Hello Community,

We wanted to let you know why we’ve canceled our Queeraoke event.

We were excited when we entered into a partnership with Rhythms Coffee as a host for our Queeraoke Fundraiser events. While we have only had one event hosted by Rhythms Coffee, we were delighted to see the community come together not only in support of Stonewall Youth but also in support of one another at that event. We appreciated that the owners and staff were enthusiastic and supportive before, during, and after the event. 

Stonewall Youth’s experience with Rhythms Coffee means that we are even more disappointed to hear of the alleged mistreatment of a former staff member of Rhythms Coffee than we would have been if we hadn’t already created what seemed like a positive working relationship with the business. As a youth-led organization we believe that youth deserve to be compensated just as fairly as non-youth

We want our communities to feel safe and welcome and we hope discussing with them as a queer organization can give them insight and have them work towards a more positive, caring and queer-friendly place. However, we acknowledge that many people, especially black and brown queer people, have been made to feel unsafe in this space and we do not want to partner with a business that is not safe for all.

These concerns are too deep to resolve before our fundraiser on Friday, July 12th, and so we are not able to have an event on the same day as originally intended. For now, we will be speaking with the owners to see what changes can be implemented moving forward to make Rhythms Coffee a safer space.

We ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this difficult situation. In the meantime, we will be postponing our July 12th Queeraoke Fundraiser until we decide upon a new venue. Any future Queeraoke events held at Rhythms Coffee are not affiliated with Stonewall Youth

If you would like to support us directly while we work to reschedule Queeraoke you can donate at stonewallyouth.org/support-lgbtq-youth.

Best,

Kenn Anderson

Community Fundraising Director

Stonewall Youth