Community Partners in Pride

We support and sustain qualified LGBTQ+ and other non-profit partner organizations in our community where we can make a difference. Our community partners included the following organizations:

Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital is an independent, non-profit healthcare facility located in Townshend, VT, 8 miles from Frog Meadow. Grace Cottage includes a 24/7/365 Emergency Department, a 19-bed Hospital, and a Rural Health Clinic with ten medical practitioners providing primary care, pediatrics, geriatrics, and mental health services to residents, second homeowners, and visitors to the West River Valley and beyond. Founded in 1949, that healthcare which is specifically supportive of and focused on gender and sexuality should be a part of primary care.

Frog Meadow’s Community Partnership with Grace Cottage Hospital includes a proactive collaboration to create an Equity Team at GCH that has been working to improve LGBTQ+ awareness and access, as well as training for employees to provide equitable, knowledgeable, sensitive, and welcoming health care for all, free from discrimination. The Equity Team consists of Grace Cottage Physicians, Physician Assistants, Family Nurse Practitioners, Nurses, support staff, and local community members Scott Heller and Dave King of Frog Meadow Farm.

Grace Cottage offers the following services to the LGBTQ+ Community:

• Primary Care
• Cancer screenings
• Confidential referrals for gender-affirming surgeries
• Confidential referrals to endocrinology
• Contraception
• Counseling and psychiatric services
• Hormone therapy
• PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) for HIV

Additionally, The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation of Washington, DC, has announced that Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital has earned an “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Top Performer” designation, with a score of 95 out of 100 in the Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI). A record 906 healthcare facilities actively participated in the 2022 HEI survey, and 251 of those earned “Top Performer” designation. Only two Vermont hospitals, Grace Cottage and the Veterans Administration Medical Center in White River Junction, earned “Top Performer” status with scores of 95/100.

• Click here for more info about Grace Cottage Hospital’s LGBTQ+ Focused Care programs.
• Click here for more info about Grace Cottage Hospital’s Equity Team from a recent article in Boston Spirit Magazine.
• Click here for more info about Grace Cottage Hospital’s Equity Team from a recent article in The Brattleboro Reformer.

“Warlé, Yesterday, and Today” As part of marking June 2022 as LGBTQ Pride Month, Grace Cottage Hospital, in association with Valley Cares, hosted a remembrance, celebration, and commemoration of the legacy of Leon Ingall & Warren Kronemeyer, which included a presentation “Warlé, Yesterday, and Today” by their cousin, Andrew Ingall.

In 2004, Warren Kronemeyer generously donated their home and 9.85 acres on Route 35 in Townshend that he had owned with his lifetime partner of 58 years, Leon Ingall, to Grace Cottage (the couple operated their business, Warlé Antiques, in their beautiful 1810 Federal style red brick home). In 2005, Grace Cottage donated the house and property to Valley Cares for their assisted- and independent living project which, since it opened in 2007, has been providing excellent care and housing for elders in our community. Leon & Warren were with us in spirit the day of the presentation in the form of remembrances, stories and artifacts shared by those in the community who knew and loved them both.

This engaging and inspiring presentation took place on Tuesday, June 28 at 2 pm with a small audience of those who knew Leon & Warren. Owing to COVID-gathering restrictions and space constraints, this was a virtual presentation, open to all via ZOOM.

The Equal Justice Initiative is a non-profit organization based in Montgomery, Alabama committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the U.S., challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. Founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson, a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer and bestselling author of the book Just Mercy (and 2019 Film Just Mercy, starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, and Brie Larson), EJI provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons. EJI challenges the death penalty and excessive punishment and provides re-entry assistance to formerly incarcerated people. 91.2% of all funds raised go to direct services. 

Frog Meadow’s Community Partnership with EJI include a cycling fundraiser during the COVID-19 Pandemic. In 2020 Dave cycled 8,428 miles for EJI, exceeding his target goal of 8,000 miles. Dave himself pledged a dime for every mile he rode and raised over $3,150 through a GoFundMe campaign. Notes Dave, “As a white, gay man from Vermont, I wanted to make a stand for equal justice. There is no justice for anyone unless there is justice for everyone.”

Aids Project of Southern Vermont provides services to people living with HIV/AIDS and their families in Windham, Bennington and southern Windsor counties. To these families, the Project offers case management services, advocacy and referrals, and a nutritious food program. APSV’s prevention program joins the power of social networks with the drive to find people who do not yet know they are HIV-positive, to offer them HIV testing and counseling, to help connect them to care, and to make sure they have access to medication and support.

Frog Meadow’s Community Partnership with APSV has included hosting an annual Summer Garden Party Benefit BBQ for APSV for 10 consecutive years and currently as an event sponsor for APSV’s annual Ladies of the Rainbow Christmas Holiday Drag Show.

Pride Center of Vermont (PCVT) is New England’s most comprehensive community center dedicated to advancing community and the health and safety of LGBTQ and questioning Vermonters. PCVT’s drop-in resource center, health testing & screening programs, community meeting spaces, 3,000-volume lending library, David Bohnett Cyber Center, and social events all help to build community and create increased access to information and resources for all. PCVT also houses the Vermont Queer Archives to preserve LGBTQ Vermont’s unique history.

Frog Meadow’s Community Partnership with PCVT have included promotional support for many of PCVTs events.

