Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada kicks off fundraiser

LGBTQ New Center Groundbreaking

Christopher DeVargas

A groundbreaking ceramony at the new site of The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, Tuesday Aug. 7, 2012.

LGBTQ New Center Groundbreaking

A groundbreaking ceramony at the new site of The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, Tuesday Aug. 7, 2012. Launch slideshow »

With the demolition done and only a few months until opening, the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada is ramping up its efforts to raise funds for its new location in downtown Las Vegas.

The center is kicking off a five-week fundraiser Monday with the hopes of raising $100,000.

The capital campaign will feature a series of videos and social media promotions meant to introduce the public to the nonprofit, the work it does and the people it helps.

The effort is meant to show “why we exist and why we need to grow,” said Stephanie Rosol, president of the center’s board of directors.

“It’s about people understanding our story and being able to see pieces of themselves in that story,” she said.

The monthlong campaign will culminate in the Center’s annual Honorarium party, its largest fundraising event, which this year will be at Rain Nightclub at the Palms.

The center broke ground in August on a new location on Maryland Parkway in downtown Las Vegas. Four million dollars worth of renovations are under way on a former flooring supplies store that will be transformed into the nonprofit’s new home by early next year.

Although construction is moving along rapidly, the building’s capital campaign is still several hundred thousand dollars short of its goal.

The new space is nearly triple the size of the group’s current location in a shopping center on Sahara Avenue and will allow the center to expand its staff and the number of people it serves.

Founded in 1993, the center provides a range of services to Las Vegas’ lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, including free testing for sexually transmitted diseases, support groups, social groups and a free youth clinic. The agency’s eight staff members and numerous volunteers helped 30,000 people last year.

Rosol said the center hoped to play a larger role in the downtown community when it moves into its new location.

“We all know and love people that will benefit from this,” Rosol said. “We want (the center) to be more than an LGBT center. We want this to be a community center nestled in that neighborhood that adds value to that neighborhood.”

The center’s fundraising campaign runs through Nov. 3. For more information about the nonprofit or to make a donation, visit the center’s website.

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