Hey, y'all, it's PRIDE month! But let's be honest, it's PRIDE every damn day at gather here. gather here is queer-owned and proud to employ queer craft specialists. We always strive to be our true selves, living our complicated realities within the craft community - highlighting other queer makers and finding ways to disrupt assumptions about fiber craft. In June we're fundraising for BAGLY, the Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth. BAGLY was formed in 1980 and is a youth-led, adult-supported organization committed to social justice, and creating, sustaining and advocating for programs, policies and services for the LGBTQ+ youth community. We absolutely LOVE this organization's long-standing commitment to social justice. Much of BAGLY's youth programming focuses on promoting a greater understanding of and respect for the diversity within the youth communities they serve, and ensuring that their youth and adult leadership is reflective of that diversity.
BAGLY believes it is their responsibility as a diverse community to identify and emphasize the value of accountability for oppressive behaviors. As part of their Leadership Development programming, BAGLY staff, adult volunteers, youth leaders, and youth members work to recognize dominant group identity (white/male/gender normative/adult), make connections between oppressive behaviors and dominant groups, and develop the skills and caring behaviors needed to uphold BAGLY’s commitment to social justice and to create anti-oppressive environments for LGBTQ+ youth. YES TO ALL OF THIS!
While we are fundraising this June we also encourage the gather here community to become members of the Unicorn Society, BAGLY's monthly giving program. Steady, reliable income is essential to organizations ability to thrive and provide for the community. Just like our small business relies on community members choosing to shop for their craft supplies at our shop so we can pay our rent, meet our payroll, and do good work in our community. UPDATE: We donated $790 to BAGLY!
*Since launching the We Care Wednesday initiative in January 2017 we have donated over $44,500 to a variety of nonprofits doing essential work in our community as well as other places. From the Mayor's Disaster Fund to Girls Rock Boston to Movement Voter Project and Found In Translation. We select organizations that we feel represent not only our commitment to a better, more equitable world but also our desire to "do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."