Stonewall Saved Despite Foreclosure Fears

The Stonewall Inn was saved from closing its doors forever after a $250,000 donation from the Gill Foundation.

The Stonewall Inn was saved from closing its doors Monday after a $250,000 donation, according to reporting by Reuters.

On the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, the Gill Foundation — a charitable foundation dedicated to advancing equality for LGBTQ+ people — announced it would provide a six-figure donation to the historic site in New York. The donation comes almost a week after Kurt Kelly, owner of the Stonewall Inn, launched a GoFundMe to save the bar from closing.

“We resurrected the Stonewall Inn once after it had been shuttered — and we stand ready to do it again — with your help,” Kelly wrote on GoFundMe.

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Stonewall’s doors have been closed for over three months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Kelly launched a separate and earlier GoFundMe back in April specifically in concern of staff who lost their shifts. The fundraiser has raised over $40,000 to date.

“Our staff members need help now,” Kelly wrote on GoFundMe. “Without their shifts, these dedicated staff members are without the means to support themselves and their families.”

Kelly was among a number of partners to save Stonewall as it faced shuttered doors and windows back in 2006. In 2015, the famous Greenwich Village bar was declared a New York City Landmark. 

With only 50% capacity, the bar will reopen on July 6th.

 

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