Fundraising drive launched by organisation supporting older LGBT people
Opening Doors London has launched its latest fundraising drive to support older LGBT people across London.
The organisation launched the Raise a Glass campaign following the announcement that it faces funding cuts of up to £70,000.
The campaign will see an event take place at Bloomsbury Set bar in Bloomsbury, and aims to raise funds for the organisation which supports more than 900 older LGBT people in London.
The campaign aims to highlight freedoms now enjoyed by younger LGBT people, and the fight undertaken by those supported by the organisation to achieve those freedoms.
One of the aims of the campaign is to have people sign up for a £5 direct debit donation.
Opening Doors London manager Stacey Halls said: “Many younger LGBT people simply aren’t very aware of the immense difficulty that many older LGBT people have, and continue to face, as a result of decades of discrimination.
“We have members who have been imprisoned, subjected to aversion therapies to ‘cure’ them, lost friends and partners to violent acts, lost custody of their children and been forced to remain secretive and hidden in most areas of their lives – all because of their sexuality or gender identity.”
She continued: “This isn’t about lecturing younger LGBT people, it’s about asking them to ‘raise a glass’ in thanks and recognition – to celebrate the freedoms that we now enjoy.
“And while we’re at it, sign up for a £5 monthly donation to help keep the service going to support those who have come to rely on it.”
Opening Doors London hopes to become more sustainable from direct donations, as next month it will lose two major grants, worth around £70,000.
