Gay and Lesbian Community of Regina
Donation protected
We are the G.L.C.R (Gay & Lesbian Community of Regina), the last community owned and operated club of its kind in Canada, and quite possibly the last in North America. Our journey started in 1972 when members of the Gay and Lesbian Community established a social club “under the radar” of police and the general public due to social persecution. We eventually purchased a small house on Smith Street as our social club. Over the next 48 years, we have grown and moved several times… with our current location, in the heart of Regina’s downtown. Today, we certainly do not operate “under the radar” as in the past. Now, we work with the community, the downtown business community, and the police… times have changed.
Even though many issues have been resolved over the years, our mandate remains the same as it did 48 years ago… to provide a safe space for our members to socialize, meet, and gather to raise money for important causes. We have evolved into a community centre offering a space for funerals, memorials, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and community fundraisers.
Of course, over this period we have seen a number of low points, but that has always been overshadowed by our community rallying together and making things happen for the betterment of our community. We are always reminded by those who are and had been a part of our community, of how their own lives were shaped and enhanced by us providing a safe space where people can grow and be themselves, meet others of like mind and for many, their partners in life.
We are proud to be community owned and operated by the members we serve since our beginnings in 1972. We do not rely on grants or subsidies of any kind to provide the services for our community… we rely on our members. Members who have provided not only their time but also their money to see us here 48 years later. We take great pride in knowing that in a world where places like ours don't survive, that we are still here. Willing to fight, willing to do better, eager to learn, adapt, and grow.
A couple of years ago, through a lot of hard work, we reduced our debt and liabilities right down to zero, and also built up a healthy reserve of $13,000. This enabled us to plan for a modest facelift at the club and look forward to future programming to further build our community and our community centre.
Then COVID-19 hit. We were ordered by the Provincial Government to close in March and immediately initiated a number of measures to ride out the public order. Fortunately, we had enough supplies to nearly complete our facelift and enough savings to pay out all our local suppliers’ as we understood that they too would be struggling. After three months of no revenue, we are now in a situation that some would describe as precarious. Our Board and numerous volunteers put on a brave face and dedicated hundreds of hours to do some minor renovations, building cleaning, and repairs that are most easily done while the operations are in pause.
Although, we reduced our expenses by several thousand per week, raised some cash, received some provincial and federal assistance, our fixed costs per month without opening our doors amounts to $8000 per month. This has drained our reserves, increased our current debt back to 2018 levels, and put our future in jeopardy.
We believe our community can ride through this together and be stronger than ever. But we need some help to do so. It is our hope that we can generate enough donations to not only get back on our feet, but to also be able to put money away for another rainy day.
We will update on how your donation has assisted us as we proceed. Priority will be placed on operational expenses and debt accrued since closure in March, 2020.
We understand that our community may still be struggling at this time also and may not be able to donate. So we hope you may find a moment to at least share this link with as many people as you can. We look forward to seeing you all in the future, and look forward to celebrating 50 years together!
Your support is greatly appreciated.
The Gay & Lesbian Community of Regina/Q Nightclub & Lounge
“Proudly Owned and Operated by the Community We Serve”
Even though many issues have been resolved over the years, our mandate remains the same as it did 48 years ago… to provide a safe space for our members to socialize, meet, and gather to raise money for important causes. We have evolved into a community centre offering a space for funerals, memorials, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and community fundraisers.
Of course, over this period we have seen a number of low points, but that has always been overshadowed by our community rallying together and making things happen for the betterment of our community. We are always reminded by those who are and had been a part of our community, of how their own lives were shaped and enhanced by us providing a safe space where people can grow and be themselves, meet others of like mind and for many, their partners in life.
We are proud to be community owned and operated by the members we serve since our beginnings in 1972. We do not rely on grants or subsidies of any kind to provide the services for our community… we rely on our members. Members who have provided not only their time but also their money to see us here 48 years later. We take great pride in knowing that in a world where places like ours don't survive, that we are still here. Willing to fight, willing to do better, eager to learn, adapt, and grow.
A couple of years ago, through a lot of hard work, we reduced our debt and liabilities right down to zero, and also built up a healthy reserve of $13,000. This enabled us to plan for a modest facelift at the club and look forward to future programming to further build our community and our community centre.
Then COVID-19 hit. We were ordered by the Provincial Government to close in March and immediately initiated a number of measures to ride out the public order. Fortunately, we had enough supplies to nearly complete our facelift and enough savings to pay out all our local suppliers’ as we understood that they too would be struggling. After three months of no revenue, we are now in a situation that some would describe as precarious. Our Board and numerous volunteers put on a brave face and dedicated hundreds of hours to do some minor renovations, building cleaning, and repairs that are most easily done while the operations are in pause.
Although, we reduced our expenses by several thousand per week, raised some cash, received some provincial and federal assistance, our fixed costs per month without opening our doors amounts to $8000 per month. This has drained our reserves, increased our current debt back to 2018 levels, and put our future in jeopardy.
We believe our community can ride through this together and be stronger than ever. But we need some help to do so. It is our hope that we can generate enough donations to not only get back on our feet, but to also be able to put money away for another rainy day.
We will update on how your donation has assisted us as we proceed. Priority will be placed on operational expenses and debt accrued since closure in March, 2020.
We understand that our community may still be struggling at this time also and may not be able to donate. So we hope you may find a moment to at least share this link with as many people as you can. We look forward to seeing you all in the future, and look forward to celebrating 50 years together!
Your support is greatly appreciated.
The Gay & Lesbian Community of Regina/Q Nightclub & Lounge
“Proudly Owned and Operated by the Community We Serve”
Organizer
Gay and Lesbian Community of Regina
Organizer
Regina, SK