Robert Boo became the CEO of the Pride Center at Equality Park in March 2012, but he’s been involved with the organization for 20 years in various roles.
”This is my passion project. I believe in our mission. I love what I do, otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it. I wouldn’t be working this hard,” Boo said. “You don’t come into the nonprofit world because you want a mansion and a yacht. You do it because of the mission. It sounds corny, but it’s true. I just want to make my little part of the world a better place.”
The Pride Center, an LGBTQ+ community center founded in 1993, is a space in Wilton Manors that frequently hosts events to celebrate inclusion and acceptance. Some of the events include group yoga, a grief & loss support group and health seminars.
“We are a space for the community to come over, congregate, get together and gather in good times and in bad,” Boo said. “We were the first organization that held a vigil after the Pulse nightclub. We had a thousand people come onto our campus that morning.”
Boo said the Pride Center is for all ages, whether it’s children using the playground on campus or providing a space for senior citizens.
“We applied for and built the state of Florida’s first LGBT Senior Affordable and Supportive Housing Community. Opened up in October of 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic, which was not on our bingo card. Isolation and loneliness are two huge factors affecting seniors, and here we were having people move on to our campus when the campus was shut down to the public,” Boo said.
When Boo seroconverted and became infected with HIV in the early 2000’s, he joined the Pride Center to do good for the community.
“I went through the AIDS epidemic in the ‘80s. I sat bedside with many of my best friends as they passed away. And I thought, if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. I take responsibility for my own actions, but I thought, I’ve got to be a part of the solution to ensure other people do not feel the shame, the guilt, the feeling dirty and embarrassed,” Boo said.
The Pride Center will host events throughout the year, including a pickleball tournament, Wicked Manors and the Hard Rock Drag Brunch.
“Last year we had 650 people attend [the Hard Rock Drag Brunch]. This year our goal is a thousand,” Boo said.
The Pride Center celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023. Philanthropist Alan Schubert founded it to address the AIDS epidemic. Although Schubert died in 2016 due to cancer, he was able to see how much the Pride Center would grow since it started.
“He was in tears because he was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is so far beyond what I and the community back in 1993 could ever have imagined.’ I was so happy that Alan got to see what we had achieved. I was really, really proud,” Boo said.
By 2035, Boo and the Pride Center hope to develop a multi-use cultural center, more affordable housing and more space for nonprofits.
“All of that can’t happen on our campus, which would require expanding our footprint in the community,” Boo said.
For people who want to learn more about the Pride Center, Boo encourages them to sign up for the e-newsletters.
“Especially during these very horrible times where the LGBTQ+ community is under attack, especially our trans brothers and sisters, it’s not easy being an LGBT organization, especially in the state of Florida. So we’ve got to rally around and protect and educate and ensure that people are aware of what’s going on,” Boo said.
