The Gay Community Center of Richmond

The Gay Community Center of Richmond is a 47,000 square foot Community Center located in Richmond's Northside for the use of Central Virginia's LGBT community and supportive agencies and groups. We provide meeting space, classroom and event space at little or no cost to community groups and non-profit organizations. We are the home of the GCCR Gallery, which is the first gallery in Virginia dedicated to showcasing LGBT artists and those who portray our community in a positive light. Since GCCR began community center operations in 2008, more than forty community groups have held programs attracting thousands of participants.

Title: GCCR Date: November, 2009 Credit: Alix Bryan Length: 2:03 Synopsis: Alix Bryan, a Mass Communications major at Virginia Commonwealth University, produced this review of the Gay Community Center of Richmond.

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The Gay Community Center of Richmond was founded in 1999 to provide support for the agencies and groups that serve Central Virginia's sexual and gender minority people, and to educate the public about the many issues facing our community. In 2004, GCCR purchased our facility and began renovations that culminated in April 2008 with the dedication of Virginia's first community center serving the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. GCCR is a leader in the effort to create a permanent and sustainable non-profit structure in Richmond dedicated to serving sexual and gender minority people and their allies. In March 2009, the GCCR Board of Directors received a strategic plan that calls for the creation of a permanent Program Committee to research and develop an expanded series of offerings, in association with other established community service agencies and groups.

GCCR is also an endowment for the community. Our facility was purchased and renovated and will be expanded through the generous support of hundreds of community activists, visionary corporate supporters and foundations that recognize the important role our community plays in Central Virginia’s life and culture.

The Gay Community Center of Richmond is the home for our community. Our safe and welcoming facility and the exciting programs we offer and host make Central Virginia a better place to live for all fair minded people. Join us. Come home.

As the Gay Community Center of Richmond enters its tenth year of operations, our staff and Board of Directors have undertaken a thorough review of our operations, our achievements and our place as a leader in Central Virginia’s sexual and gender minority community. Our goal has not changed since our founding: We want to make Central Virginia a better place to live for the members of our community, our friends and our neighbors.

Our VISION of our work has evolved as GCCR has grown. Today, our Board, staff and volunteers share the vision that:

“We are the physical and virtual center for the enrichment of the lives of sexual and gender minority people in Central Virginia through individual and organizational achievement and growth.”

Our MISSION is focused clearly on our vision.

“We develop and help sustain organizations, programs and services that contribute to a vibrant Central Virginia community that shares our values of diversity, inclusion, individual dignity, equality and civic engagement.”

In ten years we’ve grown, and our community has as well. Still, we have much work to do to create a safe and welcoming environment where all residents of Central Virginia can live and work free from discrimination. We all have accomplished much. Working together we’ll do so much more.