Volunteer Spotlight: Jamie McGonnigal

10/21/2021 5:27 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Rainbow Families could never serve our members so well, without the hard work and dedication of our incredible volunteers.  We’re beginning a new program, a monthly “Volunteer Spotlight” to showcase and thank some of these incredible people.

Kicking off our Volunteer Spotlight is Jamie McGonnigal. Jamie and his husband Sean first became involved with Rainbow Families in 2014, when they decided to enroll in a Maybe Baby class. What they found was a network of LGBTQ+ parents and prospective parents with whom they could build community. Since welcoming their son in 2017, they have become even more involved with the Rainbow Families community.  

This year, Jamie was instrumental in helping plan our annual Family Camping Weekend. He worked with donors to raise funds, ensuring more families could come together for this great experience. He also coordinated the end-of-camp Family Dance, even saving it from last minute rain by moving it indoors! Without his dedication, this weekend wouldn’t have been nearly as fantastic for our 150 campers.

“The most important aspect of Camping Weekend” Jamie said, “was building community and connection among LGBTQ+ families.”

“For most of the kids at camp, when they go home, they are one of the only, if not the only, family like theirs in their community,” he continued. “There’s just not a lot of opportunities for people to come together and just be ourselves with families like ours.”

Through Camping Weekend, Jamie and his family have met other Rainbow Families that they're planning on staying connected with in the future through dinners, playdates, and more.

“We’re building community from these events,” Jamie said. “Rainbow Families is where that began.”

Thank you, Jamie, for all your hard work in fostering this community, through Camping Weekend and beyond!