Community Agreements
How we create a safe and welcoming space
Hello Members! Check out our community agreements! After gathering feedback from our community through surveys, conversations, and focus groups we’ve landed on the following agreements. Whenever you’re at a BCSC event or space please adhere to these basics. We want to ensure the space we share is safe, comfortable, and welcoming to everyone.
Consent is a must! We love you, so if we want to hug you, we’ll ask first! You should do the same when you’ve met someone new.
Gender is a construct and correct pronouns are important. If you’re meeting a new person, please don’t assume their pronouns based on their appearance. Ask! If you’re curious about the importance of pronouns click here!
We all make mistakes! If someone informs you of a boundary you crossed, a microaggression, or that you caused harm listen, thank them, and move on. This article also supplies more information and strategies around microaggressions.
Everyone’s choices are to be respected! BCSC is not a sober space but not everyone imbibes.
These agreements are always able to be changed, added to, or adjusted with members input. Additionally, our space is curated for the queer community. We’ve got a glossary of terms and definitions here if you are unfamiliar with common words and phrases used to describe identities and experiences in the LGBTQ community.
“We both benefit from and are harmed by systemic oppression” - AORTA says it best. We are working to dismantle white supremacy and to be an anti-oppressive organization. We think critically about the language we use, food we cook, ingredients we purchase, procedures and policies, environment we build, and prices and systems we set. We believe an anti-oppressive lens must be utilized in all areas of business in order to create an anti-oppressive space.
Finnovation fellowship program
We are beyond thrilled to let y’all in on some good news! Leah is in a 9 month fellowship program to focus on creating queer food space for the Twin Cities area. The FINNOVATION Fellowship program supports and empowers social entrepreneurs who have bold ideas for sustainable, systems-level change. The fellowship is a cohort model designed to challenge ideas and grow fellows into better leaders and social entrepreneurs.
Leah’s goals are:
To create space for queer community connection that is approachable, joyful, supportive, and welcoming of all of the unique intersections in our community.
To nourish and care for the queer community through accessible, nostalgic, and playful food and beverage.
To be a leader in the hospitality industry in establishing a radical, sustainable, and ethical business model.
Another priority is examining opportunities for safe community engagement during COVID-19 and thinking outside the box for financial sustainability in the midst of restaurant closures and extremely difficult financial times. We are prepared to pivot!
