Grand Opening of Area’s First LGBT Welcome Center
(St. Petersburg, FL) December 10, 2014 – Tampa Bay’s LGBT Welcome Center will celebrate its Grand Opening Reception on Friday, December 12, 2014. After being moved a block down Central Avenue and undergoing a year’s worth of renovations, the historic Grand Central District bungalow is ready to serve the LGBT community living in and visiting Tampa Bay. The Welcome Center is located at 2227 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, FL 33713.
The Grand Opening Reception will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6:15pm featuring Lorraine Langlois, CEO of Metro Wellness & Community Centers – Tampa Bay’s LGBT Community Center, of which the LGBT Welcome Center is a project – along with St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman and community leader Brian Longstreth, who helped bring the project to fruition.
The general public is invited to attend the celebratory reception starting at 6:00pm, which follows the VIP reception hour for donors of the project at 5:00pm. Tampa Bay’s “Best Cabaret Act” (Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay), Scott Daniel and Matthew McGee of The Scott and Patti Show will host the event. The Welcome Center is the second of its kind in Florida, providing an inviting community space for residents and visitors to participate in enriching programs and events, get connected to area things to do and places to stay, and enjoy local Kawha coffee in a safe and inviting space. The Welcome Center also houses office space for the Grand Central District Association.
Metro Wellness and Community Centers currently has offices and LGBT Community Centers in St. Petersburg (3251 3rd Avenue North), Ybor City and New Port Richey in addition to its Thrift & Gift retail store on Central Avenue, located right next to the Welcome Center. Metro has been providing premier HIV services, social networking and other health and wellness programs for over 21 years to the four-county area of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando.
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Media Contact:
Chris Rudisill
Director of LGBT Community Center Services
727-321-3854 ext 238
ChrisR@metrotampabay.org
www.LGBTwelcomecenter.com
www.metrotampabay.org
The Grand Opening Reception will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6:15pm featuring Lorraine Langlois, CEO of Metro Wellness & Community Centers – Tampa Bay’s LGBT Community Center, of which the LGBT Welcome Center is a project – along with St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman and community leader Brian Longstreth, who helped bring the project to fruition.
The general public is invited to attend the celebratory reception starting at 6:00pm, which follows the VIP reception hour for donors of the project at 5:00pm. Tampa Bay’s “Best Cabaret Act” (Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay), Scott Daniel and Matthew McGee of The Scott and Patti Show will host the event. The Welcome Center is the second of its kind in Florida, providing an inviting community space for residents and visitors to participate in enriching programs and events, get connected to area things to do and places to stay, and enjoy local Kawha coffee in a safe and inviting space. The Welcome Center also houses office space for the Grand Central District Association.
Metro Wellness and Community Centers currently has offices and LGBT Community Centers in St. Petersburg (3251 3rd Avenue North), Ybor City and New Port Richey in addition to its Thrift & Gift retail store on Central Avenue, located right next to the Welcome Center. Metro has been providing premier HIV services, social networking and other health and wellness programs for over 21 years to the four-county area of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando.
###
Media Contact:
Chris Rudisill
Director of LGBT Community Center Services
727-321-3854 ext 238
ChrisR@metrotampabay.org
www.LGBTwelcomecenter.com
www.metrotampabay.org