WELCOME TO PFLAG CLEVELAND
PFLAG Cleveland Celebrates its 35th Anniversary
With a Special Virtual Homecoming Support Group Meeting
JOIN US TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 6:45PM VIA ZOOM
The celebration features our co-founders and current facilitators Dr. Jes Sellers and Jane Daroff. We’ll welcome back former members, friends and supporters, along with our current community, for story-telling and sharing favorite memories in a lively, fun evening. Please join us to share a favorite memory and reflect on your experience with PFLAG.
**PARTICIPATE BY** RSVPing for yourself and any friends/family members who are joining you>>> CLICK HERE. NOTE: Only one Zoom link will be sent per RSVP (per e-mail address). If multiple computers will be used to connect, please ask friends/family members to RSVP separately.
**SEND KUDOS** Please leave your memories and/or photos on Kudoboard, a virtual greeting card we're using to create an enduring record of the 35th anniversary. CLICK HERE to open Kudoboard.
Our regular monthly support group meetings will resume Tuesday, Nov. 10th via Zoom. If you would like personal support, please email mail@pflagcleveland.org and we'll work with you to set up a day and time in October.
PFLAG Cleveland - Lake County also offers a monthly support group the 3rd Thursday, 6-8pm at the LGBTQ+Allies Lake County offices.
PFLAG is a volunteer, non-profit self-help organization. We are an inclusive group of family members, friends, and individuals who are straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender.
2019 Bruce Kriete Community Award Honors Robert Helmer, PhD, Baldwin Wallace University President and Its Board of Trustees
Commends BWU for Its Diversity and Inclusion Values and Support of LGBTQ People
Cleveland, OH – PFLAG Cleveland recently awarded Baldwin Wallace University president, Robert C. Helmer, and the university’s Board of Trustees with its 2019 Bruce G. Kriete Community Award. The award was given to President Helmer and the board after they formally disaffiliated with the United Methodist Church due to the church’s decision to tighten prohibitions on same-sex marriage and exclude LGBTQ people from clergy. The presentation took place at Baldwin Wallace with students, faculty, staff, board members and parents of BW’s community attending the ceremony.
"PFLAG Cleveland congratulates President Helmer and the Baldwin Wallace Board of Trustees for the courageous way the university has remained true to its founder’s, John Baldwin, values,” said Tom Falcone, PFLAG Cleveland president. “Nearly 175 years ago, Baldwin stated that the mission of BW was to educate all persons regardless of race, class, national origin or any differences. And today, BW still abides by these values in supporting LGBTQ individuals as an essential part of its mission. PFLAG Cleveland’s advisory board is particularly aware that religion is probably the greatest impediment to acceptance of LGBTQ persons. The actions taken by BWU leaders took courage, making it the perfect recipient of the 2019 Kriete Award.”
The Bruce Kriete Award is given annually to a person, or organization, who, in the past year, has stepped out of their comfort zone or taken a risk to support the LGBTQ community in Northeast Ohio. Previous award recipients include: Jennifer Romanic, a Hudson High School teacher whose advocacy is credited with saving a student’s life; Tammi Brown, who pioneered Cleveland’s first LGBT Visitors’ Guide; Dick Feagler and Regina Brett, Plain Dealer columnists; and U.S. Senator Rob Portman, for advancing marriage equality and affirming support for his gay son.
Bruce Kriete was a longtime member of both PFLAG Akron and PFLAG Cleveland. He consistently attended meetings at both chapters, offering wise and compassionate advice through his family’s story. After Bruce died, PFLAG Cleveland named its annual community award after him to remember the ways he supported, educated and advocated for LGBTQ people.
Pictured are: Front row, left to right: Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito. Back row: Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Elena Kagan, Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. Credit: Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States
#DecisionDay: A Win for LGBTQ+ People at the Supreme Court
PFLAG chapters across the country are celebrating. On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) released its rulings on three cases that affect whether a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) person can be fired for whom they love or for being who they are. The decisions affect the extent that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ+ people.
PFLAG families across the country are celebrating and breathing a little easier, knowing that our LGBTQ+ loved ones are protected from employment discrimination.
Tom Falcone, PFLAG Cleveland president, sees the ruling as a victory that will help the LGBTQ+ community. Read more
