Greetings, friends!
Summer is slowly fading away…I hope that every one of you has at least one wonderful memory of summer! It’s important to remember good times, as we do the hard work of bringing equality and health and safety to our LGBTQ family and friends!
Here is a list of some wonderful events coming up, and other info:
1) School is back in session soon! We hope everyone who is going to any level of education has a wonderful school year! We are so proud of you. We know that some of you are overcoming fears about going back. Just straighten your crown, adjust your bow tie, and have an amazing school year!
a) OutSupport OutDoors is meeting this Friday, Aug. 13 from 6-8pm at River Styx Park near Wadsworth. We are so grateful that Unity of Medina was able to host us last minute last month. Weather seems like it may, again, be an issue. If there are any changes, I will send out an email In the afternoon and update our Facebook page.
b) Our friends at Colors+ Youth Center is hosting a Back to School program called
Drag Me Back To School!, and is having a Drag Story hour and opportunity to pick up free school supplies! Saturday, Aug. 14 from 11am-12pm! Details attached or visit
www.colorsplus.org
2) OutSupport is super happy to be continuing our relationship with the Medina County Health Dept. in a couple of different ways! We will continue working with the Health Dept. to develop programming to bring attention to LGBTQ youth and adult prevention and cessation of tobacco use. We may ask for participation from some friends of OutSupport over the course of the year to participate in certain activities, so stay tuned!
Also, the Health Dept. has funding for services for prevention of HIV/STDs and want you to know that they offer free, confidential testing and free condoms and PreP. For more information about available services in Ohio, please visit www.OHIV.org or call 1-800-332-2437 for support and other free items. To contact Medina Health Dept., visit www.medinahealth.org
3) Andrew Snyder, a Doctoral Candidate at Kent State continues to request that LGBTQ folks and Allies take the LGBTQ Needs Assessment Survey. His goal is to have 1,000 surveys complete by December. If you have not yet taken the survey, please contact Andrew at
asnyde20@kent.edu and he will be happy to get the survey to you! It only takes a few minutes of your time, but has the potential to have a great impact on the region’s LGBTQ community for years to come. Thank you!
4) Amy and I have been busy speaking to community groups, including the Medina Kiwanis and United Way to share the work we do with OutSupport. We will be participating in several upcoming events, including speaking to the Hope Recovery Center, a group of Cleveland Clinic Nurse Practitioners, and at the TransOhio Symposium. So glad to be able to share information about our group with interested partners!
5) Save the Dates!
The 13th annual TransOhio Trans and Ally Symposium will be held virtually on Sept.17-19. Tickets available at https://transohio.ticketleap.com This Symposium is one of the largest Symposiums in the Midwest and has incredible speakers lined up. Sign up soon!
Also, mark your calendars for the Annual Sugar Plum Tour, which is the Gay Community Endowment Fund’s fundraiser! Sunday, Dec. 5 or that weekend if you prefer virtually participating! OutSupport has been a grateful recipient of grants for the GCEF, so please consider participating! Tickets available later this month at www.sugarplumtour.org
One last thing: We had anticipated starting back in person, regular meetings in October. The rise in Covid cases recently has caused us to take a step back. We will make a decision whether or not to start meetings again by Oct. 15. By then, we will have more of an idea about how safe indoor gatherings are, and make the call at that time.
Stay safe, stay healthy, wear a mask, and please consider getting the vaccine if you have not done so.
Kindest regards,
Sandy
she/her