On March 10th, 2026, a major storm brought large hailstones and flooding across Grand Rapids. The Grand Rapids Pride Center’s building at 343 Atlas Ave SE was not left unscathed, and experienced flooding throughout nearly the entire building. Water seeped through the doors the entire night from the parking lot and into our reception area. To make matters worse, the back of our building received extensive water damage due to standing water.

The back of our building houses much of our recreational area and offerings that make up our community center, as well as the Grand Rapids Trans Foundation office. It includes our kitchen we utilize to feed our members, storage closets, and supplies for our social and support groups.

Insurance won’t cover any of the damage from this disaster. Our carpets need to be completely torn out and replaced, our building needs to be sanitized and the air needs purification. The air quality has impacted many of our items housed in our building, including clothing in our essential needs closets and our merchandise used for fundraising. While some things may just need to be washed, others will need to be replaced in its entirety. As stated, our recreational space took a large hit, permanently damaging technology like our television used for all things between relaxation and group training purposes, video gaming consoles that help our members escape for a bit, and a sound system we utilize at our in-house events. Our furniture needs to be sanitized or replaced, as well.

Our critical services have been paused and can not return until we bounce back. Due to this, community members who utilized our services will face a gap until we can open our doors. This primarily impacts those who use our space as a warming center, that now have nowhere affirming to go with another winter storm on the horizon. As our doors remain closed, the Grand Rapids Trans Foundation’s in-person services are also impacted.

The Grand Rapids Pride Center is asking for support to overcome this tragedy efficiently and quickly to return to our business as usual. Our team has been working tirelessly for the last year due to the current sociopolitical and economic climate to bring supportive services and maintain our building as a safe space in face of ongoing violence. We would like to return to our clients, community members, and partners in our full capacity as soon as possible.

Donations of any amount are incredibly appreciated and valuable. Proceeds from this fundraiser will help us restore our building, appliances, and items lost to the storm. Any additional funds will help sustain the Pride Center’s offerings, including our Therapy Assistance Program (which has received unprecedented requests this year), Health Equity Program services, and more. Additionally, we are seeking volunteers to help us with various tasks throughout this process. Please sign up here: https://forms.gle/rrGCdmP762yf2LYFA Our team thanks you deeply for your support.

After the Storm: GR Pride Center Fundraiser