Mint Voyagers: Paul Blore

Executive Director of PhillyGayCalendar


Paul Blore is on staff at both The William Way Community Center and Power Up Gambia and when I told him “this is your show, tell people what you want them to know about you and the program”, he did just that.

PGC:  Tell me about you and your background.

Paul:  My background is in theatre– acting, writing, producing, directing– the works.  But,  I became interested in working for non-profits, and fundraising in particular, after living for 5 months in The Gambia, West Africa.  When I moved back to Philly, I got involved with and eventually became part of staff at Power Up Gambia, an organization that improves health outcomes for Gambians by using solar energy to bring round-the-clock electricity to hospitals.  Sure, it’s not very gay, but it touches on that ‘quality of life’ issue.  I also help with fund- and friend-raising for ImFromDriftwood.com, a site with ‘True LGBTQ Stories from All Over’, whenever I’m called upon to do so.  The collection of first-person stories accomplishes a number of things, including demonstrating the diversity within the LGBTQ community.  Queer people are everywhere,  and they all have hugely different answers to the questions on the Census (and to some that aren’t); we represent every age, race, religion, creed, gender identity and expression, income level and kind of employment.

PGC:  Tell me about your participation in The Mint Voyagers.

Paul:  Something that struck me about the program early on was one of the ‘ice-breaker’ questions (which are so often a source of dread and despair).  The question was: what inspires your activism?  Many people responded with something to the effect of ‘Well, I never thought of myself as an activist until you put it that way, but…”  Over the course of the following weeks, I think the Distinctive Officers program succeeded in changing participant’s perspectives of themselves.  By confronting us with that label, ‘activist’, and having us take part in this program for ’emerging leaders’, we were forced to accept that mantle. The Distinctive Officers program made every effort to have that same sort of diversity represented among the participants.  We even had a straight ally, who is no less fabulous than the rest of us!!  The case study for this first run of the program just so happened to be William Way Community Center (I now serve as the Center’s Executive Assistant).  Each participant tapped their own background, as well as their professional expertise, to make recommendations for how the Center can continue to expand its’ outreach in our ever-more diverse community.  This kind of insight is absolutely priceless.  Professionally, and personally, the Distinctive Officers program was a great fit for me, and I’m fortunate that I could participate.

PGC:  What inspires your activism?

Paul:   I grew up in the Ronald McDonald House.  My mom was the first resident manager ever of the first RMH ever, which is right here in Philly.  I grew up around kids and families of every race and creed, from all over the country and the world.  Some kids had ailments or were undergoing treatment that made them ‘different’, if only in their physical appearance.  So, I was raised in a place where difference was part of the norm, and where everyone was striving to get the most quality out of their lives.  Thus, tolerance and fairness have been consistent themes in my personal mission in life.

PGC:  What are you going to do with what you learned in the program?

Paul:  Regarding my future plans,  I plan to become involved in an effort to bring together welcoming and affirming congregations that the community can count on to voice their support of progressive policy (I hope some not yet ‘welcoming and affirming’  congregations join our flock in the meantime!).  Also, before Distinctive Officers began, I was asked to join the Friends Committee of Pig Iron Theatre Company, with which I interned in Spring 2010.  I’ll join the committee this Fall.  And of course, I’ll be working hard to make recommendations from the program’s participants a reality at the Center (and I do hope they’ll join me in that effort).

We are proud of Paul and his participation in the first ever class of Distinctive Officers and can’t wait to see what he does next.

If you are interested in nominating someone into the Distinctive Officer’s Program of The Delaware Valley Legacy Fund, please contact John Moeller Jr. at 215.563.6417 ext 117 or jmoeller@dvlf.org.

 


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