London’s LGBTQ Community Centre is officially happening
The city has been without a dedicated LGBT centre for over 25 years.
By Will Stroude
London is officially getting its own LGBT+ community centre following a successful Crowdfunder campaign.
After issuing a renewed plea for support earlier this week, organisers of the London LGBTQ Community Centre project reached their minimum goal total of £50,000 on Thursday (June 6), guaranteeing them the donations that have been made.
The money will now be put towards opening London’s only dedicated LGBT centre, and volunteers are now aiming to raise £75,000 before the Crowdfunder closes next week.
Jay Crosbie, a member of the events team and volunteer with the Centre, told Attitude that the group will now begin looking for suitable premises in which to house the centre.
“Every single person who has volunteered their skills, time and money into helping build this project is a the reason this campaign has been such as success”, he said.
“The fact we reached the target with days to spare shows the necessity of this space and it’s amazing to see how many people donated. We really do just want to thank the LGBTQ+ community and its allies for putting everything they could into something that is so necessary.
“We’ve now been able to stretch our target to £75k, which would take us to £100k in total with offline fundraising and other generation donations.”
The London LGBTQ Community Centre, which was announced in April and has received high profile backing from the likes of Jeremy Corbyn and Olly Alexander, will be a “completely accessible, multi-purpose space, run by and for LGBTQ+ people.”
It will mark the first time London has had a dedicated LGBT+ community centre since 19991, when the London Lesbian and Gay Centre was closed down.
Jay continued: “The crowdfunder is simply the start. With the money we have raised we can spend time focusing on the operational side of the porject, and start bringing the centre to life.
“We will now begin looking for suitable sites while continuing to reach out to members of our community to find out what the centre should look like.”
You can help support the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre’s Crowdfunder here.