Moorestown residents Kimmie Smith, Kimberly Knowland and Danielle Zukowski are the co-founders of Moorestown Pride, a family- and peer-run support organization whose goal is to connect LGBTQIA+ individuals, families and allies in Moorestown in a safe and supportive environment.
“I’ve always been one of those kinds of people that wanted to dig deep into the community,” Smith explained. “I really feel like, especially as a woman of color, being a part of this community and having my face recognized, it matters, because that’s where that representation piece came in.”
“It’s all about us educating one another, but I think people are scared to ask or they’re scared to ask questions,” she added. “I think the more we educate people about things, the better our community will get. We are here to educate people on who we are, what we stand for, so they don’t have to go with that false narrative. They can simply ask us, and we will tell them.”
“And that is why we’re here.”
Moorestown Pride is actively forming relationships with other groups in town that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and also offers support to all marginalized groups in the township. The organization engages the community through social events and education to promote LGBTQIA+ awareness and acceptance.
Moorestown Pride’s future events include karaoke night Saturday at Studio 67 in Medford, a kickball game and a partnership with the township library.
“We’re going to start doing support groups here, so it’s going to be different …” Knowland noted. “We want to try and do different ones … We want to do things to educate and have a presence so people aren’t scared.”
“ … We just want to be like, ‘Hey, we’re adults, we’re not scared and we’re here to support you,’” she added. “We want to be visible and have a presence for people that are too scared to use their voice.”
“I think we’re going to start doing these things and then as we get feedback, it’ll be easier to plan,” Zukowski observed, noting that Moorestown Pride is for everyone …
“We want to be in tune with, if there’s something going down, we want to make sure that we’re able to step up and be advocates.”
“We are not trying to force our beliefs on others,” Smith observed. “We are just trying to cultivate a peaceful, respectful, loving, safe environment for everybody, regardless of who you are.”
For updates on Moorestown Pride visit its Facebook page.
