Leading up to the Pride Parade and Festival on July 2, San Antonians can help support the LGBTQIA community by taking a ride with Uber starting at 8 a.m. Thursday until 6 p.m. Sunday.
This weekend Uber is partnering with San Antonio’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce and PRIDE San Antonio for the Ride with PRIDE project to raise funds for five local nonprofit organizations. Uber users just have to slide over to the “PRIDE” option of the app before hailing a ride and Uber will donate $1 to the group of nonprofits.
Although Uber and Lyft‘s pilot programs were set to expire in July, City Council voted Thursday to extend the program until October to match Get Me‘s expiration date.
(Read more: City Calls for More Rideshare Data)
“Progress and inclusion are important to us at Uber, and we are grateful to be celebrating PRIDE alongside two of the leading LGBT organizations in San Antonio,” said Jaime Moore, Uber spokesperson.
The donation will be split among each of the five nonprofits chosen by PRIDE San Antonio. They include Black Effort Against the Threat of AIDS (BEAT AIDS), Fiesta Youth, Gay, Ally and Lesbian Alliance of San Antonio College (GALA of SAC), LGBTQ Coalition at Texas A&M-San Antonio and the Spay-Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP San Antonio).
Uber approached the LGBT Chamber to set up the partnership. Moore said Uber has had similar partnerships in other cities, but that the initiative planned for this weekend is specific to San Antonio.
“This isn’t the first time that we have stood alongside the LGBT community and it certainly won’t be the last,” Moore said. “This is very much tailored specifically to San Antonio for San Antonio. We are really excited to involve the community in this project.”
Last week, Uber offered free rides to and from LGBTQIA landmarks and hubs around the city in response to the Orlando shooting. The locations included the San Antonio Pride Center, Heat Club, Sparky’s, Pegasus, Knock Out, Unity Church and Dignity Church.
James Poindexter, Pride San Antonio board secretary, said the partnership is beneficial from many different angles. Firstly, encouraging ride share helps the environment by limiting the number of cars on the road. Secondly, it promotes safety by reducing the number of drunk drivers on the road. In addition, the main benefit is the financial sum each nonprofit will receive after Uber writes a check.
BEAT AIDS, one of the city’s largest AIDS service organizations, provides testing and case management services to people affected by HIV/AIDS.
Fiesta Youth serves LGBTQIA youth from ages 12-18 by providing services such as weekly meetings for kids and parents as well as educational and enrichment activities.
As one of the largest student groups on the San Antonio College campus, GALA of SAC provides outreach, education, and scholarships to LGBTQIA students.
The new organization at Texas A&M-San Antonio, LGBTQ Coalition, does similar work on the Texas A&M-San Antonio campus.
Lastly, SNAP San Antonio works to help San Antonio become a no-kill city by spaying/neutering pets to limit unwanted births, thereby reducing the number of animals put to death in local shelters.
Top image: John Traviso Richard Ordonez-Alvarez Jr, Drake Andrews, and Jesse Ortiz (left to right) pose for a photo. Photo by Scott Ball.
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