Please join us for RU12? Community Center’s 15th Annual LGBTQ Community Dinner: Emerald. Our signature event, this year’s dinner celebrates fifteen years of RU12?’s commitment to LGBTQA community building across Vermont.
RU12’s Annual Dinner brings together community members and allies for a fabulous evening of dinner and entertainment in support of our vital health and human rights programs as well as our social and educational events. It is a time for us to recognize community leaders, organizations, and businesses dedicated to building and strengthening our community.
The Annual Dinner begins at 5:00PM
The Sheraton Hotel, Burlington
in the Emerald Ballroom
The Vermont
Pride Awards
RU12? Vermont Pride Awards are given to individuals
and groups that truly stand out in their efforts to improve the lives of LGBTQ
individuals and communities. Their tireless efforts are an inspiration to
us all.
The Vermont
Pride Award for Business of the Year will be presented to TD Bank for being out in front of as a
strong supporter of their LGBTQ employees. Through creating LGBTQ affirming policies TD
fosters a workplace climate where LGBTQ employees can be out and proud. They have received numerous awards at the
national and international levels for their LGBTQ work, including offsetting
the additional federal and state taxes of LGBT employees in domestic
partnerships, relative to heterosexual married couples. Their support of
Vermont’s LGBTQ community clearly reflects their company policies. From TD Bank
Foundation grants and sponsoring RU12?’s Annual Dinner to volunteer hours by
their employees, TD Bank is an admiral example of a business that understands
and supports the true meaning of LGBTQ equality.
The Vermont Pride Award for Individual Activism will be presented to community activist David Frye, the coordinator of RU12?’s LGBTQ Disabilities Rights Network. Two years ago, David began the LGBTQ Disabilities Group at the Center to foster the health, safety, and well being of this remarkable group of people. From creating the support group and setting up a chat line to endless hours of outreach, David is in the process of connecting LGBTQ individuals with disabilities across Vermont. This innovative and tireless work has earned him several accolades including a Green Mountain Self Advocates Award to an invitation to speak at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s activist conference, Creating Change. His dedication is bringing much needed attention to this very marginalized group.
The Vermont Pride Award for Community Service will be presented to the Pride Vermont Committee. Each year, Pride takes tremendous amounts of time and energy by a group of individuals working together for a full year. Filing all the correct city permits and finding and signing festival performers to contacting and coordinating marchers and vendors, requires hundreds of hours of planning. Members of this committee give their time to ensure that we have an amazing Pride Festival, Parade, and events. They bring their various skills to the table and work through hours of details and produce events throughout the year. Through this award, RU12? hopes bring much deserved recognition to this dedicated group of individuals whose tireless efforts bring us the most recognizable tradition in LGBTQ culture.
The Live and Silent Auctions
This event is our biggest fundraiser of the year and there are fabulous items to be bid on in our live and silent auctions. We have amazing items generously donated from businesses and individuals across Vermont and beyond. You will be able to bid on everything from an in-home dinner for eight prepared by Leunig’s Donnell Collins and her amazing staff, to bowties and gardening supplies, to those thank you cards you always wish you had handy. Proceeds support the Center’s social gatherings, educational events, and direct services for the LGBT community.
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