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The Spahr Center Marin Shares It’s 2017 Fundraising Highlights & More

AIDS Walk
July was AIDS Walk time for all of us at The Spahr Center. Thanks to the efforts of our board and staff, we raised over $20,000 to support HIV prevention and education in schools and the community. Many thanks to everyone who donated to make this fundraising event a huge success!
Academy of Friends Gala
The Spahr Center participated in The Academy of Friends Gala in February and we received a $10,000 grant at their awards ceremony.
New Grants
Innovation Grant
We received a $50,000 Innovations grant from the Marin County’s Behavioral Health Department in November to support LGBTQ youth and young adults in building community. This is the first grant The Spahr Center, or our predecessors, have received from the Behavioral Health Department. The funds will be renewed next July and extend to June 2019.
We also received our first grant from The Horizons Foundation in November for $5000 to support working with LGBT seniors.
Our new website!!
We hope everyone has had a chance to check out our new website. If not, we hope you will visit it soon – www.thespahrcenter.org. You can find the link for the calendar of events at the top on the right. Please let Bri know about events to be posted. She can be reached at 415-457-2487 x115 or email her at bsilva@thespahrcenter.org. 
LGBT Senior Notes and News
 
The LGBT Senior Steering Committee formed as the outgrowth of our Senior Needs Assessment Lunch in October 2016. The committee divided in two, one group focusing on LBGT social activities and the other on program and service needs and fundraising.
Four LGBT senior luncheons were held at The Marin Yacht Club. The new LGBT Social Committee expanded the format to include music, dancing and a raffle. Committee members are now welcoming new people to be sure everyone feels included.
Nancy Flaxman conducted two cultural competence trainings, one in the spring for Marin County’s Older Adults Department and one in the fall at WhistleStop. Buz Hermes also did a training for an Older Adults conference in June. We also contracted with Buz to lead an eight week workshop on Aging Gayfully.
We are now offering a Senior LGBT exercise group here at The Spahr Center!  Group meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays.  Check it out on our calendar here
June PRIDE Picnic
We held a Marin Pride Picnic in June, co-sponsored by The Microsoft Store at The Village Mall in Corte Madera and The Kaiser Community Benefit Fund. The picnic was attended by by over 100 LGBTQ community members and allies.  U.S. Representative Jared Huffman, Supervisor Damon Connolly and Bob Harmon of ACLU’s Marin Chapter, Janie Spahr and Floyd Tompkins spoke.
Board Notes
The board held a day-long retreat in September to outline goals for the next several years. Their primary focus is on increasing funding for LGBTQ programs and the costs of general administration including rent, operating costs and administrative staff.
Thank you to our Supporters for helping make this Holiday season inclusive for all our clients
At Thanksgiving, we provided Holiday bags with a turkey and trimmings for over 40 of our HIV+ clients and their families.


We held a Holiday Tea for LGBT seniors at WhistleStop on December 12th and a holiday party for HIV+ clients in The Spahr Center’s community room on December 20th.
Lastly
We close the year with a beginning. We’re forming a new, collaborative relationship with Marin Community Clinics as they begin providing HIV medical care for patients transferring from the county’s clinic which will close January 24th.

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