Stonewall Columbus

Stonewall is one of those places that just exists because there is a large populous of people that support it. Every single day of the week, and nearly around the clock there is something going on at Stonewall. Many groups meet there, many organizations do business there and many people just come in to chat or for some information on something everyday.
I volunteered for pride, Thursday, Friday and Saturday this year; and as a person who’s never had anything to do with Stonewall Columbus before, I must say I was very impressed with the way everything worked at pride. Everybody seems to get along great, they all share the same «loving, fun and accepting» vision and all of the regular volunteers and staff that work for Stonewall are amazing! Most events ran very smoothly, everything was experly coordinated and it was my most favorite event of the year. I just need to remember the volunteer positions that I want next year and get them first!
Pride is the pinnacle of everything Stonewall does for the whole year and is the center and one of the main outputs for all of their fundraising, so their hearts, souls, blood, sweat and tears into the event.
Being a member and doing you part is ultra cheap, I paid $ 15 for a year’s membership and that gets me into Pride for free each day with a dogtag mailed to me. I’m also doing my part to support our community center. Plus, a rainbow colored membership card… which is just cool!

This is the amazing community center for the LGBT community in Columbus. The seem to have events/​activities nearly every day and they are the folks that do the annual Pride Parade. The Pride Parade is the largest of its kind in the mid west and is possibly the largest parade in Columbus. Some 250k folks attended last year. It is always a great time, whether you are straight or gay.

This is one of the absolutely greatest places in columbus. One of those things that makes me love this city so much. The fact there’s somewhere so large and dedicated to reducing the hate going on in this city means the world to me. I probably wouldn’t be interested in sticking around if we didn’t have this kind of place.
I’m not actually a member of the LGBT community, myself, in title. I am, however, very involved in absolutely everything I can be. Stonewall is completely accepting of people like me, as well, though. I just want to help. They don’t mind that at all… in fact, they love it. As long as you have a sense of humor, you’re allowed here.
They play a huge part in the organization of things like the pride parade. They manage to keep it fun even when the evil of the city seeps out of the cracks to shake hateful signs at this display of fun. (Seriously, its for fun. The pride parade is FUN. It’s supposed to be fun. Those people who consider it to be distasteful or promiscuous just don’t understand. This is a repressed group of people who have ONE day a year in which they’re allowed to just ‘stick it to the man’. It’s an event based on joy, and delight, and most of all pride.)
Stonewall also spends a lot of time supporting and taking care of people who need it. They’ve done some really amazing things for friends of mine. When a person’s parents show their ignorance and stupidity by kicking their kid out once they find out that they’re gay, or forcing them to go to one of those camps that force you in to pretending that you’re straight and spending the rest of your life sexually repressed, stonewall is there. They’re a sort of refuge in the storm.
If you get extra time and want to be supportive, I suggest volunteering. If you’re gay and slightly lost, its somewhere you should drop by. If you’re even vaguely considering having unsafe sex, you should go and talk to someone. They’re a spectacular institution. A backbone to this great city. An institution based on help and caring.

Columbus has some major gay pride. The gay pride castle is the Short North, and at the throne is Stonewall Columbus.
Stonewall is a LGBT facility (always makes me want a BLT). The thing Stonewall is best at is organizing events that bring the Ls together with the Gs and the Bs and the Ts; they create a sense of community. Stonewall spans the LGBT spectrum from holding testing days to listing discussion groups to supporting addiction programs to pulling off the gay pride parade. They hand out free condoms. They support gay musicians. They promote drag queen and king shows. They advocate gay rights.
They work with youth. They work with hate crime victims. They provide voting information concerning LGBT issues. They publish the Lavender Listings. They have a ton of YouTube posts. They link you with whatever group you need to be linked with.
Hell! What doesn’t Stonewall do?
The Stonewall facility is a great, adaptable space, which is perfect considering all that it’s used for. Downstairs, there are offices and tons of pamphlets. Upstairs, there’s a huge meeting room and several smaller breakout rooms.
The staff is wonderfully helpful and professional. They’re always cycling interns through, helping them gain experience. If you talk to anyone on the team, you’ll realize they’re in the know.
Stonewall is a place for hard work, acceptance, and celebration. Columbus needs Stonewall.