Long Island GLBT Network Receives $100K Grant for Hamptons GLBT Center

A grant will enable the Hamptons GLBT Center, which opened with temporary digs at the Old Whalers Church in Sag Harbor over the summer, to begin full-time programing at the center and throughout the East End. 

The Long Island Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Network was awarded a $100,000 grant from The Calamus Foundation, the network announced on Tuesday. Its organization, Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth, known as LIGALY, opened the center in August, as the only place of its kind of the East End.   

“The grant is significant as it will ensure that each of the Network’s 3 Centers are staffed and open full-time providing life-saving programs and services," David Kilmnick, Chief Executive Officer of The Network, said in a statement. "With funding from The Calamus Foundation, we will be able to hire two staff members (one full-time and one part-time) that will be based solely on the East End. We will be able to go from keeping the Hamptons GLBT Center open one day a week to five days a week, ensuring that all GLBT youth, adults and seniors have a safe space that they can access where they will find support, organize, and build a stronger community."

Louis Bradbury, the president of The Calamus Foundation's Board of Directors, said, "We were impressed by the impact the organization has had in the lives of tens of thousands over its 20 year history and look forward to partnering with The Network to meet the needs of the East End GLBT community which has been greatly underserved until now.”

The Calamus Foundation awards grants to charitable organizations for programs and activities that focus on people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as services for the LGBT community.