LGBT Center Represented at Kentuckiana Pride Parade

The LGBT Center welcomed faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends to march in the 2016 Kentuckiana Pride Parade on Friday, June 17. The parade is a long standing tradition in Louisville, and serves as the kick-off event for the annual Kentuckiana Pride Festival. The LGBT Center put out a call to the university to join in the festivities after Mayor Greg Fischer encouraged the greater Louisville community to attend as a show of solidarity with the LGBT community. "After the tragic events in Orlando, we really wanted to encourage our campus to come together and show our dedication to inclusion and equity. We are such a strong campus community, and the fact that so many were able to join us speaks volumes" said Brian Buford, LGBT Center director. In less than three days the LGBT Center received over 100 RSVP requests to join in the festivities.

In addition to marching in the parade, the Center also partnered with the university Counseling Center to offer drop-in counseling appointments, hosted an arts and crafts day in the Intersection student lounge, gathered signatures and messages of support on an over-sized card to send to the LGBT Center at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, and is currently organizing a blood drive for July 20th to aid medical centers in Orlando who are continuing to treat victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

For more information about the upcoming blood drive, visit www.redcrossblood.org and type in the code UOFLPRIDE