We Are Celebrating Our 5th Anniversary For The Sun City Grand LGBTQ Interest Group
After reading a lengthy edition from the Arizona Republic about the challenges facing the LGBTQ community regarding aging, retirement, healthcare, relocation, socialization, etc., we were prompted to action as a few of us had been concurrently discussing those same issues.
Instead of more rumination amongst ourselves that SCG didn’t have a LGBTQ presence, it was decided to approach CAM and explore the possibility of creating a presence for ourselves and others.
We learned that we were welcome to create a Club or Interest Group and gathered the required number of resident signatures necessary to be sanctioned as a bona fide “Interest Group”. That list was relatively easy to assemble as we had an excellent response to the announcement of the creation of the group.
So, 5 years ago this March, we were officially established as the SCG LGBTQ Interest Group. Our stated purpose was to “Create community and enhance the quality of life for our members and allies that are residents of Sun City Grand, together with our LGBTQ neighbors, seeking to be a positive presence in our region and throughout the state of Arizona”. Our core values are community, friendship, equality and inclusion.
During these past five years we have met socially for potlucks and parties, we have attended symphony & other music concerts, movies, rodeos, art fairs, bowling parties, Pride events, dining out, etc. We have been involved in civic-oriented activities: fundraising for a LGBTQ youth support center based in Phoenix, donating holiday gifts for children at a local school & making cash donation for teachers’ supplies. Several of us are volunteers in the City of Surprise, local food banks, animal shelters, churches & synagogues, SCG, etc. We’ve created a website (www. SCGLGBT.com) and Facebook page for our external and internal presence. Because of that and the ad we place periodically in the Grand Lifestyles monthly magazine, we have been contacted many times by potential new residents of SCG asking what it’s like for an LGBTQ community member to live here. We’ve been able to boast of all that SCG has to offer and our welcoming environment. Following our lead, the neighboring communities of Sun City West, Sun City and Corta Bella have also established their own LGBTQ Clubs and Groups. We have actually created a consortium for planning purposes and have collaborated/participated with them in info-sharing regarding local news and events, fundraisers, holiday parties, etc. Our current membership roster has about 50 members.
In this era of Covid-19 isolation, we have held together on a regular basis, thanks to ZOOM sessions. Though we miss our much-enjoyed monthly gatherings, we are committed to staying healthy and safe and look forward to the day when we can resume our social gatherings as a group and in person.
In the meantime, we will continue to respond to new inquiries, welcome new members (eight in 2020!), and function as a resource to our community.
So, as we celebrate our 5th Anniversary, we will be looking forward to new friends and adventures and better days ahead.
