The Pride Tree’s Challenges
Impacts of the Pandemic
Starting at the end of 2020, the biggest impact of the pandemic involved how The Pride Tree established itself.
“We started doing sessions on Zoom and started providing these resources to those in need,” Frailich said. “Some of these kids were in their bedrooms, who may or may not be openly out to their parents, having these conversations.”
As things reopened the past few months, Frailich said that if there’s demand for virtual events, they’ll do it but have found that most people prefer in-person, so that remains the focus.
He went on to say that as schools reopen, they can start doing in-person events. He added that he feels that The Pride Tree will make a real impact as they expand to more schools.
Developing a Niche
Frailich explained that a major challenge in developing the organization involves carving out their own niche; one that he said: “doesn’t necessarily exist.”
“I’m hesitant to describe us as an LGBTQ+ organization because I don’t want people to think this is an organization where you have to be LGBTQ+ to participate,” he said. “We are the forum for anyone who wants to discuss issues revolving around gender and sexuality.”
Essentially, if straight and cisgender youths have questions or want to participate in the programs, they’re welcome at The Pride Tree.
Acceptance and Pushback
Frailich went on to say that the reception from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. “We’re all about community partnerships and want to work with groups to supplement their work, rather than compete with other organizations,” he stated.
He then explained that the Pride Tree differs from other organizations because they put a majority of their funds directly into their programs, services, and other resources.
“I like to call us a ‘sexy, agile speed boat,” he said, saying that they’re able to be constantly moving, can bring resources directly to people in the community, and aren’t held back by the usual obstacles most nonprofits face.
“We’re not spending thousands on a facility or other overhead costs like utilities. This provides us with a couple of benefits,” he said. “For one, it makes us more accessible. We can come directly to the community and can provide more services. We aren’t asking teenagers to come to us; we’re bringing our programming directly to them.”
The other benefit is the cost-effectiveness of not having high overhead costs; every dollar goes further because it’s not spent on a lease or electricity. This enables their programs to create a larger impact.
“Our biggest expense is our camp program,” Frailich explained. “That’s going to cost up to $35,000 to cover all of the kids’ expenses for that trip.”
The Pride Tree has raised $5,000 so far for next summer’s camp program.
The Pride Tree’s Goals
Ultimately, Frailichs said that The Pride Tree’s biggest goal involves scalability.
“We want to grow to accommodate more schools and more youths,” he said. “We’re starting at six schools in August and hope to expand to 12 or 13 in January 2022. Later we plan to expand to 18; the sky’s the limit.
A major driver behind this expansion stems from the fact that many high schools in Nevada lack a GSA program. Many of the ones that do have one are inactive or don’t have active programming.
“We want to come in and create that culture at schools so people like Emma can connect with other kids at her own school and wherever else we go,” Frailich said. “It doesn’t cost anything; we’re a club that comes straight to you!”
In addition, The Pride Tree also hopes to address the high number of homeless LGBTQ+ youth in Las Vegas.
“I just read a statistic from UNLV that 22.9% of homeless youth in Las Vegas identify as LGBTQ+,” Frailich said. Moreover, according to the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, “LGBTQ are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than non-LGBTQ youth.”
The disproportion of homeless LGBTQ+ youth is a major concern that Pride Tree plans to address as the organization grows.
Frailich also mentioned that they’ve thought about working with community partners to open a boutique for LGBTQ+ and homeless youth. Here, they would find clothes that they feel more comfortable in and better match how they identify themselves.
Moreover, he added that for LGBT history month in October he’d love to facilitate events involving teaching LGBTQ+ history.
He also expressed a desire to expand beyond schools; one day, he hopes to partner with different places of worship to bring the programs there. “I’d love to work with different churches and synagogues to bridge the gap between the LGBTQ+ community and religion,” he said.
Lastly, Frailich said that he’d like to offer training and resources to local businesses. Through that, they’d train employees on inclusivity, diversity, and topics of conversation relating to the LGBTQ+ community. This will help create safer, more equal, and equitable workspaces.
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The Story Behind the Pride Tree Logo
While interviewing Frailich at the event, I also had the opportunity to speak with his father, Alan Frailich – the artist behind The Pride Tree’s logo.
