Los Alamos Teen Center Director George Marsden, pictured here with his mom, was a proud participant in the Pride Festival in 2018. Courtesy photo
BY KELLY DOLEJSI
Friends of Los Alamos Pride
Two successful Pride Weeks and one pandemic later, Pride Week returns to Los Alamos June 5-13. This year’s theme is “Coming Out After Covid.” This is the second in a series of mini-profiles that aims to highlight as many gay-friendly local businesses as possible. Please email kdolejsi@gmail.com if you own a business or run an organization and want to extend your support to Los Alamos Pride Week. Regardless of whether you own a business, please follow Los Alamos Pride on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Friends-of-Los-Alamos-Pride-189623935011756) and Los Alamos Pride Week on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/losalamosprideweek/) to learn more about upcoming events.
The Los Alamos Family YMCA is committed to ensuring that all people are treated with dignity and respect, said Chris Daniels, CEO of the local Y.
“The Family YMCA is dedicated to welcoming all and actively works on issues related to diversity and inclusion,” Daniels said. “We strive to serve the community in such a manner that everyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from, has the opportunity to reach their full potential. The Y supports Los Alamos Pride in working toward this end.”
Two YMCA senior staff members are even founding board members of the Friends of Los Alamos Pride, said LA Teen Center Director George Marsden.
“The Y played a very active role in the in-person Los Alamos Pride Festivals in 2018 and 2019,” Marsden added, “and numerous Y staff have helped with the events and the Y hosted some of the 2019 festivals activities at its Y Express location.”
Marsden said the teen centers in Los Alamos and Española “provide caring and supportive environments that welcome and nurture the potential of ALL youth. Representation matters, and when we gather to publicly support, recognize, and celebrate the members of the local LGBTQ+ community, we affirm for LGBTQ+ youth that they belong and have a future in our community. It also serves to inform individuals looking to relocate here for employment that this is a community that welcomes ALL of the best and brightest people in their field. The Y supports the local LGBTQ+ community by being a welcoming, affirming, and supportive organization that lives up to the motto ‘The Y is for All.’”