Warrick County Indiana Pride hosts Pride Month Talk
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT)- Several events have taken place across the Tri-State in celebration of Pride month, and there are still a few more on the schedule.
Warrick County Indiana Pride will host a Pride Month Talk event at the First Presbyterian Church in Newburgh. The event will take place on June 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and is completely free to attend. The event will feature speakers, including author Karen Edwards.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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a day ago
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Warrick County Indiana Pride hosts Pride Month Talk
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT)- Several events have taken place across the Tri-State in celebration of Pride month, and there are still a few more on the schedule. Warrick County Indiana Pride will host a Pride Month Talk event at the First Presbyterian Church in Newburgh. The event will take place on June 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and is completely free to attend. The event will feature speakers, including author Karen Edwards. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Need a 'free dad hug' or 'free mom hug'? These parents are giving them out at Pride.
It all started with a homemade button with 'Free Mom Hugs' written on it in black Sharpie. Sara Cunningham, a mom of two from Oklahoma, wore it to a Pride festival in 2015, offering hugs to anyone who needed one. 'With anyone who made eye contact with me, I would say, 'Could I offer you a hug or a high five?''she tells Yahoo Life. 'The first girl I offered a hug to said it's been four years since she had a hug from her mother because she's a lesbian,' Cunnignham says. That ignited a spark in her to do more, leading her to found the nonprofit Free Mom Hugs. What started as just a few moms in Oklahoma City has turned into a national movement with more than 40,000 registered volunteers. Cunningham didn't start out as a fierce advocate, however. When her son came out to her years ago, she felt devastated and alone, something she wrote about in her book, How We Sleep at Night: A Mother's Memoir. 'I thought I was the only mother in the world, or at least Oklahoma anyway, with a gay kid,' she says. Cunningham wrestled with her conservative Christian faith and admits she didn't treat her son well, 'believing that [he] was condemned for eternity and that if I accepted him or even tolerated him, that made me a sinner too,' she says. 'I was frozen in that fear.' Over time, Cunningham educated herself and met other moms like her. 'It was a journey from the church to the Pride parade without losing my faith or my son,' she says. When her son invited her to join him at a Pride parade in 2014, she met his 'beautiful community' and saw how happy he was. It became a pivotal moment in Cunningham's life, and there was no going back after that. 'I know the power of fear and ignorance, and I know the power of love and education,' she says. Cunningham chose love. When Free Mom Hugs members like Cunningham give hugs, they also share words of encouragement. 'That is, in church words, 'the fruit of the spirit,'' she says. 'It's empowering and it's life-giving just by saying, 'I love you. I'm so glad you're here and you belong.'' Cunningham is one of thousands of moms and dads who show up at Pride celebrations across the country, ready to embrace anyone who needs it. Here, four others describe what giving out these hugs means to them — and why they matter. For as far back as he can remember, Sean Leacy has wanted to be a dad. The father of four, who lives in Washington with his wife, also organizes events for the Tacoma Dads Group, which has grown to 1,200 members. When the group decided to give out free dad hugs at the Tacoma Pride Festival a few years ago, 'we had a bit of pushback from people in the community that did not agree with that idea,' he tells Yahoo Life. The group lost some members, but at the same time 'we've gained in dads who believe in equal human rights for just people, regardless of their orientation.' Leacy cares about showing up as a parent, and giving hugs and high-fives at Pride is one way of doing that. 'If these parents are not going to be parents, if they're not going to step up and they're going to give in to their own selfishness and bigotry, then we'll be there.' That support is making a difference. Last year, his dads group got a booth at the entrance of the Pride festival. 'So you could not walk in without walking past us,' he says. 'We weren't pushy about it, but we wanted to make sure that everyone understood that we're here to give a hug.' And given their location, they gave a lot of them. A police officer stationed at the event came up to the group later on and said, 'I don't know if you really fully understand [the impact] because when people are walking away from you guys and walking toward us, they are just bawling. I'm touched by the impact this is making.' Leacy adds: 'That was a big deal for us.' Leacy acknowledges that with free dad hugs, fathers like him are 'stepping into a space that has been held very much so by mothers, and dads have not been out there doing it. I think that it's more expected for free mom hugs to be there. It's less expected that dads will be involved. I think that's probably where a lot of the impact is coming from — the idea that there is just a bunch of big, huggable guys that are literally just looking to give out a hug.' Five years ago, Erin Gambino-Russo, a Long Island mom of three, was watching a documentary about the LGBTQ community. She can't recall the name, but it left her feeling like she needed to act. 'I can't just sit here and feel sorry for people,' she recalls thinking. 'I need to do something.' An online search led her to Free Mom Hugs. 'I did not know that it was an organization,' she tells Yahoo Life. 'I thought it was just a shirt that people wore.' Gambino-Russo joined her local Free Mom Hugs chapter, eventually becoming the co-leader with Lisa Schlossberg (their chapter was even chosen to be grand marshals at Long Island Pride last Sunday). 'I tell people all the time that next to being a mom of three amazing kids, this is the thing I'm most proud of in my life,' Gambino-Russo says. Of all the hugs she has given, one stands out: 'I gave a hug to a 70-year-old trans woman who hadn't had contact with her mother since she came out 30 years prior,' she says. 