Affirmations starts Multicultural Advisory Committee

FERNDALE –
Affirmations is asking LGBT community members from across the Detroit Region to participate in a new Multicultural Advisory Committee. The committee, made of up 12 individuals of diverse backgrounds, will come together monthly for the purpose of creating a set of best practices and recommendations for the LGBT multicultural service provision and center operation. With six members already identified, the general public is invited to nominate additional participants. Deadline for nominations is Feb. 15.
Michelle Brown, Howard Israel, Curtis Lipscomb, and Reynaldo Magdeleno were the first four community members who stepped up to serve on the new committee. Affirmations board members Reverend Mark Bidwell and Torii Hamilton have also agreed to work on the project.
"As a board member, I am eager for Affirmations to become a community center that reflects the people it serves in every possible way," said Bidwell, who is the senior pastor at Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit. "As a community member, I am hopeful that Affirmations' work will help all LGBT organizations embrace the diversity in our community. Together I believe we can make a difference."
The Multicultural Advisory Committee (MAC) was formed in response to an internal process begun in early 2007 among both board members and staff that pointed toward a need for heightened multiculturalism within the organization. In keeping with the spirit of its purpose, no more than three participants will be selected from any same cultural heritage. Interested parties can submit their nomination online at http://www.GoAffirmations.org.
Affirmations is the community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) people and their allies. Open since 1989 and located in
Detroit suburb of Ferndale, Affirmations provides a welcoming space where
people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and cultures can find support and unconditional acceptance, and where they can learn, grow, socialize and have fun. To join the conversation, community members can nominate themselves on the Affirmations Web site at http://www.GoAffirmations.org.