 

New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA) is home to circus arts for professionals and the general public, supporting students of all skill levels, ages, abilities and aspirations. Founded in 2007, NECCA has grown to become an internationally recognized circus school known for innovative teaching, high level coaches, a welcoming and inclusive community that works for the benefit of the individual. NECCA’s focus on LGBTQ+ students is driven by three factors: supporting and empowering the connection to the body, teaching lifelong skills and actively providing an environment centered around community connection and caring for the whole person. NECCA fosters confidence and resilience in a safe space where LGBTQ+ people can grow and thrive in a way they have previously not been able.

With organizational and board leadership, along with an estimated one third of staff identifying as LGBTQ+ or Queer, NECCA is unique. Youth and professional LGBTQ students report they feel safe and embraced for who they are, many for the first time, inside NECCA. NECCA’s outreach & scholarship programs help at-risk, LGBT+ and questioning youth and provides them with the opportunity to discover, develop themselves and grow in an unconditional and nurturing LGBT+-friendly environment that they can call home.

Frog Meadow’s Community Partnership with NECCA includes:

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  Just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Frog Meadow hosted a benefit to launch NECCA’s Frog Meadow Queer Circus Arts Scholarship Fund. Funding from the Thompson Trust, the Samara Fund with Vermont Community Foundation and our fundraising efforts at Frog Meadow Farm helped award $9,500 in financial assistance to youth and adult, recreational and professional LGBTQ students. On May 6, 2022 we were back with a bigger and better benefit and performance event that raised over $10,000 to support our LGBTQ+ Circus Brothers and Sisters!

  On Friday, May 6th, 2022 Frog Meadow co-presented with NECCA a reception and special command performance to benefit NECCA’s LGBTQ+ Scholarship Fund. This action-packed and fun-filled evening was complete with Drag Queen “Donation Divas” and featured NECCA graduating Pro-Track students who are on course to become professional circus arts performers. The event took  place at NECCA’s Trapezium in Brattleboro and raised over $10,000 to benefit LGBTQ+ Circus Students studying professionally and playing recreationally of all ages and backgrounds at NECCA. With our help, over the last year NECCA has awarded $9,500 in scholarships to over 25 individual LGBTQ+ students ranging from $75 – $1,500 per student to deserving queer youth, teen and adult students in both the recreational and ProTrack programs. Without this support, students would not be able to experience the joy of circus and ProTrack students would not be able to complete their professional education.
  
• Two years ago, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Frog Meadow hosted a benefit to launch NECCA’s LGBTQ+ Scholarship Fund – called Gay Night at the Circus Spectacular. This LGBTQ+ Scholarship fund has raised and awarded over $9,500 in financial assistance to LGBTQ+ ProTrack and Recreational students, young and old, at NECCA. Funding for these scholarships was made possible by the Vermont Community Foundation Samara Fund, the Thompson Trust and Friends of Frog Meadow.
• To commemorate the opening of NECCA’s new Trapezium in 2018, Scott & Dave donated several oversize circus-themed Marc Chagall lithographs to NECCA. These vibrant lithographs are on display in NECCA’s central stairway/atrium and serve as an inspirational reminder of the transformative power of circus.

Fenway Health is a world renown community health center and research institution with three locations in Boston, serving as the largest out-patient HIV Center in New England. Fenway Health is especially known for its work to make life healthier for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, and for people living with HIV and AIDS. Fenway Health cares for over 33,000 patients, including 2,200 living with HIV. The mission of Fenway Health is to enhance the well-being of the LGBTQIA+ community and all people through access to the highest quality health care, education, research and advocacy. 

Frog Meadow’s Community Partnership with Fenway Health have included silent auction donation-in-kind support for Fenway’s annual spring Men’s Event Gala Benefit Fundraiser.

Rock River Preservation whose mission is to preserve public access to recreation areas along the Rock River. RRP is committed to protecting this natural environment through conservation and education initiatives alongside local landowners and state and federal agencies.

Frog Meadow’s Community Partnership with RRP have included hosting an annual Summer Garden Party Benefit BBQ for RRP for several years in support of operating expenses and most recently fundraising support for the 2018 capital campaign for Rock River Preservation’s recent and historic land purchase.

 

 

 

Out in the Open (formerly Green Mountain Crossroads) Connects rural LGBTQ+ people ​to build community, visibility, ​knowledge, and power through programming, events and provides resources in southeastern Vermont and neighboring towns in southwestern New Hampshire and northwestern Massachusetts.

Frog Meadow’s Community Partnership with Out in the Open include a founding seed grant to help establish itself as viable non-profit entity.

 

 

 

 

 

About Us

Frog Meadow Farm Bed & Breakfast and Massage Oasis for Men is a welcoming, non-judgmental place for men of all colors and backgrounds to unwind and shed the trappings of busy modern life.

Situated on 63 beautiful & private acres, Frog Meadow frequently hosts men’s gatherings, workshops and retreats. Hosts Dave & Scott are committed to providing a welcoming environment to re-connect with nature and yourself.

Frog Meadow is only 4 miles from the popular Rock River swimming hole, 10 miles from Brattleboro, VT and 30 minutes Mount Snow & Stratton Mountain ski resorts.

Relax in our spring-fed swimming pond, soak in our wood-fired hot tub, or enjoy our 4-season recreation trails and extensive perennial gardens and orchard!

Be sure to check out our special events calendar, photo galleries, rooms/lodging pages & lodging specials and discover all that gay-friendly Southern Vermont has to offer!

 

Click here to learn why Edge Boston calls Frog Meadow “Vermont’s Gay Oasis”