Sugar Plum Tour Marks 20th Annual Gay Community Endowment Fund

AKRON, Ohio – This year’s annual conference Sugar Plum Vacation Home Tour marks the 20th anniversary of the Gay Community Endowment Fund of the Akron Community Foundation was established.

The Sugar Plum Tour opens the doors to festively decorated homes across town, raising funds that allow the philanthropic group to support programs that positively impact the local LGBTQ + community.

The visit includes a live component and a virtual component. The live tour will feature five homes and will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, December 5. The virtual tour will include filmed and commented tours by professionals of eight houses during the weekend of December 11 to 12. Tickets for both circuits can be purchased online.

Printed and digital travel guides with maps of places of residence will be available to tourists, and the event will comply with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, as well as state and local regulations for COVID-19, said organizers. More information is available on the Sugar Plum Tour website.

Last year’s Sugar Plum Tour raised more than $ 100,000 for the fund, which has awarded grants since 2005 to various programs and organizations in the region, organizers said.

The Gay Community Endowment Fund was created by several Akron men who recognized the need for an endowment to support the LGBTQ + community and also knew that many people in the Greater Akron community would support the initiative, organizers said. .

With 60 initial donors pledging more than $ 70,000, the fund grew to an endowment of $ 2 million and has awarded over $ 630,000 in grants for arts, education and social service programs.

Recipients range from programs aimed at creating safer neighborhoods and fighting phobias to those supporting mental health and suicide prevention.

The fund also offers scholarships for LGBTQ + students and allies who live in Summit, Medina, Portage, Stark and Wayne counties.