Giving Up Is Not An Option

Dear Pride Center Family,

The truth is, I don’t know how many more times I can say the world is on fire. You already know. You feel it. You’ve seen the headlines, the policy rollbacks, the manufactured outrage designed to turn the public against us.

But let me tell you something else.

I have never in my life been more certain that we are going to win.

Not because it’s easy. Not because the attacks will stop. But because I have the privilege of working alongside people who refuse to lose. People who wake up every morning, stare down this mess, and say, not today. They are the reason the Pride Center exists—not just as a building, but as a force, as a promise that no matter how bad it gets, we will take care of our own.

These are the people who make sure that when the world comes swinging at us, we don’t just survive it. We build something stronger in its place.

The People Who Hold the Line

The Pride Center is not a passive organization. We don’t sit around waiting to see what happens next. We prepare, we strategize, we protect, and we create.

🔥 Alessandra Francisco doesn’t just guide young people. She builds a home around them—one where they are fed, celebrated, and protected. She sings. She cooks. She makes sure that every child who walks through our doors knows they are wanted.

🔥 Calliope (Callie) Recinos doesn’t hesitate to do the work no one else thinks about. The work that keeps people fed, housed, and healthy. The work that ensures that no one is left behind.

🔥 Jessie Garcia has a gift for connecting with young people. Whether it’s through gaming, his sharp sense of style, or his quiet kindness, he makes people feel seen. And beyond that, he’s making sure HIV testing is accessible across seven counties—because the fight for healthcare is still very much a battle.

🔥 Amanda Román offers the kind of steady, quiet strength that changes lives. She doesn’t push. She doesn’t lecture. She listens, she guides, and she helps young adults walk through doors they didn’t even know were open to them.

🔥 Kris Hillen knows that strong communities don’t just happen—they are built. They are intentional. Kris has been at the heart of connecting queer families, making sure the Lesbian community has space, and pulling people into the fold when they don’t even realize how much they need it.

🔥 Loren Klein doesn’t accept no for an answer. He fights through the deliberately impossible barriers of the healthcare system, making sure people get what they need. But he isn’t just helping people navigate the system—he’s tearing it down and building something better.

🔥 Matt Koke makes sure the world sees us. He builds relationships with businesses, donors, and community partners, ensuring that this place isn’t just operational, but thriving. Every year, he leads our AIDS Remembrance program, reminding us why we fight, who we fight for, and how we carry their legacies forward.

🔥 Our board of directors and regular volunteers are the ones making sure we don’t just have a vision, but a solid foundation. They bring expertise in law, construction, finance, and politics because a place like this doesn’t just need passion—it needs strategy. It needs resources. It needs people willing to do the hard, often thankless work of making sure we’re not just here next year, but for generations to come.

This Is What Refusing to Lose Looks Like

It’s easy to feel powerless right now. That’s by design. The people orchestrating this mess want us to feel like we’re on the losing side of history. Like all we can do is watch as our rights are debated, stripped, and sold for political gain.

But let me tell you something—those people have never met this team.

I have never seen a group of people more unwilling to back down. Never seen people more willing to put aside their own exhaustion, their own fears, to make sure someone else has what they need.

They believe in this work. In you. In us.

And now, I’m asking you to believe in them.

Survival Is a Victory. But That’s Not Enough.

For too long, survival has been the goal. Just getting through the next fight, the next headline, the next wave of hate.

That is not enough.

We are here to thrive. To build something so strong, so undeniable, that no one can erase us.

Every time we gather in joy, every time we create space for love, every time we refuse to be small, we are winning.

We are still here. We are still fighting. We are not backing down.

Now, I’m Asking You to Show Up for Them

If you’ve ever walked into the Pride Center and felt safer, lighter, more yourself, you have these people to thank.

💌 So tell them. Send them an email. Let them know how this place has impacted you. And if you want to show your gratitude in another way, make a donation in their honor.

✨ Give in honor of Alessandra, for every meal, every song, every kid who has ever walked through our doors and finally felt at home.

✨ Give in honor of Callie, for keeping the logistics running and making sure people get the help they need.

✨ Give in honor of Jessie, for showing up, for seeing people, and for fighting for health access in places others ignore.

✨ Give in honor of Amanda, for the steady, quiet support that helps people step into themselves.

✨ Give in honor of Kris, for creating the kind of communities that last a lifetime.

✨ Give in honor of Loren, for taking on systems built to break us and winning.

✨ Give in honor of Matt, for making sure we are not just here, but recognized.

✨ Give in honor of our board and volunteers, for ensuring we have the foundation and the strength to keep going.

💕 Make a Gift in Their Honor ⬅️ Click Here

We are still here. We are still fighting. We are not backing down.

And if we aren’t giving up, neither should you.

With fire and gratitude,

Brooke Malloy

Executive Director

P.S. Do you know how your local elected officials feel about LGBTQ+ equality? Have they said anything lately? Now’s a good time to demand they take a stand.