Healthcare Fund For Rodney Lofton

Healthcare Fund For Rodney Lofton


Healthcare Fund For Rodney Lofton
 
Former Diversity Richmond Deputy Director Rodney Lofton is battling stage 3 lung cancer. Although his health insurance will cover most of his treatment, there are many out-of-pocket expenses that will not be covered. With your help, this fund hopes to raise $5,000 that will bring him some peace of mind during this difficult time. Donate here.

Diversity Richmond Donates Toys For Families In Need

Diversity Richmond Donates Toys For Families In Need

Diversity Richmond Donates Toys For Families In Need
 
Last month, Diversity Richmond provided 30 boxes of brand new toys and gifts to PATCH Virginia, an all-volunteer organization that aids those in need through "shopping" events, community outreach efforts, holiday food and toy collections, and emergency response resourcing. This holiday season, PATCH will help local families in need provide gifts to roughly 150 children.
This donation is part of our disbursement of more than $120,000 in merchandise Diversity Richmond received from Amazon as part of its ongoing partnership with the company. 
Pictured are PATCH partner, Cherye Paulson; Diversity Richmond Board Chair, Cheezi Farmer; PATCH founder, Lynette Seay; PATCH volunteer, Sylvia Thomas; and VA Pride Program Director, James Millner

Our Staff Holiday Dinner

Our Staff Holiday Dinner


Our Staff Holiday Dinner
 
We had lots of fun at our annual holiday gathering for staff and board members. A big thanks to our Events Director Victoria Banks for putting out a delicious spread.
 
Pictured are Diversity Thrift Assistant Manager Kris Woodson, Delivery Driver Josh Modva, and Store Supervisor Michael Weeks. See more party pictures in our Media Gallery

Board Members Serve at Transgender Holiday Dinner

Board Members Serve at Transgender Holiday Dinner


Board Members Serve at Transgender Holiday Dinner
 
There were many new faces this year at our holiday dinner. Friends gathered to catch up, enjoy great food, and make new friends. This event was made possible by a grant from The Laughing Gull Foundation.
 
Pictured are board members Keri Abrams, Margaret Hill, Robyn Bentley, Jean Segner, Ayana Obika, and Chris Rich. See more party pictures in our Media Gallery.

Community COVID-19 Testing

Community COVID-19 Testing

Community COVID-19 Testing
 
Diversity Richmond partnered once again with the Virginia Department of health and the Richmond Henrico County health districts to host a COVID-19 community testing in our event hall on January 7th. VDH tested 269 people and an additional 220 at home tests were given out. Photo courtesy of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Under the Rainbow


Under the Rainbow
 
We are pleased to announce a new virtual opportunity for community members age 18+. Diversity Richmond hosts an LGBTQ+ hangout group called Under the Rainbow. This is a new space to build community and discuss different topics. If you have an interest in attending these meetings or would like to be considered as a possible team member to help facilitate meetings, please email us.
 
This program collaborates with the efforts of the Bi+ Discussion Group hosted by Metropolitan Community Church. Please visit MCC for meeting information.

New at Iridian Gallery

New Iridian Gallery show, January 2022

New at Iridian Gallery
 
Megan Marlatt’s solo exhibition, “Wysteria Ivy,” opened last weekend at Iridian Gallery. In light of the COVID Omicron spread, we’re planning a closing event for the show rather than celebrate its opening. Please visit the gallery to take a look at this stunning collection of paintings, drawings and sculptural costume pieces now through Feb 19th.

 

Black and Bold Awards 2022

Each year in February, Black History Month gives us opportunity to have well-intentional conversations about the contributions and accomplishments of Black folks. Recognizable names are talked about for their writings and how they speak truth to their Black experience. It is always about slavery abolition or the civil rights movement in the 1960s, important parts of our history. But it's never about an aspect of Blackness just as important - our LGBTQ history.

Despite being part of the LGBTQ community, the experience of prominent Black figures in history is often relegated to just their Blackness, reducing their lives to a single aspect that minimizes their struggles and accomplishments. Many famous names like authors James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry are discussed without once mentioning their sexuality.

Also, other notable Black members of the LGBTQ community include Langston Hughes, Little Richard, Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, Miss Major and Angela Davis. All are incredibly important names in both their art and the civil rights movement, but this pattern of erasing aspects of their gender identity has largely gone unnoticed.

So, as we honor the experiences of our LGBTQIA+ community, Diversity Richmond, in its 6th year, celebrates the Black and Bold Awards. These awards honor the Black leaders in our community who have created change. Each person honored has their own personal journey that has contributed to conservations about Black representation, identity, and diversity in our community today.

Our awards will be presented on Friday, February 25th. Please save the date.

