Weymouth Pride Project Reaches Goal Of Distributing 500+ Flags

WEYMOUTH, MA — Weymouth Pride Project, a community effort dedicated to supporting the LGBTQ+ community and celebrating diversity and inclusion, has reached its goal of providing over 500 rainbow flags for residents to fly outside of their homes ahead of Pride Month in June.

The project's founders, Michael Yavorsky and Annemarie Reardon, as well as many supporters and volunteers, have been distributing flags for several months in hopes of helping the Town of Weymouth show its support for the LGBTQ+ community.

"It's been an incredible rush in the last three weeks, because we are now over 550 [flags]," said Yavorsky. "We have been running around responding to flag requests. People have mostly been coming to our distribution sites, but just today, we are starting a delivery service for the 100 [flags] that still need to be delivered."

The Weymouth Pride Project has gained quite a following over the past several weeks, said Yavorsky, with over 300 new supporters joining its closed Facebook page and many people reaching out to ask how they can help the cause. Jill Governor, who joined the project about a month ago, has spent the last several weeks prepping flags for delivery and distributing them out of her home.

"It was a cause that really interested me," said Governor. "I have a lot of friends who are LGBTQ, and I really believe in the cause of equality and diversity, and peace, love, and happiness."

"The nicest part is the response," she added. "Everyone says, 'thank you for doing this' and one lady said her son sees these flags all over the place and every time he sees one he smiles. I'm really happy to be involved."

Thanks to donations from the community, the Weymouth Pride Project was able to fund two $500 scholarships for Weymouth High School seniors who are contributing to LGBT+ visibility. The two students, nominated by the guidance office, have been described as "outstanding individuals," said Yavorsky.

The project has also distributed copies of a children's book about the pride flag, titled "Rainbow Flag: Bright, Bold, and Beautiful" by Michelle Millar Fisher, to local institutions. Copies have already been donated to Tufts Library and all the Weymouth Public School libraries to be shared with students.

To celebrate Pride Month, Yavorsky said they are planning to offer professional Pride Portraits in front of a rainbow painted on a big garage door on Green Street. In partnership with Quigg Creations, there will also be a family-friendly event called Pride in the Park on June 27.

Although Pride Month is approaching quickly, there are no plans to slow down, and organizers are currently looking into future projects including a rainbow crosswalk.

"This will not stop, we will just keep going," said Yavorsky.

Anyone interested in joining the project or donating can visit Weymouth Pride Project's Facebook Page or email weymouthprideproject@gmail.com.