Dan Casper (L) and Wendy Vernon at Shuffle with Pride. (Photo by Ryan Williams-Jent)
ST. PETERSBURG | The third annual Shuffle with Pride raised over $10,000 for PFLAG Safety Harbor June 12 at the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club.
The event is hosted by The Platinum Group of Smith & Associates Real Estate. Attendees enjoy local vendors, access to play Shuffleboard, music and more, with 100% of funds raised from beverage sales, silent auctions, raffles and donations benefiting the PFLAG chapter’s work throughout the greater Pinellas County region.
In addition to PFLAG Safety Harbor, this year’s vendors included St Pete Pride, currently celebrating 24 years, Metro Healthy Communities, the City of St. Petersburg and Equality Florida. Held on the 10-year mark of the Pulse tragedy, the gathering also remembered the 49 lives lost with a display of their names.
“Today and every day, we honor their memory,” a sign also read.
The Platinum Team’s Dan Casper reflected on Shuffle with Pride June 15, revealing this year’s fundraising total.
“When we sat down four years ago and started talking about doing an event at St. Pete Shuffle for Pride, we all agreed that the emphasis had to be about the community,” he shared. “It needed to be a celebration of the people that make our city so great.
“I know I found myself more than once standing off to the side and taking in all the love and joy that was emanating from those in attendance,” he continued. “It was a humbling experience to be able to say we created a space that filled so many people with joy, happiness and Pride.”
Casper noted that “the community showed tremendous generosity” during the event, showing up “in a big way for an organization that’s mission is to help build safe communities that support LGBTQ+ people.” The result was over $10,000 raised.
Casper thanked attendees, vendors, event volunteers — which included St. Petersburg City Councilmember Brandi Gabbard, also a candidate for mayor — and all donors.
The fundraising total “far exceeded our expectations,” he said. “From the bottom of our hearts we can’t thank you all enough.”
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“For the past three years, Shuffle With Pride has brought our community together for a night of joy, celebration and connection,” says PFLAG Safety Harbor Founder and President Wendy Vernon. “We are incredibly grateful to Dan Casper for his commitment to making this event happen year after year and for creating a space where people feel welcomed, seen and celebrated.”
She notes that over $25,000 has been raised for the organization since the event’s inception, funds that fuel critical work.
“As a 100% volunteer-led organization, every dollar raised goes directly back into the community through community dinners, events, mutual aid, and programs supporting LGBTQ+ individuals and families throughout Greater Pinellas,” Vernon says.
Learn more about PFLAG Safety Harbor at PFLAGSafetyHarbor.org and visit ThePlatinumGroup.SmithAndAssociates.com for more on information about The Platinum Group. View our photos from this year’s Shuffle with Pride below.
Photos by Ryan Williams-Jent.
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