Luise "Cheezi" Farmer
Board Chair, Diversity Richmond 

Black and Bold nominations should be submitted on our web site by January 25, 2022. If you have questions, please email

Diversity Richmond donated more than $10,000 worth of household merchandise to CARITAS to help those in need

Diversity Thrift truck

Gift is first of many planned disbursements from massive Amazon donation we received in November

Diversity Richmond donated more than 60 boxes of new household essentials, valued at more than $10,000, to the CARITAS Furniture Bank, just in time for the holidays. The donation is the first disbursement from more than $120,000 in merchandise Diversity Richmond received from Amazon last month as part of its ongoing partnership with the company. Staff from Diversity Richmond arrived in a box truck, wrapped in a huge red bow, to deliver the items to CARITAS.

The donation is comprised of a wide range of new items, still in the packaging, including bedding, housewares, kitchen supplies, small household appliances and toys which will be given to CARITAS clients, free of charge, through the organization’s Furniture Bank.

"The CARITAS Furniture Bank helps families who are coming out of a crisis to start their new lives," says Furniture Bank Program Manager Sandy Morris. "Our very own neighbors in need come in here to find new furniture and full of hope every single day and it's so exciting to be a part of. We are enormously grateful for organizations like Diversity Richmond that help us help others."

CARITAS's mission is to create a safe place to heal and time to rebuild. More than 1,000 adults and children receive essential furniture and household items each year through the CARITAS Furniture Bank, one of five CARITAS programs. Other programs include The Healing Place, the Emergency Shelter, CARITAS Works, and the CARITAS Recovery Residences. Through these programs, CARITAS provides men and women with the tools to make a successful transition to dignity and self-sufficiency.

“Diversity Richmond is honored and humbled to be able to make this donation to CARITAS, which has been one of our community partners for several years,” said James Millner, a spokesperson for the organization. “We know that, through CARITAS, this merchandise will immediately go into the hands and homes of people and families who are working hard to get back on their feet. This is exactly the kind of impact we hoped we could make with this donation from Amazon.”

Staff and volunteers at Diversity Richmond began sorting through the Amazon merchandise, currently stored in the organization’s warehouse, just before Thanksgiving and will continue to make donations to other community partners during the holidays and beyond.

“There is just so much good that can come from this massive donation of merchandise,” Millner continued. “It is a shining example of what can happen when non-profits work together with companies like Amazon to serve the communities in which they operate.”

Thanksgiving at Diversity Richmond

thx crew

A big thanks to our Thanksgiving volunteers from Black Pride RVA, UGRC, Minority Vets, and Diversity Richmond ! We served over 125 people a delicious hot buffet with turkey, green beans, mac & cheese, stuffing, and pie. The buffet was set up in our event hall for anyone to dine-in or take-out from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

We also deliveredt dinners to homeless folks nearby and a woman in a crisis stabilization program stuck in a hotel room with no food because of the holiday. We cannot do what we do without community support and we are grateful!

thx pie guys

Your Generous Support Will Help Us Continue Our Work in 2022

12 Days of Giving

Make a Donation

Since 1999, Diversity Richmond has contributed more than $1.1 million in community grants, free meeting and storage space, use of our event hall, help with homelessness, rent, and food.

It's only through community support that we can do this work. Here are a few ways we serve the LGBTQ+ community:

  • Diversity Thrift shares clothing vouchers with people needing shirts, pants and shoes
  • We help LGBTQ+ people avoid homelessness by assisting with rent and utility bills
  • We provide meeting space for twelve-step programs and transgender support groups
  • We loaned our event hall to the Henrico-Richmond Health Districts and Virginia Department of Health for free Covid-19 testing and vaccinations
  • We hosted a 15-week Latino Entrepreneurship Academy for members of the Hispanic community to learn about business management
  • We hosted a Richmond City Council review board on police accountability on issues related to the LGBTQ community
  • We streamed our virtual 5th annual Black And Bold Awards in partnership with Radio One for our largest audience ever
  • We fed over 2,300 local families with a week's supply of groceries
  • We hosted a free Thanksgiving meal for the community
  • We're hosting a free Transgender holiday meal this month
  • We continued the South’s only art gallery whose sole mission is to support LGBTQ artists.

We are also pleased to continue our grants program this year, offering $80,000 to deserving nonprofits.

Thank you for your support. May your holiday season and 2022 be safe and healthy.

Make a Donation

November 30th is Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday 2021

Giving — whether that’s money, time, or donations of goods — is an opportunity to join together and change things for the better in your community.

Donate money to Diversity Richmond (no amount is too little): diversityrichmond.org/how-we-do-it/fundraising-and-donations.html

Donate your time. Sign up to volunteer here: diversityrichmond.org/support-us/volunteer-application.html

Donate goods to Diversity Thrift - 1407 Sherwood Ave., RVA 23220 or call (804) 353-8890 for more information on items we accept or schedule a donation pickup. diversitythrift.org, @diversity.thrift

#GivingTuesday

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