September 2025 Newsletter

Happy September / National Bisexuality+ Month, Friends! 

Change is in the air… can you feel it? Even the LCQC is experiencing some wonderful changes and transitions as we enter the new season. Thank you for your patience and continued support. 

One of the most significant changes that we are preparing for is the onboarding of our new board of directors in October. Thank you to our past, current, and future board members for your service and support! 

All of our volunteers are vital to the success and growth of the LCQC. We are always looking for dedicated volunteers to continue and expand our services and strengthen our community. If you are interested in joining the board, or becoming a volunteer, please apply online, or connect with us to learn more. With your help, we can continue offering programs like the after school club, book clubs, game nights, and beyond. 

Thanks to our awesome volunteers, we were able to create some really lovely events this month, like the Queer Memoir Writing Workshop with Zoë Bossiere, Family Storytime at Astor School with Ms Sarah, and the Lavender Mat Weaving class with Julia from the Maritime Museum.

We have also received wonderful support this month from the Portland Lesbian Choir, offering a benefit concert at the Liberty Theater on September 28th.

Looking ahead into October, we are also grateful for the support of the Vigilant Artists and the Armory for putting on a benefit concert on October 10th with proceeds supporting the LCQC. Doors open at 7p, show starts at 8p! All ages welcome!

We are so grateful for the generosity of our community by supporting the LCQC. Your donations directly support queer people in our community. This month, we were able to support several members of our community with emergency financial support, basic needs, and gender affirming care. 

National Coming Out Day is Saturday October 11th! What began in 1988 as a way for queer folks to encourage their friends to “come out” to family and friends has evolved into a greater call for 2SLGBTQIA+ support, awareness and education. This is an excellent day for the community to come together and share coming-out stories in solidarity. We recently had a Memoir Writing Workshop with Zoë Bossiere to encourage folks to write and share their stories. We hope to invite the community to take part in a coming out storytelling event later in October. Reach out if you’re interested!

With our current political climate creating unsafe conditions for BIPOC, queer, and trans folks; drastic budget cuts to essential housing, education and healthcare programs, we anticipate the needs of our community to continue rising. 

We greatly appreciate donations to continue funding our financial assistance programs and provide gender affirming care to our community. If you have a few clothing items to donate, please connect with us to schedule a drop-off time. We kindly request that donations be limited to one bag per household (our space is limited), preferably with an itemized list for inventory purposes. 

Thank you all for supporting the Lower Columbia Q Center. Please reach out if there is anything we can do to support you or someone you love.

If you want to get involved or learn more about the LCQC, please visit our website or reach out to info@lcqcpride.org.

Thank you for supporting the Lower Columbia Q Center, and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

With gratitude,

-Benedetto DeFrancisco (they/he)

The Lower Columbia Q Center, Executive Director

ben@lcqcpride.org