PCSO IS Now the LEXINGTON PRIDE CENTER

Lexington Pride Center Staff, Burley Thomas, Office Manager; Carmen Wampler-Collins, Executive Director; and VISTA Development Assistant J. Catherine Taylor at the unveiling of the new sign.

Pride Community Services Organization, the nonprofit that runs Lexington’s LGBTQIA+ Community Center and the annual Lexington Pride Festival has announced the organization’s name has been changed to the Lexington Pride Center. The name was changed to more accurately reflect the organization’s role in the community and to simplify communication about the nonprofit. “‘Pride Community Services Organization’ and ‘PCSO’ are a mouthful. So much so that many of our constituents already simply call us the Pride Center because it's one of the things for which we are best known. We’re also known for producing the Lexington Pride Festival, so it seemed natural to bring the whole organization under the ‘Lexington Pride’ umbrella,” says Carmen Wampler-Collins, the organization’s Executive Director. “While the new name is a natural extension of the work we have been doing for a long time in the community, the change also marks some important milestones. We have really leveled up in terms of services, inclusiveness, and impact and we wanted that to be represented in our branding.”

With the name change a new brand, logo, and website have been launched. Lexington Pride Center’s website can now be found at www.lexpridecenter.org. Its social media handle on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is @LexPrideCenter and the suffix on all email addresses has been changed to @lexpridecenter.org. The new brand better represents the organization’s energy, warmth, and diversity. Lexington Pride Center has worked with brand consultant Caroline Cassin at The Brand Thread to implement the changes. “It has been a privilege to work with Carmen and the Lexington Pride Center on their rebrand. Our goal at The Brand Thread is to help elevate our clients by taking their purpose and weaving it through every facet of their brand representation in a modern, unique and thoughtful way. The new branding and websites for Lexington Pride Center and Lexington Pride Festival allows all LGBTQIA+ individuals to be better represented and embodies the organization’s energy, inclusivity, and profound impact on the city of Lexington and surrounding regions,” Caroline says. 

Funding from the Murry Foundation, a Lexington foundation focused on eliminating poverty and building thriving communities, helped make the changes possible. Elizabeth York, Director of the Murry Foundation says, “It was important to us to be involved with the Lexington Pride Center because we want to create a community of acceptance that celebrates all of our citizens. The work that the Lexington Pride Center does to create equity, promote inclusivity, and celebrate diversity is essential to our city and we couldn’t be more excited to have them as a community partner.”

Please direct any questions to Carmen Wampler-Collins, Executive Director of Lexington Pride Center at carmen@lexpridecenter.org or (859) 797-8352.

The new name and sign were unveiled at a ceremony on Tuesday, November 23, 2021 at 2:00 pm.