Vision

Hello, I'm Brianne, and I'd like to take a moment to share the vision I have of what the MatSu LGBT Community Center can be for all of us who live in the valley. It can go a long way towards removing the sense of Isolation that so many of us are saddled with.
First it can give us a sense of belonging, of Family. It can be a haven, a place to sit and read. A place to meet other queer folk, and to make friends in the safety and security of a pressure, alcohol, and drug free environment.
A place to organize picnics,dances, and parties, to have movie nights and potlucks, to have group meetings that build solidarity in each of our smaller sub-communities, from Bears to Leather Dykes, Transgendered People to Asexuals. And those smaller groups may participate in building a unified and strong over-arching Queer Family, fulfilling the promise of that Rainbow flag we all wave.
The Community Center offers a nexus to give all sorts of support to those who need help of every kind, from listings of gay friendly doctors and therapists, to co-ordinating transportation needs. Finding housing, or lawyers, to the best gay friendly restraunts. And it gives all of us, in concert, the power to advocate on the local and state level, for our needs and our concerns as members of, arguably, the most marginalized class of Alaskan Americans.
It gives you a voice, much louder than your own. And you get the chance to participate, helping yourself, and also helping to serve others. We will need volunteers, we will need contributors, donators, and public servants willing to go into schools and teach our young, give them hope and show them inspiration through our long suffering strength, and the promise of peace and tolerance in our shared future.
I invite you to participate in something that benefits you directly, your friends and loved ones, your acquaintances, and potentially even the straight segment of the Valley we all live in. Please help us, in whatever way you can. A donation of 2 dollars or 200, a chair, couch, bookshelf, your time, your service, what can you spare that will make our world that little bit better?

-Brianne

Resurrecting The MatSu LGBT Community Center

The Church of the Covenant in Palmer has been the physical home of the MatSu LGBT Community since it's inception in 2002. There is some office space coming available in the basement of the church on January 1, 2009. The space is 600 square feet, and rent would be $600.00 per month. The space has a nice reception area with a coffee nook and small bathroom, and has two offices suitable for a library (We already have many boxes of books for the library, they need a home)and conference room. The main drawback is that is down a small flight of stairs - so the space is not ideally accessible, but it would be nice to have a home of our own from which we can grow.
Right now we have several needs. The most important is a functioning board of directors. If you are available and willing to serve, please email me.
To make this work we really need your donations to help cover a six month lease. We don't have a post office box any more, but we do have a bank account at Northrim Bank, and our 501c3 status is still good. For now, tax deductible donations may be mailed c/o Church of the Covenant, 450 S. Bailey, Palmer, AK 99645.
You can also review our history at our Yahoo Group here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/matsulgbtcc/
A functioning Valley Community Center can help create a real community where none exists, and provide a central clearinghouse for information, contacts and services, not to mention a fun and safe place for meetings and activities of all sorts.