LGBT Center of Greater Reading
LGBT Center of Greater Reading
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The LGBT Center of Greater Reading creates, develops, and implements services and programs to meet the needs of those in the LGBTQ+ community that are at-risk for health disparities, homelessness, suicide ideation, isolation, substance abuse, risky behavior, etc. We offer counseling, support groups, referral services, advocacy and, we provide education to agencies, businesses, schools, higher learning institutions, police departments, government offices, churches, etc. We host an array of art programs, healthy events, and community engagement activities to ensure we are visible advocates in our community. We recently opened our new LGBT Center Wellness Clinic aimed to address social and economical determinants of health and wellbeing. The following providers are offering services utilizing our clinic: Aids Care Group; HIV/STI testing, PrEP/PEP, and Education. Dr. Super's House of Health - Chiropractic/massage. Reiki Balance - Reiki. Co-County Wellness; HIV testing
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
50+ Support/Social Group
This is professionally led support group for the 50+ LGBT community. Please follow our Facebook page and website for events and programming.
Parents Group LGBTQ+ parents; parents of LGBTQ+ kids; allies
This group is intended for parents: LGBTQ+ parents; parents of LGBTQ+ youth; adoptive parents of LGBTQ youth; LGBTQ+ adoptive parents and allies
Share the Pride
A group for adults 18-49 years old to build social connections and to improve the quality of life.
Rainbow Alliance
This group is open to 18 plus adults designed to explore spiritual injury, religion vs spirituality, reconciling one's sexual orientation or gender identity with childhood faith, finding new ways to connect to the Spiritual, sculpting a spirituality that is consistent with one's life experience and come home to one's innate Spiritual Self
VOICES - Vision, Opportunity, Community, inclusivity, Education, Support
Drop in Center group for youth 14-18 years old. We provide education, mentoring, food, clothing, toiletries, and a safe space for youth to be themselves.
Gender Expansive Group
This group is for those that identify as Transgender, non-binary, gender queer, gender diverse adults. We offer a safe place to be yourself.
Jr. Gaymers
This group is for those 18 years old and younger that play dungeons and dragons.
Gay-mers Unite
Adult D&D group
Gay Men's Group
This group provides support and social networking for those 18+ that identify as gay men.
H.E.R. Lesbian Group
This group provides support and social networking for all those identifying as lesbians.
Where we work
Awards
Champion of Children 2022
Casa
Affiliations & memberships
66-hour Training Certificate Domestic/sexual violence advocate 2019
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of multi-year grants received
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Ethnic and racial groups, LGBTQ people, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people, Immigrants and migrants
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of clients who self-report increased skills/knowledge after educational program/intervention
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Ethnic and racial groups, LGBTQ people, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people, Immigrants and migrants
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
2020 = Covid; less educational programming done that year. Stark increase in attendance for 2023 educational sessions.
Number of support groups offered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of youth programs offered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
VOICES - Vision, Opportunity, Community, inclusivity, Education, Support
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our Voices Youth group serves those ages 12-18. We provide an educational/social platform that utilizes arts, STEM, life-skills training and more.
Number of youth receiving services (e.g., groups, skills and job training, etc.) with youths living in their community
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
VOICES - Vision, Opportunity, Community, inclusivity, Education, Support
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We served 10,845 youth through the following: Support groups Counseling Drop-In Pantry Community outreach Warm Meal Wednesday
Number of treatment and support plans that include behavior support plan
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
1,728 represents the number of counseling sessions recorded for 2023. This number is indicative of treatment and support plans for those participating.
Number of direct care staff who received training in trauma informed care
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This represents the number of staff and interns that received training in trauma informed care for 2023
Number of clients referred to other services as part of their support strategy
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This number represents the number of referrals made for additional services in 2023
Number of students receiving homework help
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of youth who demonstrate that they have developed coping skills
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This metric is indicative of youth that developed coping skills through our support group, counseling, life skills training and mentoring in 2023.
Number of youth who demonstrate that they have developed a strong sense of self
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This metric is indicative of those youth that demonstrated a strong sense of self in 2023.
Number of groups/individuals benefiting from tools/resources/education materials provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This number represents the number of people served by our organization through support/social programs, food pantry, counseling, drop in, care coordination, etc.
Number of rallies/events/conferences/lectures held to further mission
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Educational sessions, and community outreach.
Number of public events held to further mission
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
22 public events hosted by the LGBT Center of Greater Reading.
