In honor of Pride Month, we are contributing 10% of website sales from May 24th to June 30th to STREHA, an organization that provides a guest house at a secret location in Tirana, Albania for LGBTQ youth that have faced abuse from their families and have nowhere to turn.
Photo from strehacenter.org
Why Albania?
While the US has made significant advancements in LGBTQ rights, the same is not true for a country like Albania. Same-sex couple are not recognized in Albania and it can be dangerous to live there as an openly gay person. There is still a lot of negative cultural stigma around being gay and those brave enough to come out, often face discriminiation and violence. And although there has been some advancement there (up until the mid-90’s, being gay would land you in jail), open expressions of being gay are still not accepted; their pride parades are met with explosives and wooden batons; similar to what would have seen in the US in the 60s and 70s.
Donating to an LGBTQ organization in Albania is also very personal to me. I was born there and have close ties to the country. It’s upsetting to me to know that gay Albanians and gay family members there have to stay closeted and live in fear of being found out. As a small business, I know that even a small donation will make an impactful difference in Albania where the average daily wage is only $10.
Photo from strehacenter.org
More About STREHA
STREHA is an organization that provides a safe haven for LGBTQ individuals who have been exiled from their homes and their family. This organization is featured in the video embedded below. STREHA provides food, shelter, employment and psychological resources to anyone who is seeking safety. We felt that our donation to STREHA— whether large or small— would hopefully impact someone’s life directly. Sometimes when donating money to a large organization, your contribution can become diluted and not make as impactful of a change as you were hoping for. But this is not the case for STREHA.
The Card Bureau is rooted in allyship and we know that money doesn’t solve everything— but giving financial resources to the strong people on the front lines of a movement can help them push forward while also providing day-to-day support for LGBTQ youth. By shopping with us starting May 24th through all of Pride Month, you’ll enable us to make a contribution to STREHA. We also encourage you to donate directly to them on your own.