LOVE IS LOVE. — Die Innenstadt

June is Pride Month, and we are going all out this year in support of our LGBT+ supporters, players, fans, and community members this year!

Every home match, Mecklenburg Gardens donates a portion of their proceeds to a community partner of our choice. For March-May we were supporting the West End Art Gallery, a terrific 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides a safe place for students of all ages to embrace their creative side and learn new artistic skills. We will continue to support them in the future and will likely have some events in collaboration with them later this year. If you would like to help by volunteering your time, contact us and we will get you in touch.

For the month of June, all purchases during FC Cincinnati game days at Mecklenburg Gardens will help support the Greater Cincinnati chapter of GLSEN!

GLSEN (pronounced "glisten") was founded in 1990 by a small, but dedicated group of teachers in Massachusetts who came together to improve an education system that too frequently allows its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) students to be bullied, discriminated against, or fall through the cracks.

GLSEN Greater Cincinnati works for safe, respectful K-12 schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

Their programs include:

· Youth Group, a weekly social and organizing group for LGBTQPIA and allied middle and high school age youth

· Youth Summit, a free annual day-long conference of workshops, networking sessions and community building for LGBTQ and allied youth, and adults who work with youth

· Trainings including Safe Space, which empowers educators to be identifiable resources to LGBTQ and allied students.

· Support for Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) in schools

· Stories Project, illustrating school experiences through multimedia.

· Youth Prom, LGBTQ+ youth and their allies can dance, eat, and drink in a fun, safe and supportive space.

· GLSEN Greater Cincinnati was a founding chapter of the GLSEN network in 1995.

LOVE IS LOVE Shirts!

In addition to the regular contributions at Mecklenburg Gardens, we will be supporting GLSEN via the sale of our Pride Month t-shirt! See the slick design below!

Bob Brumberg’s idea was brought to life by the talented Christina Koplyay and is available for pre-order today on our website. Quantities are limited, so we recommend pre-ordering your shirt today to ensure you get the right size. Any left over after the presale will be available for purchase on the June 22nd match against LA Galaxy. All shirts will be ready for pickup at the June 22nd match as well.

Score Goals, Donate Money!

Finally, for Pride month we are using Prideraiser to further support GLSEN. Join other members of Die Innenstadt in pledging money to GLSEN for every goal scored during the month of June! You can donate any amount of money per goal. The goal for FC Cincinnati against the Colorado Rapids, and the two (own goals) against NYCFC means that, as of publication, our current $141 per goal pledge has raised $423 for GLSEN!

Every goal FCC scores in June adds to that total. This also includes the US Open Cup match and revival of the Dirty River Derby against Loisville FC.

In addition to our support via the Prideraiser, several players for FC Cincinnati are donating money via another excellent fundraiser called Playing for Pride! Spencer Richey will be donating $25 for every team win, $20 for every start, $15 per shutout, and $3 per save. Jimmy McLaughlin will be donating $25 for every FCC match this month and an additional $25 for every FCC win. Also, Tommy McCabe will be donating $10 for each win, $10 for each appearance, and $10 for each goal or assist.

Several other former FCC players will also be participating, including Matt Bahner, Antoine Hoppenot, Aodhan Quinn, and Dekel Keinan. All donations for Playing for Pride support Athlete Ally, a national organization that supports LGBTQ athletes. You can find more info about Playing for Pride on their twitter account here.

LOVE IS

LOVE.

JUNCTA JUVANT!

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