“I originally made it as a painting for my gay friend, Zack, a Rabbi in Los Angeles. He’s married to his husband Ron, who’s a city controller in L.A.,” he said. Ron Galperin is actually the first openly gay official to be elected to citywide office in Los Angeles.
“I look at these guys as such remarkable men. That’s what I think of first; not their sexuality or preferences or orientations, just that they’re wonderful guys,” Frailich Sr. said. “They had twins through a surrogate and are raising these kids in such a cool way. They sing with the kids every morning while Zack plays guitar, one song in Hebrew and one in English. And they play music for them again before they go to bed.”
Through his friends, Frailich Sr. said he found inspiration through them.
“The pandemic brought out some artistic talent of mine I used to have, so I decided to try again. I ended up painting the image of the tree,” he said. “You see, the painting represents my two friends; the trunk symbolizes a sturdy foundation, and the two strong limbs branch out and reach for the sky and reach for new heights.”
When he showed the painting to Grant, he learned about the girl being bullied and receiving death threats over her identity.
“He had this idea for something to help LGBTQ+ youth, to create an organization to provide resources to them,” he said. “He looked at the tree and knew it was perfect to represent the organization and its mission.”
Frailich Sr. concluded by speaking about how proud he was of Grant and all of his children, who, he reported, have always helped people and found ways to get involved in many humanitarian endeavors in the community and around the world.
“My kids have heart,” he said, eyes tearing up with pride after recounting the accomplishments of his children.
Taking on Stereotypes
Discussing his favorite part about the work he’s doing, Frailich said he enjoys getting people to think about the world differently.
“I love challenging stereotypes and changing people’s perspectives,” he said. “I’m very transparent; I love telling people that I’m not gay, but that that doesn’t mean I don’t care. That seems to blow people’s minds.”
He added that he feels it’s beneficial to have people look at him and see this guy who’s comfortable talking about pride and LGBTQ+ issues, explaining that he believes it changes people’s minds.
“I’m straight, so I’ve never dealt with coming out. I haven’t lived that experience, but I still know it’s the right thing to do to elevate people’s stories and experiences,” he said. “So, even though it really should be a given, people realize they can care about these issues even if they don’t identify as LGBTQ+. It’s all about raising awareness and building solidarity.”
Through his own experience starting The Pride Tree and meeting people in the community, Frailich reported gaining a much deeper understanding and appreciation of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I’ve met more trans individuals in the last month than I’ve met in my entire life, and I’ve gained so much from having conversations with members of the community,” he said. “No matter who I’m speaking with, there’s always big takeaways from these conversations and hearing people’s stories. One conversation leads to three other conversations and more connections and grows from there.”
From these conversations, Frailich said there’s a real need and desire for the resources he wants to provide through The Pride Tree.
“People want this and need this,” he said. “Since I started, everything’s been like a rocket going straight up.”
#GetinMotion With The Pride Tree
Frailich shared several ways to help out The Pride Tree and support its mission.
“Help spread the word to bring awareness to people and the community about us,” he said. “Follow us and join our mailing list!
Follow The Pride Tree through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and subscribe to their newsletter through their website.
The Pride Tree is always looking for community partnerships to make with other organizations and businesses. “We work with any school, nonprofit, business, or organization to further the support and awareness of the issues we tackle here in the community,” he said.
In addition, they’re looking for volunteers to come out to the events and be guest speakers, especially at their school programs. August and September, in particular, are when they need people. Next summer, they’ll also need volunteers for the camp program, but the dates and details are still to be determined.
Lastly, the best way to support The Pride Tree is by donating. While their 501 (c)3 status remains pending at this time, your dollar goes much further when donated to The Pride Tree due to their low overhead costs.
The Pride Tree also accepts physical donations of items to be used in the Camp Pride Tree program next summer.
“Oftentimes kids don’t have the necessities for camping like sleeping bags, pillows, towels, and even appropriate clothes,” Frailich said. “So we collect those to make sure we accommodate that for them.”
To donate items for the camp events, contact Grant at Grant.Frailich@ThePrideTreeLV.org.
