We had a plan for 2020.
Last year, we teamed up with Capital City Pride, an Iowa LGBTQ+ non-profit dedicated to producing educational events and programming that celebrates the state’s diversity, to be the lead sponsor for 2020 Pride Week. A team of LGBTQ+ Associates came together and spent months planning how we would show up.
But then the world changed. COVID-19 threw everything into disarray. Pride Week in Des Moines was postponed until 2021. The killing of George Floyd and the protests that ensued sparked a new question: in the absence of Pride Week, how can we show up for the LGBTQ+ community without ignoring the widespread calls for racial justice and reform in this country?
It is not about Kum & Go rainbow t-shirts right now. Non-profits decimated by COVID-19 and a likely recession need our support. Black LGBTQ+ organizations whose communities stand at the violent intersection of racism, homophobia, and sexism need that support now more than ever.
So, this year, no shirts. No fanny packs. Instead, we are taking the budget we had set aside for those endeavors and are giving 100% of it to two important organizations: Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice and the Transgender Law Center’s Trans Agenda for Liberation.
We will continue to work to show up for our LGBTQ+ Associates, Customers and Communities.
Happy Pride.
Love, Kum & Go
About the Transgender Law Center
Transgender Law Center (TLC) is the largest national trans-led organization advocating for a world in which all people are free to define themselves and their futures. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, TLC employs a variety of community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation.
About the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice
The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice is the only philanthropic organization working exclusively to advance LGBTQI human rights around the globe. They support brilliant and brave grantee partners in the U.S and internationally who challenge oppression and seed change. They work for racial, economic, and gender justice because we all deserve to live our lives freely, without fear, and with dignity.
About Kum & Go
For 60 years, Kum & Go has been dedicated to the communities it serves, sharing 10 percent of its profits with charitable causes. For four generations the family-owned convenience store chain has focused on providing exceptional service and delivering more than customers expect. Established in Hampton, Iowa, in 1959, the chain has since grown to employ nearly 5,000 associates in 400 stores in 11 states: Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.