JAX Chamber: Local Nonprofit Celebrates Pride Month Through Pride Bingo

Press release from the JAX Chamber:

June 9, 2021

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Florida welcomes and celebrates the differences that make us all unique! They aim to recruit more mentors, “Bigs” and mentees, “Littles” no matter the race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Pride month is an opportunity for Big Brothers Big Sisters to reinforce their Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) approach that celebrates, affirms, and supports the engagement and advocacy of the LGBTQ community.

Presented by Florida Blue, Pride Bingo participants can expect to play eight rounds of bingo and enjoy music, trivia, and prizes for $10. No matter what city or state, Big Brothers Big Sisters welcomes you to join in on the fun all while helping create and support one-to-one mentoring friendships that ignite the power and promise of youth.

“Our work at BBBSNEFL centers on youth empowerment and equity”, said Sara Alford, Chief Executive Officer. “The BIG Pride program is an extension of our JEDI work and supports learning about differences, affirming uniqueness, exploring the intersections of each person’s identity, and creating an environment where every young person feels they belong.”

The Big Pride program is specific to the needs and vulnerabilities of LGBTQ+ youth. Big Pride provides a trusting, confidential, one-to-one friendship between LGBTQ+ mentees and mentors. While we have always served and had an open door for LGBTQ+ youth, Big Pride allows us to be more intentional in helping these youth who often face a unique set of challenges - especially related to gender identity and parental/peer acceptance.

About Big Pride

Pride Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) history and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It is celebrated in June to commemorate the Stonewall uprisings in June of 1969. The Stonewall Inn in Manhattan, NY was the site of riots and demonstrations by members of the gay community against a police raid. This sparked the beginning of a movement to change discriminatory laws and practices against LGBTQ Americans.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Florida’s (BBBSNEFL) mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. Big Brothers Big Sisters operates under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. By placing a caring adult in the life of a child, Big Brothers Big Sisters creates safe, high-quality, long-lasting mentoring relationships that help vulnerable youth change the odds and reach their full potential through personal and academic achievement. Professionally supported by our staff, individual road-maps for success are developed in concert with parents, children, and mentors.

We know that mentoring works! In 2019-120, 98% of youth were promoted on time to the next grade, 97% of youth had no behavioral referrals or suspensions and 98% of youth maintained or improved school attendance. The need for mentors is urgent; one in three kids will grow up without a mentor (mentor.org). It takes just a few hours a month, to expose youth to new beginnings and opportunities through mentorship. Together, we are defenders of potential. To learn more or become a mentor, visit bbbsnefl.org.

This press release was produced by the JAX Chamber. The views expressed here are the author’s own.