An outpouring of generosity and understanding at the 8th Annual Vancouver Military Dinner 2023. The 2023 event was a tremendous success. We laughed, we learned, and $50,000 was raised for the Rainbow Veterans of Canada, a federally-recognized non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that those affected by the “LGBTQ Purge” are given the recognition, respect, and support they justly deserve for their service to Canada.
Board members of the LGBT Purge Fund arrive at the 2023 Vancouver Military Dinner
Excerpt from the Vancouver Military Dinner website:
On April 1st, 2023, the historic Vancouver Club came alive. Military uniforms, fine gowns, medals, and smiling faces filled the corridors and lounges.
The occasion? The 2023 Vancouver Military Dinner.
LGBT Purge Fund Executive-Director Michelle Douglas, a tireless advocate for 2SLGBTQIA+ veterans, spoke honestly about how her short but successful military career was abruptly ended. Despite a passion and a talent for service, she was treated as a threat, interrogated, and removed from the military simply for being a lesbian. Her story – which was repeated hundreds of times during the Purge – broke our hearts. The LGBT Purge was a dark period in Canadian history in which many of us were ignorant. No longer.
By evening’s end, the generosity of our guests resulted in nearly $50,000 raised for our Featured Organization, The Rainbow Veterans of Canada (RVC). RVC is on a difficult mission to seek out and provide assistance to the many 2SLGBTQIA+ veterans affected by the Purge, who have become difficult to locate as a result of their trauma. Every cent is critical to this task, and the mind-blowing generosity of Vancouver Military Dinner attendees will make a serious difference for some of our most vulnerable veterans…
To read the entire article, please use the following link:
Pictured above are members of 443 (MH) Sqn, HCol, and RVC Director Steve Deschamps in the centre, with guest speaker LGen Carrignan, and CAFCWO Bob McCann on his right.