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MEDIA
RELEASE
PFLAG Yuma
Contact: Jody Michaud, President
(928)
580-9553
yuma@pflagarizona.org
www.pflagarizona.org/yuma
February 4, 2010
PFLAG
Yuma is a Reality!
Yuma,
AZ – For the first time in the history of Yuma, there is
PFLAG Yuma Chapter. PFLAG is an acronym for Parents,
Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
After
the Yuma premiere of the documentary Amancio…Two Faces
on a Tombstone, chronicling the efforts of The Amancio
Project to bring comfort to the family of and justice
for the brutal Yuma murder of Amancio Corrales in May of
2005, Jody Michaud approached Yuma resident and
protagonist of the documentary, Michael Baughman, and
asked, “I have a lesbian daughter. What can I do?”
Without hesitation Mr. Baughman replied, “Start a PFLAG
here in Yuma!”
Taking
time to learn about PFLAG, Jody contacted PFLAG Phoenix
and got the ball rolling. Local residents signed on as
the first officers of the chapter and in late January
2010, the first public organizational meeting was held.
The
concept of PFLAG began in 1972 when Jeanne Manford
marched with her gay son in New York’s Pride Day parade
after earlier seeing her son Morton physically attacked
at a gay rights demonstration in New York. Many gay men
and lesbians ran up to Jeanne during the parade and
begged her to talk to their parents so Jeanne decided to
begin a support group. Approximately 20 people attended
the first formal meeting held in March 1973 at a local
church.
PFLAG
is an international non-profit grassroots organization,
whose primary mission is to provide support to cope with
an adverse society, education to enlighten an
ill-informed public, and advocacy to end discrimination
and to secure equal human rights for or on behalf of
gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT)
individuals and families, and their parents, families
and friends.
Based
in Washington DC, PFLAG has over 500 independent
chapters in the United States, with chapters in other
countries forming weekly. Arizona is fortunate to have a
growing family of PFLAG chapters in large and small
communities; Casa Grande, Flagstaff, Lake Havasu City,
Page, Payson, Phoenix, Prescott, Tucson, Verde Valley
and now Yuma, with new chapters being started by caring
and concerned individuals.
PFLAG
Yuma welcomes the full participation of parents, family
members, friends, other straight allies, GLBT or
“questioning” individuals and families and anyone else
who wishes to support the PFLAG Mission.
Meetings are held at 5:00pm, every fourth Sunday of the
month at The Foothills Alano Club, 12535 South Foothills
Boulevard, Yuma, Arizona 85365.
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