'She wasn't even permitted to go to her mother's funeral service. This woman hugged me as if I were her mom. She needed a mom hug. She was old enough to be my parent, but it wasn't about that. It was about the love of a mom and the acceptance.' Gambino-Russo's husband joined her at Long Island Pride last year to give out dad hugs. 'He gave a lot of hugs because a lot of kids need the dad hug,' she says, adding that there was one person at Pride who hugged her husband and had a hard time letting go. 'They kept whispering apologies to him. I'm so sorry, but I just really need this. It was emotional.' While the hugs certainly feel good, Gambino-Russo says that's not the main point for her. She keeps showing up because of the statistic that LGBTQ youth who report having at least one accepting adult are 40% less likely to report a suicide attempt in the past year. 'To me, what's important is for every human to know that they're loved and beautiful and perfect the way they are,' she says. Lillian Godone-Maresca, a mom of eight who lives in Rhode Island, says that supporting the gay community aligns with how her parents raised her — and even her Catholic faith. While that might seem surprising given the church's stance on LGBTQ issues, Godone-Maresca says that her teachings were about seeing Jesus 'in the homeless, the hungry, the persecuted, the oppressed, the sick. So that's what moves me to do it.' Godone-Maresca, whose doormat by her front door bears the slogan, 'Hate has no home here,' tells Yahoo Life that her parents and grandparents were 'ahead of their time in matters of equality and social justice. We embrace everyone.' She adds, 'I grew up having been taught about kindness.' That inspired her to show up at her local Pride parade last year to give out hugs, wearing a 'Free Mom Hugs' T-shirt while holding up a handwritten sign that reads: 'I'm here because I'm a Catholic, but you don't need to be a Catholic to get a mom's hug.' 'I got interested in this mom hugs idea because I find it so regrettable that some parents may disown their own children, may not support them and may turn their back on them,' Godone-Maresca says. 'It's unthinkable that someone may not accept their own children.' She recalls a memorable moment at Pride when a young man in his early 20s came up to her for a hug. 'He gave me such a long hug,' she says. 'He really needed it.' Godone-Maresca says she's already signed up to attend two more Pride celebrations this year. 'You feel that you're doing something meaningful,' she says. During Pride month three years ago, Jackie Kaldon Burton watched the documentary Mama Bears, which follows conservative Christian moms whose lives change when they accept and advocate for their LGBTQ children. The film features the Mama Bears organization, founded by Liz Dyer, which supports LGBTQ families and even stands in for absent parents at weddings and other celebrations. 'I cried through the whole thing,' Burton, who has a gay son, tells Yahoo Life. 'I was so taken by this.' That same year, she and her best friend, Christine Dammann, marched with PFLAG, an organization for LGBTQ families and friends. As they walked, Burton says young people kept approaching them with hugs, thanking them for being supportive parents. 'It was so incredibly powerful and wonderful but also sad,' she says. 'Every time one of them would walk away, Christine and I would look at one another and be like, I can't fathom not embracing your child.' This past weekend, Burton's small town of Pleasantville, N.Y, held its first-ever Pride celebration. After reaching out to the founder of Mama Bears, Burton and her best friend set up a table at Pride to share information about the organization with others. 'I think the only way to make change is literally person by person,' she says. Burton acknowledges that as a stranger she can't make up for the acceptance and love of an actual parent. 'But if it helps bridge the gap just a little bit, then that's all that matters.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
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HCS announces appointment of 2 assistant superintendents
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Hopkins County Schools (HCS) has announced the appointment of two new assistant superintendents for the district. HCS says the two new appointments include a current district administrator and another with 'deep ties' to the district. Dr. Ann Love, district director of human resources, and Jason Clark, most recently an assistant superintendent in Caldwell County, will start their new positions on July 1. Ride inspectors call safety at Holiday World 'top notch' 'Both Dr. Love and Mr. Clark exemplify servant leadership and are committed to strengthening instruction, supporting staff, and advancing outcomes for all students,' said Dr. Damon Fleming, incoming superintendent. 'Please join me in welcoming them to their new roles.' Officials say Clark has been assistant superintendent for Caldwell County Schools since 2021. His 27-year career in education includes stints as principal of Browning Springs Middle School; district director of secondary instruction and district assessment coordinator for HCS and assistant principal, curriculum specialist, and teacher at Madisonville North Hopkins High School. HCS officials say Clark earned a Master of Arts in Education in School Administration, a second Master of Arts in Education, and a Bachelor of Science in Teaching from University of Southern Indiana. He also holds a Certification for School Superintendent. UE receives $33K in grants for visual arts and student experience HCS says Dr. Love has served as HCS director of HR since 2018. She has a 27-year career in education, all in Hopkins County Schools. She previously was principal of Grapevine Elementary School and instructional leader and teacher at Pride Elementary School. According to HCS, Dr. Love holds a Doctor of Education in Instructional Leadership from Oakland City University; a Master of Arts in School Administration from Murray State University; a Rank 1 in General Education and Master of Arts in K-12 Education, both from Indiana Wesleyan University; and a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Western Kentucky University. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
