{"id":12724,"date":"2021-06-22T12:30:27","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T16:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?p=12724"},"modified":"2025-07-30T10:29:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T14:29:49","slug":"supporting-lgbtq-businesses-for-pride-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.elfster.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/22\/supporting-lgbtq-businesses-for-pride-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Gifting For Good: Elfster Group Supports LGBTQ+ Run Businesses for Pride Month"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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After pressing pause on the party in 2020, rainbow flags are flying and the glitter is sparkling. Pride Month is in full swing! It\u2019s time to support LGBTQIA+ run businesses by going all out for the month-long celebration of diversity and inclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because, after all, love is love.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pride Month Festivities<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Rainbow flags showing off pride. | Image courtesy: Unsplash user Tristan B.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Celebrated annually during the month of June, Pride Month is a time for the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer\/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual) community to be proud of who they are. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Festive parades<\/a> are a prominent feature of Pride Month, as are street festivals, community events, poetry readings and educational sessions, all of which attract millions of participants. As with all in-person gatherings in 2020, most Pride celebrations were cancelled. In 2021, Pride organizers are working to bring communities together both virtually and in person as much as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the celebration of pride isn\u2019t just about waving the rainbow flag during the month of June. Pride Month (and beyond) is ultimately an opportunity to show support and raise political awareness of current issues facing the LGBTQIA+ community.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celebrating Diversity & Inclusion<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We recently caught up with the organizer of an Elfster<\/a> gift exchange community that focuses on celebrating diversity, equity and inclusion<\/a> in tangible ways, for Pride Month and well beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meet Sari Sheridan, a resident of Northern Virginia, who is part of a three-woman team behind a Facebook group called <\/span>Progressively Yours: Politics, Pods, and Trash TV<\/em>. <\/b>Though the group is private, the group is a very welcoming community and happy to take on new members. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ‘Progressively Yours’ community, which is made up of “about 500 women & men who are like-minded in many ways. We enjoy some of the same television shows, politics, and an interest in podcasts,\u201d Sari explains. \u201cWe discuss everything from the recent politics & policies, to the podcasts we listen to, to hilarious conversations about shows like 90 Day Fianc\u00e9, etc.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The group came together in 2020 and “really grew closer during the election,\u201d she adds. \u201cWe built this group as a way for our members to vent, share their experiences or ask for advice, discuss recent events in a safe space, and laugh our way through a <\/span>tremendously<\/b> difficult year with COVID-19 and a <\/span>very<\/b> important election year. We’ve rallied together. Some of us took part in social justice causes, started donations to give to a worthy cause, or helped their community in some way or another, and we all cheered each other on from all over the country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gifting For Good<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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To show the \u2018Progressively Yours\u2019 group\u2019s commitment to supporting diversity, they have hosted monthly gift exchanges throughout this year. Through their acts of generosity to one another, they also make it their mission to focus on causes that matter most to them.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDepending on the month we decided based on events or holidays of that month. Naturally, because June is Pride Month we wanted to support LGBTQIA+ small businesses,\u201d Sari explains. \u201cWe also set up donation posts for members who\u2019d prefer to donate vs send a gift or would like to partake in both!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis past year has undoubtedly been a difficult year for us all. Having this monthly exchange has allowed us all to be there for each other even from afar. Sometimes a little package received let\u2019s you know that someone out there is thinking of you\u2026 and that can make all the difference in your world.”<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Many of our members are healthcare workers, have friends or loved ones who have been impacted by COVID, or they themselves have had COVID,” explains Sari. “This monthly event gives us the opportunity to reach out and say \u2018we love you and we think about you.\u2019 Some of our members have lost work, had come across hard times, and we strive to support each other. It means something to have this community to come to when times get tough. The gift exchange we do monthly is a wonderful way to send a little happy via snail mail.”<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporting Communities and Causes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In addition to gifting one another, they are gifting communities through their own generosity as well. This month, \u2018Progressively Yours\u2019 sought donations to two non-profit causes:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trevor Project<\/span><\/a>, an organization that <\/span>provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young people under 25;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free Mom Hugs<\/span><\/a>, a non-profit founded by one mom to accept, love and support the LGBTQ community.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn past months, we have supported Black History Month, Earth Month, <\/span>Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (<\/span>AAPI) Month and Women\u2019s History Month,\u201d Sari says. They will also make donations on behalf of the entire group. “The group has donated to organizations such as <\/span>Planned Parenthood<\/span><\/a>, the <\/span>National Stuttering Association<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>NAACP Legal Defense Fund<\/span><\/a>, and many more. We pay close attention to the events of today and we try to coordinate accordingly. Some are last minute decisions based on an event while others are planned out in advance knowing it\u2019s the month’s holiday or theme.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making Wishes for Pride Month <\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Through the magic of wishing and adding gift ideas from LGBTQ+-run businesses to their Elfster wishlist<\/a>, these gifters are making a difference with Pride purchases that go directly to the community itself. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 5 Businesses they are supporting through wishing & gifting:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cute Rainbow Tee from Otherwild.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n