Unbelievably, it’s the last month of 2025, so we wanted to take a moment to look back on this year and share some of what we did as an Alliance.
2025 started out as a really terrifying time for a lot of us. As an organization, we had to be very intentional about where we put our time, energy, and limited resources. We talked a lot about what we could provide that would make the biggest impact for our community, and we always came back to the same answer: creating in-person spaces where people could gather, connect, and support each other in real time.
To that end, every single month we hosted two game nights, at least two hikes, a peer support group, two youth support groups (one in Phoenixville and one in West Chester), a gender-expansive community group, and a queer business networking group. Over the course of the year, we also hosted more than 15 additional social meetups. All of these spaces were open to anyone looking for connection — places where people could show up as themselves and not just feel safe, but actually thrive.
We also hosted our larger community events. The Love Is Love Gala is our largest fundraiser of the year, and it’s what pays for the spaces and resources required to offer our programming throughout the year. One of the things it helps make possible is Queer Prom, which we hosted for the first time this year. It was an incredible night, filled with queer and trans youth coming together in a space where they could simply be.
2025 was also our 10th annual PrideFest — a milestone that almost blinked by us because we were so busy organizing everything else. Looking back, it’s important to pause and name that ten-year mark of showing up, creating visibility, representation, resources, and education in Chester County.
In October, we spent a lot of time reimagining OutFest. We didn’t want to create just another Pride event. We wanted something more intimate, more introspective — something that held both our collective history and our personal journeys, which isn’t always joyous, in a space where that complexity could exist and be held.
This year we launched our Mental Health Shortfall Fund, a program we are deeply proud of. This fund partners with vetted, LGBTQIA+-affirming mental health providers to help cover the cost of individual therapy for community members who need support and would otherwise be unable to access it.
Beyond our own events, we showed up throughout the county to share resources, education, and information at community events. We traveled to Harrisburg to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, bringing our community’s presence directly into spaces where decisions are made. Here at home, we helped advocate for a nondiscrimination ordinance to be passed in Chester County — a huge win not just for our community, but for all minoritized groups in the county.
Perhaps most importantly we took time to pause and hold space for remembrance. Collective grief is part of our shared reality, and a big part of community care is making room for that loss.
Looking back, what stands out isn’t just the volume of work — it’s the steadiness of it. Volunteers showed up. Facilitators showed up. Community members kept coming back. Donors made it possible for this work to remain accessible.
As we move into the new year, know that we’re deeply grateful to everyone who has been part of building this community. Whether you attended an event, volunteered your time, donated, or shared our work with someone who needed it — you helped make this year what it was.
We are honored to keep doing this work, and we’re grateful for everyone who showed up to help us do it in 2025.