Our History and Mission

Our Mission

The PFLAG Bellingham Whatcom County Chapter promotes the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ people, their families, and friends through:

  • Support to cope with an adverse society
  • Advocacy to end discrimination and secure equal civil rights
  • Education to enlighten an ill-informed public

PFLAG Whatcom provides an opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity. Keeping families together is the mission of PFLAG. Our family values stress education, understanding, acceptance, and support, but most of all love, thereby empowering our children — straight, cisgender, and GLBT alike — to lead happy and productive lives.

PFLAG Whatcom Welcomes:

  • Any member of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, children, spouses, friends, and allies.

PFLAG Whatcom is:

  • a non-profit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) corporation
  • not affiliated with any ethnic, religious, economic, or political group
  • a volunteer, local, community-based group

Our History

  • 1994 – Community members gathered to discuss discrimination they saw
  • 1996 – Founded the PFLAG Chapter
  • 2000 – Started Bellingham Pride
  • 2004 – Whatcom PFLAG started the Just Us Youth Program, which later became the Queer Resource Center (QRC)
  • 2014 – Celebrated 20th anniversary
  • 2018 – Started Speakers Bureau in Whatcom County
  • 2020 – Produced online Transgender Day of Remembrance event
  • 2023 – First awards given from the Transgender Assistance Fund