$96K funding for Newburgh LGBTQ+ Center honors volunteers

State Sen. James Skoufis (D-Hudson Valley) announced that his office secured operational funding for the Newburgh LGBTQ+ Center in the state budget for a third consecutive year.

The funding, totaling $96,000 for fiscal year 2021-22, will enable the center to continue expanding its operations and providing programs and services to the county’s LGBTQ+ community. In all, Skoufis has secured $296,000 over the past three years to support the Center’s LGBTQ+ work in the community.

Honors for volunteers and partner organizations

Skoufis also honored several of the center’s volunteers and partner organizations with Senate Commendations and Empire Awards last week.

The Empire Business Award, the State Senate’s highest commercial honor, is given to exceptional businesses that go out of their way to give back to their community. Skoufis presented two Empire Awards to organizations affiliated with the Newburgh LGBTQ+ Center: Newburgh Community Photo Project, a local non-profit which has provided immeasurable volunteer and in-kind support; and the Beacon-based Binnacle Books, which hosted some of the Center’s early programming and continues to support their outreach efforts.

He also awarded two Senate Commendation Awards to Kk Naimool, a board member of the Center; and City of Newburgh native Phoenix Gayle, a longtime volunteer and organizer.

Naimool is a writer, activist and educator living in the Hudson Valley. They are a member of the Board of the Newburgh LGBTQIA+ Center and co-founder of the Beacon Queer and Trans Liberation March. They are an avid advocate for equity and justice, predominantly in the area of racial justice, gender justice and LGBT equity. They currently serve in leadership roles in a number Queer AAPI collectives and racial justice collectives. Kk lives in Beacon where they currently serve on the city’s Human Rights Commission.

Phoenix Gayle is a Black trans womxn (the spelling is an inclusive variation of the word woman), born and raised, living, working, and organizing in the mid-Hudson Valley. She has organized to increase awareness regarding gun violence in the City of Newburgh, performed as a spoken word poet, and is a fine make-up artist. She started organizing for the Newburgh LGBTQ+ Center in 2018 and has been a vital team member since.

Newburgh Community Photo Project (NCPP) is a grassroots community-based arts program that teaches photography and related media to an underserved and underprivileged population in Newburgh through workshops and mentorships. And Binnacle Books specializes in used and new literature, poetry, literary nonfiction, political history, art, drama, philosophy, graphic novels, and children’s books.

“The ongoing work of the Newburgh LGBTQ+ Center is truly inspiring, and I am honored to have secured this ongoing funding for them,” Skoufis said in the press release announcing the awards. “I thank all of the community activists and partner organizations who continue to fight for a more just and equal Hudson Valley.”

For more information, visit www.newburghlgbtqcenter.org.