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What a transformative year it has been for Senior Pride! We have become our own independent, 501-c3 non-profit with 60+ active volunteers engaged in carrying out our mission. The Interim Executive Director role will soon become a permanent position, alongside a Development Director… with more funded staff on the near horizon.
Senior Pride is the advocate, convener, and connector to resources for older LGBTQI+ adults in our community — as well as a service provider ending isolation and building community through creative programming.
SENIOR PRIDE IS THE ONLY LGBTQI+ SERVICE ORGANIZATION IN THE TUCSON AREA SPECIFICALLY SUPPORTING OLDER PEOPLE.
My husband Tom and I have been together over 25 wonderful years. But one of us will certainly die first. What happens then? Only 20% of LGBTQI+ seniors rely on family as we age. We must come to rely on each other. We often create our family of choice. HAVE YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW LOST A SPOUSE, PARTNER, OR LOVED ONE? Where can you turn? Who might be there to help you through the grieving process?
One avenue is to join a Senior Pride SUPPORT GROUP. We have loss and grief groups for women and men who would like to share their stories and learn to navigate their loss over time in a safe environment. I have a dear friend who recently lost his husband after decades of being together. Although not typically a joiner, he attended a session of the Men’s Loss Group. He has found it enlightening, instructive, and helpful to be with other gay men who are sharing their experiences and processing their feelings of pain and sorrow.
Senior Pride also sponsors lots of FUN!! We hold monthly social gatherings at Himmel Park, writing workshops, Gayme Day, a book club, meditation sessions, museum tours, and our own monthly Walk and Roll. A major annual event is to show an LGBTQI+-themed movie in the main theater at the Loft Cinema. This year we screened CURED — a documentary, 5 years in the making, depicting how in 1973 the LGBT movement overturned the American Psychiatric Association’s description of homosexuality as a disease. We even flew in the film producer for a Q & A after the film. We are in the process of identifying our next show… you can be part of that, and so much more!
I could go on… but I think you get the picture. Senior Pride is a wonderful organization, doing a lot of wonderful things for a lot of wonderful people – and we are growing by leaps and bounds. YOU’RE ONE OF US – whether you are LGBTQI+ or an appreciated ally.
Please support this indispensable asset of southern Arizona. Your contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
We are thankful for your ongoing support, and everything your gifts make possible.
Gratefully,
Robert Bell
Senior Pride Board Chair
E A S Y W A Y S T O G I V E
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By check, through the mail:
Please make checks payable to:
Southern Arizona Senior Pride
Please mail checks to:
Southern Arizona Senior Pride
1632 N. Country Club
Tucson, AZ 85716
I found Senior Pride when I was going through some personal challenges with my father. Volunteers came to the house and met me and my father. We had a lot in common and hit it off really well. They provided great resources and suggestions for dealing with someone with dementia. It was a huge help, and volunteers were always open and available to me. I am so grateful! Senior Pride also provided a tablet device that helped me stay in touch with others during Covid. It’s still great to be able to zoom and chat with people online. This tablet has been a wonderful thing to have.
I have seen Senior Pride provide great benefit in two major ways. It helps the recipients of program services get the support they need in very direct, helpful ways. And it also helps those of us who are volunteers.
We are able to establish comfortable connections with other people and it helps us develop a strong sense of community that we all need to be happy and healthy.
Senior Pride was so important to so many of us during COVID. It provided a way for us to connect at a time when we’d otherwise be isolated. It means that we can be with our community, which often becomes our family of choice, and I’m so grateful for that. It’s a great reason to celebrate.
I have participated in Senior Pride in a number of ways. I’ve especially enjoyed the writers’ groups and the poetry workshop. Senior Pride has created a community for me. As someone with health challenges, having regular visits and calls from my Community Cares volunteer is fantastic. My volunteer has become a good friend and I enjoy her company so much. Senior Pride has a specific, essential niche filled by no other organization. Without it, a large segment of the community would be lost. I’m grateful to everyone who gives to make these programs possible.