“Love is love; community is everything.”
Such is the motto of Queer Keys, one of Key West’s newer nonprofit organizations that has made a colorful and impactful splash in its first two years.
Its mission is to “support, educate, empower and celebrate the queer community in the Florida Keys,” while its vision is to “see the Florida Keys become a safe, supportive and celebratory island chain for all people.”
Queer Keys hopes to grow into a wraparound LGBTQIA+ community center, providing programs and services for people throughout the Keys.
“Over the past year, we’ve run three LGBTQIA+ support groups, provided mini-grants to help local trans folks access healthcare, organized a community rally at Bayview Park and offered LGBTQIA inclusivity training to local service agencies, among other initiatives,” said co-founder Chris McNulty.
Queer Keys raised more than $26,000 at its second annual Coming Out Party and fundraiser on June 25 at Key West Theater, McNulty added.
The event featured drag performances, stand-up comedy by Gwen Filosa and local music musicians, along with plenty of supportive and educational material, as well as a silent auction and more.
All money raised supports Queer Keys’ youth program, its trans trust fund (currently in development) and its general operating costs.
The theme for this year’s Coming Out Party was Summer of Love.
“With this past legislative session in Florida instilling hate and fear throughout the state, our intent was to counteract that ethos with a night focused on the love and beauty of our community,” states the group’s website. “Because of the drag ban that was signed into law by our governor, our event had to be 18 and over. We weren’t happy about it, but we raised a bunch of money for the kids in our youth program who couldn’t attend and we showed the governor how resilient the Key West community is.”For more information visit queerkeys.org.
