Within the LGBTQ community, we can find ourselves often out-aged or overlooked and it s important that we make sure that doesn t happen, said Jo Mama, drag queen and co-founder of the Chicago Black Drag Council. It s our inherent responsibility to give back to the people who opened the doors for us.
Jo Mama reached out to Danny Beers, Generations LGBT coordinator for Our Art of Giving, to get connected to Town Hall after Chicago Black Drag Council member and Minnesota native Jesse Fails came to them with the idea.
Beers started a food drive for LGBTQ seniors at the start of the pandemic in 2020. Almost a year later, he has donated thousands of items to seniors including food and household essentials. He added that the group will also provide care packages for the seniors.
The local community rallied together to show their love for LGBT+ seniors with handmade Valentine s Day cards. (Danny Beers/Facebook)
A group of drag queens in Chicago showed the power of the queer community when they came together to make sure local LGBT+ seniors received Valentine’s Day cards.
The Chicago Black Drag Council partnered with nonprofit Our Art of Giving along with local businesses to help LGBT+ elders feel the love for the special occasion.
The initiative, called the Valentine’s Day Senior Prize project, saw drag queens partner with several bars in the city to create 200 Valentine’s Day cards for older people living in Town Hall Apartments, Halsted, according to