I met Larry in 2015, shortly after I moved to Tampa Bay from San Francisco. At the time, he was serving as a consultant for Family Resources’ LGBTQ Youth Homeless Project initiative, with a particular emphasis on establishing an emergency shelter system for transgender youth.
I was running a social justice organization that worked directly with LGBTQ teens, and we connected on the shared goal to help LGBTQ teens experience safety, stability and self-actualization. I continued to cross paths with Larry, and his wonderful husband David, through various community events and initiatives, as well as our mutual involvement with Equality Florida.
In 2016, Larry partnered with a local foundation and a research firm to gather data on our community’s need for and potential interest in establishing a foundation to support organizations serving the LGBTQ community. His background in having established the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund poised him well to launch a similar fund in Tampa Bay, and as the research demonstrated clear need, his network and enthusiasm generated the founding Board for the Plus Project+.
Critical to its early success was the partnership Larry forged with the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay (CFTB), which is the fiscal sponsor and grant support partner for the Plus Project+. The credibility of the CFTB coupled with the community’s trust for Larry, and the colleagues and friends he assembled to lead the Board, assured donors that funds would be well managed and put to good use.
At Larry’s helm, over a period of two years, the Plus Project raised enough in community support to allow the organization to launch its first grant application process in early 2020 and make its first grants to six deserving organizations last summer.
More than $54,000 in inaugural grants were awarded to local organizations Community Tampa Bay, Metro Inclusive Health, Equality Florida, Youth Improvement Services, AIDS Service Association of Pinellas and League of Women Voters of Florida, all to support serving LGBTQ youth in school and community settings, LGBTQ elders, and community education and awareness to promote voter registration among LGBTQ individuals.
To be able to provide funding support to meet critical needs during a global pandemic, a tense and high-stakes election year, and amid the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ communities to be heard, seen and supported in all aspects of community life, is an honor Larry, and his colleagues on the Board, felt deeply.
In addition to Larry being known for his decades-long work within and in support of the St. Petersburg and broader Tampa Bay community, he is also known for his kind spirit, joyful sense of humor and endless energy.
It is humbling to call Larry a colleague, mentor and friend.
To view the full list of Watermark’s Most Remarkable People of 2020, click here.
