It was Mother Teresa who said "Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love". This simple, yet empowering, quote has stayed with fundraiser and event planner, John Iocchelli.
Iocchelli, who just held two successful fundraisers at Club Sapien, was inspired by Mother Teresa’s words and decided to act upon them. After speaking with friends and asking them what they believed would improve Calgary’s GLBTQ community, he decided to organize a group to rally people.
"The response quite often is, does Calgary even have a GLBTQ community?" Iocchelli said.
With this simple question, he created Gay Friends in Calgary, a group designed to foster a new kind of cohesiveness amongst community members. By targeting the needs of individuals, whether they are more political or social, Iocchelli hopes to achieve unity by providing a place where people can meet others for friendship, dating or support.
"For many, the journey is difficult and providing a soft place for people to land is essential to a community’s well-being," he added.
With each step forward in being accepted by the general public, the GLBTQ community takes a step back in accepting one another. When things like "no fats" or "no fems" are being slung around, the discrimination isn’t coming from just the straight community any longer.
By working to create an environment where everyone is not only tolerated but instead, completely accepted, Iocchelli hopes to tear down walls created by our own "brothers and sisters in the community", to share a common cause.
Once he had gathered a dedicated group of members willing to move the group forward, Iocchelli geared himself to other things.
Among his event planning, he has organised and held several major fundraising events, including the one-year anniversary of Gay Friends in Calgary, which raised $3,300, and another called Calgary Artists for Life, which raised $4,400 and benefitted AIDS Calgary.
Each event was designed with not only the idea of helping community organizations, but also to help focus on fun ways to unite people in the GLBTQ community, giving them the opportunity to be with friends as well as to make new ones.
Calgarians tend to see themselves as busy people, so it isn’t always easy to convince individuals within the community to take responsibility for others.
"The success of any event depends majorly on the patrons who support the cause by attending the event," Iocchelli explains.
However, Iocchelli believes despite the obstacles, the most gratifying part is knowing that the event has brought people together.
Iocchelli attributes part of the success of such events and fundraisers to Club Sapien, where several of his most recent happenings have been held.
"Their presence in the community has been felt and will continue to enrich the lives of GLBTQ Calgarians because it is their mission, as stated at the entrance to the business," Iocchelli said.
Iocchelli plans to hold another Calgary Artists for Life later this year where he plans to have an even larger impact by raising more funds to benefit people living with HIV/AIDS and by raising more awareness by drawing people who wouldn’t normally attend such an event.
For more information on the fundraiser, or to get involved, please contact John Iocchelli by e-mailing him at johnthesub@gmail.com
"Building a community involves person-to-person contact and making connections to others...," Iocchelli believes. "We need to turn off our cellular and smart phones and pay more attention to the people who are actually in the room with us."