Number of stories successfully placed in the media
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This metric represents the number of media stories placed across the US for 2023 - specifically about/for the LGBT Center of Greater Reading
Number of community events or trainings held and attendance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
93 Educational sessions held in 2023, serving 3,579 professionals.
Total number of counseling sessions performed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of training programs created
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The LGBT Center of Greater Reading seeks to dramatically reduce health disparities, increase mental and physical well-being overall, reduce healthcare costs and increase longevity.
We seek to ensure our community is treated with equity in all aspects and we seek to educate the Greater Reading area in all aspects of LGBTQ+ daily life to encourage acceptance and a better understanding of the LGBTQ+ community overall.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We have concise project objectives and a strong, committed board of directors that work together to plan and strategize. We often partner with mission aligned organizations to increase the reach and impact while avoiding a duplication of services.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The LGBT Center of Greater Reading has the capabilities to succeed in meeting our goals. To date, we have achieved much more than we initially planned. We've created a model of operation that is now being requested in other surrounding counties. We recently just opened two satellite locations utilizing a comprehensive internship program with local universities.
We've aligned our staff team with our goals. We meet weekly to discuss our progress and everyone contributes. We undergo professional development regularly and the Board actively participates in planning and implementation. We've also worked to develop a sustainable funding plan that consists of fee for service, provider billing, major gift program, monthly giving program, grants, private donorship and other funding initiatives.
The LGBT Center of Greater Reading has earned the respect of many organizations and businesses in Reading and the surrounding counties, by operating with integrity and transparency at all times. In addition, we've earned the trust and recognition of local, state and national organizations and officials. Lastly, and most importantly, we've gained the trust of the local LGBTQ+ community by working with and treating everyone with dignity, respect and equity.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The LGBT Center of Greater Reading was created in June of 2016; progress the first 2 years was slow. In 2018 a new director was named, and additional board members added. In a few short years, the new director and board have produced exponential growth in all programs and services offered while expanding our support group offering from 2 groups to 20 (to date) and added FREE counseling, and Crisis Intervention Services. We saw an 8-fold increase in advocacy and quadrupled our professional development training program. We added youth programming late in 2019 and have serve more than 30 kids a week.
In addition, we added a free food and toiletry pantry, workforce development, life-skills training, drop-in hours, an emergency fund utilized to assist those in immediate danger (homelessness, utility shut-offs, etc.), built a community garden and created a Warm Meal Wednesday program - open to anyone in need. We will utilize the garden to assist in the menu planning for the year for our WMW program.
We are currently undergoing an orientation process and professional development to provide neuro-divergent programming to the Center. Once we complete the process of becoming an official provider of services through ODP, we will be recognized as a provider by the State of PA.
We recently opened our new LGBT Center Wellness Clinic aimed to address social and economical determinants of health.
We've worked to integrate our organization into our community AND our city. We built relationships and partnered with more than 300 social service agencies, business, organizations throughout Berks County. We work with local government officials, City Council, City Mayor, the Human Relations Commission (locally and state-wide), and local health officials.
We are recognized as a leading LGBTQ+ organization for services, programs and events in Berks County.
Our mission and vision are clear. We seek to obtain a building space of our own (we currently rent our space) in which we can expand upon the current services and programs we offer. The vision is to be a full-service organization providing housing for LGBTQ+ homeless youth, direct services that include counseling and case management, while providing existing services.
We've accomplished a lot in a short period of time and the community response has been incredible. There's a lot of work to do and the LGBT Center of Greater Reading is poised and committed to serving the LGBTQ+ community and our allies to the best of our abilities.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
LGBT Center of Greater Reading
Board of directorsas of 03/11/2024
Ms. Anita Matson
The LGBT Center of Greater Reading
Term: 2022 - 2025
Susan Denaro
Esquire
Michelle Renee Dech
The LGBT Center of Greater Reading
Anita Matson
Johnson & johnson
Kai Miller
Emerald One, LLC
Nicole Vega
Reading Hospital
Michelle Koals
Psychologist
Dr. Brian Lahmann
Chief ED; Tower Health
Lori Lobb
Retired
Dana Hoffman
Bethany Children's Home
Jennifer Dinatally
Realtor/Owner
Shawn Hendricks
Vanguard
Brett Diamond
Edward Jones
Jacquelyn Flanagan
Investigator/Retired
Charles Corbit
Sebastian Haas
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 05/19/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.