Chester Pride calls for community support as it launches its biggest project ever

Chester Pride’s largest project to date is the opening of their own café and community space in Chester.

The LGBT+ charity plans to sell refreshments and food at their new venue and also utilize it as a base from which to continue their important charitable support projects focused on LGBT+ issues. In order to help raise the funds needed for this project to go ahead, Chester Pride is launching its first ever crowdfunding campaign!

“We’re really excited to try this new way of fundraising, as not only will it give us the vital funds we need to open our cafe and community space, but it also lets us say thanks for supporting us by giving our backers rewards. We know that safe spaces and support are really important to the community, and the initial response to our crowdfunder has shown how much the community supports this project. But we still have a long way to go with raising money and hope even more people will support our project.”
Warren Lee Allmark, Chair of Chester Pride

The crowdfunding is being run as part of the Aviva Community Fund, allowing the public to show their support for the campaign by donating directly. The Aviva Community Fund also allows Aviva employees to distribute £250,000 quarterly to projects that are important to them in their local communities.

Backers of the campaign will receive some exclusive merchandise/rewards and be part of securing the Chester LGBT+ community a welcoming and safe space within the city. After the crowdfunding campaign closes, Chester Pride will continue to share the journey towards opening their new venue on their social media channels.

“With issues such as mental health, domestic abuse, substance abuse, hate crimes, and a general lack of access to information and support, we know that opening our own venue is just the first step on a long journey. This is our biggest project ever because not only is opening the cafe and community space a huge undertaking, but also we have a whole host of projects and plans that will let us really expand our work and support for the LGBT+ community once the venue is up and running.”
Richard Euston, Head of Chester Pride

The crowdfunding campaign is now live and running until December 2015. So, if you would like to be part of the development of an inclusive space for the LGBT+ community in Chester click here(linked) and donate today!  

Chester Pride

Chester Pride was established in 2013 and has put on the Chester Pride event every year since then, and at the same time the charity has grown to become about more than just the one day of celebration.

“We know that the issues the LGBT+ community face don’t magically disappear after our Pride parade. For years we’ve been working to do more to support and advocate for our community. Just this year we launched a helpline, called Just Ask, that will let any LGBT+ person get in touch and get access to the support they need. However, as we want to expand and launch even more support projects we find that we are constantly coming up against the barriers of not having the proper space or facilities to really increase our work.”
Richard Euston, Head of Charity for Chester Pride.