By Ty Walker
The Mountain Times
Coffee House 26, your friendly neighborhood coffee and book shop, nestled in the foothills of Mount Hood, celebrates Pride all year long. In June, they just turn it up a notch.
On Friday, June 14, Amber Ford will throw the fourth annual community Pride event at her coffee shop in Welches. Half of her sales that day and 100 percent of the raffle money will go to The Trevor Project.
The Trevor Project is a nonprofit suicide prevention organization that helps LGBTQ+ youth and individuals who struggle with their identity. The Trevor Project also provides housing and therapy to those in need.
“Pride is very important to me as my sister is gay and is the proud mom of two little girls who have two mommies,” Ford said. “My family is my everything and seeing firsthand how challenging and hard it was for my sister to come out and gain acceptance compels me to work harder to be more understanding and help those without a voice.”
The Pride event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Coffee House 26, 67211 E. US Highway 26 in Welches. Salo Panto of Portland will perform live music. There will be food vendors and drink specials. Coffee roaster Proud Mary will serve free samples.
“The goal of my event is to educate our community on ways they can help and to make every individual who identifies as LGBTQ+ feel welcome and special,” Ford said. “Coffee House 26 has been and will always be a safe place for those LGBTQ+ community members and while June may be the month we celebrate Pride, at Coffee House 26 we celebrate it all year long.”
For more information on The Trevor Project foundation, go to thetrevorproject.org.