Parade
Updated: Jul 17
The South Boston Association of Non-Profits (SBANP) is a collection of nonprofit organizations serving the South Boston community. Our mission is to join in collaboration, promote the goals of our member organizations, and inform the community of the wide range of services we offer.
Three years ago the SBANP initiated a “We are South Boston” campaign. Each organization, in April, celebrated this with an “I am South Boston” activity. The initiative has grown and we continue to celebrate our neighborhood with the hopes of creating a healthier community. In 2014 the SBANP intended to bring our campaign to the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
We submitted an application to the Allied War Veterans that included language that supported our initiative: We are South Boston: We stand for Community, We stand for inclusion, We stand for FUN, We stand for Respect, We stand for Opportunity, We stand for Unity….our application included language supporting inclusion and identified that our members include individuals from many diverse backgrounds including the LGBT community.
While many of our component organizations proudly count members of the LGBT community among their membership, we are not ourselves a gay rights organization. Instead, we are a diverse and inclusive number of non-profit organizations whose memberships consist of all racial, sexual, and political philosophies, orientations, and preferences. This is something we celebrate with our ‘We are South Boston’ campaign in the parade.
Related Articles:
St. Pat’s parades proceed amid tension over gays, ABC News
Feature photo of SBANP Parade Unit, CNN
Small contingent of gay marchers in parade kept presence low-key, got warm welcome, Boston.com
Feature photo of SBANP Parade Unit, Thomson Reuters
Controversy fails to take fun out of St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Boston Globe
‘Diversity float’ will be part of St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Boston Globe
St. Patrick’s Day parades proceed amid tension over gays, The Blade
St. Patrick’s Day festivities kick off with bagpipes and beer amid tension over gays in US, Star Tribune
Feature photo of SBANP Parade unit, CTV News