Pride Surprise donation funds placed in emergency reserve

Pride Surprise host, Brian Graves, opening emergency reserve account for LGBTQ+ communityBrian Graves / Instagram

(LANCASTER, Pa.) Last month, Zoetropolis held the weekly Pride Surprise Film Festival hosted by Brian Graves. The event showcased LGBTQ+ films and followed up with an open discussion.

Pride Surprise was a donation-based event where viewers could give as much as they wanted. At the start of Pride Surprise, Graves didn't have a set plan for where the money would go, but now it has been settled to start a reserve account.

"I decided that it would be best to perhaps not donate to organizations or charities or businesses. Just because a lot of those avenues already have money and have different ways that they are going to use that money," said Graves.

The reserve account will serve as an emergency fund for any LGBTQ+ person that needs it. The money isn't going to any specific person, but rather anyone who reaches out. Graves is still working out the technicalities for how people can reach out to them and how to give the funds to those who ask, but a formal announcement will be made later this week on their Instagram.

"We're not going to ask people so much like what kind of emergency (ending up without a roof or needing food etc.) they're in or what they may need but based on, you know, the extent of whatever they're going through that would dictate how much money they will be able to receive from the reserve," Graves added.

Toward the end of Pride Surprise, more people started attending the film screenings and even asked for more. Graves is now working with their partner, Sobeida Rosa, from the Lancaster Changemakers Collective to turn Pride Surprise into a Changemakers event that is in collaboration with Zoetropolis.

Anyone who missed out on June's Pride Surprise can still look forward to a potential horror-themed Pride Surprise in October.

For more information on the reserve and future events, be sure to keep an eye out on Graves' and the Zoetropolis’ Instagram pages.This is original content from NewsBreak’s Creator Program. Join today to publish and share your own content.