This year Stonewall helped so many people who needed a safe place to be: the young high school student who was bullied every day of his life, the eighty-six year old who just lost her partner of fifty years and the new dads who wanted to have a family picture taken with Santa without a snide look on the photographer’s face.

As we move into the final weeks of 2008, I think it is a good time to review the wonderful year we had at the Center on High, Stonewall Columbus. Our accomplishments were many, from producing the largest Pride celebration in the midwest with approximately 120,000 people in attendance, to the expansion of our health and wellness series of classes. We also hosted several exhibits, conferences and workshops including the Transgender Symposium, the Columbus College of Art and Design’s senior show, the GOHI history panels, “Meet the Candidates” Night and an Evening with Leslie Jordan. New to our website this year was our SWC TV show which offers vital information for our community with a little bit of entertainment thrown in for fun.

Our greatest and most pressing challenge for the upcoming year is fiscal. The economic crisis has affected us all; charitable giving has been reduced across the board. Like many other organizations, we’ve had to make cuts to the budget across all areas. However, we are left with our greatest asset: the excellent staff, volunteers and board and their commitment to the LGBT citizens of central Ohio.

In order to continue the important work we do, we will need your continued support in 2009. We encourage you to give a gift online today. Think about giving the gift of membership to someone you love this year. Contributions to the center go directly to helping LGBT people lead healthier and happier lives.

Click here to become a member of the Stonewall Columbus Center on High.

We look forward to the year ahead, and wish you peace and happiness this holiday season. Thank you, as always, for keeping up with the family here at Stonewall Columbus. Please take a look at our photo galleries so you can see the impact of our center in action!

Warm regards,

Karla Rothan
Executive Director
Stonewall Columbus, Inc.