Fair’s OUT at the Fair®. On June 22, PFLAG SDC joined other LGBTQ+ orgs to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. All had the opportunity to be entertained, to eat a variety of foods, and buy tchotchkes whether they needed them or not!

We were proud to be a part of this annual event. Pictured are Floyd Henson, Eileen Zamora, Nancy Colbert (top); Sherry Cohen-Richards, Ina Price (middle left); Mike Minnick, Marie Minnick (middle right), and of course no event would be complete without the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (bottom).

Thank You To Our Donors!

Thanks to the following individuals who donated to the PFLAG SDC General and Scholarship Funds this past month:

Anonymous
Lonnie Brunini
Praveena De Silva
Bill Hanson
Jana Jarvis
Chuck Kaminski
Linda Kent
State Senator Steve Padilla
Brayden Pape
PFLAG SDC North County Inland
Hannah Renew
Linda Sanders
Irina Segade
Terrie Vorono

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
Jesse Muñoz
Maureen Steiner
Catherine Thiemann
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+.