Roundabout UK, Connecting LGBTQ+ people as one :)

Aim

Roundabout UK will eliminate loneliness in the LGBTQ+ community, Connecting you with your community!

About Us

Our dream is to live in a world where there is no prejudice or discrimination based on sexuality or gender, where all members of the LGBTQ+ community can live freely, with equality and never feel alone. 

There is a growing loss of LGBTQ+ venues across the country, which has been linked to a decline in the LGBTQ+ “scene” and leading to a limited number of LGBTQ+ support organisations. As a result individuals within the community can often feel isolated and alone, due to not knowing where the community is accepted and supported.

Our aim is to connect space spaces, organisations and events with the LGBTQ+ community and allies to drive inclusivity and acceptance across the whole of the UK. Our app connects the LGBTQ+ organisations and allies together in one place, showing everyone round and about!

Our location-based app can support all members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies, connecting them to local community groups, charities, prides and education services. Ultimately becoming a one-stop-shop to connect all LGBTQ + allied organisations in one easy to use app, giving everyone an opportunity to explore and discover inclusive organisations where they will be accepted.

Roundabout gives people the opportunity to meet like-minded people through: community groups and pride organisations helping to eliminate the feeling of being isolated; links to trusted charities in your area that may be able to support you with counselling; education services and much more. As well as free access to health and well-being education across the country through trusted partners so we can all live a healthy happy life together. 

Please join us on our journey of acceptance and inclusion for all members of our community. Working together for a better world and showing all members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies, round and about!

How we will use the money 

Roundabout UK will use your investment to continue to grow and develop our platform, adding more locations and keeping non-profit organisations (Charities/ community groups etc) hosted for free! It will also help us to continue to develop the platform to make it more user friendly and meet as many of the community’s needs as we can! Our partners will be able to login on our website and update the content and add on inclusive events. 

 Below is a snapshot of all those who believe in Roundabout UK so far, hopefully soon we will have 100s more. We also ask that you comment on this page to help us focus our energy on improving the app to help you as much as we can. Below is just some of the groups that have joined Roundabout and we will hopefully grow to every corner of the UK! 

 we are now in 25+ towns and cities and 45+ groups are already working with us!

A message from our founders

Hey there,

I’m Jake, one of the co-founders of Roundabout and for me, Roundabout is the continuation of a dream that LGBTQ+ people will reach true equality within our society and in all walks of life we will be accepted and included. You can see me below and the wonderful Bude pride 22

 Most LGBTQ+ people, including myself, have felt alone at some point in their lives, disconnected from others and unable to find accepting places for the community and our loved ones. The community can often feel unsure where to turn to for support or help, and even feel unsure where it is safe to hold your partners hand. This is the reason I started Roundabout, to create a connected community so no one has to feel this way again.

I have seen places where there is a widely connected and accepting community, in Reading for instance where Roundabout started. There I met an amazing community that really supported each other, showing me an inclusive environment that accepted all. In fact, that’s where our name comes from, the very start of the journey to show LGBTQ+ people round and about, to places they will be accepted.

I have been involved in pride organisations to bring pride to places such as Newbury, where LGBTQ+ visible organisations were new to the scene. Seeing the good in the work when LGBTQ+ organisations and the community come together is an amazing thing!

Roundabout connects people and aims to ensure no LGBTQ+ person ever feels alone again, as no one should feel afraid, outcast or isolated. Roundabout helps the community have access to safe and accepting places at the touch of a button. Showing you around and about!

Jake
 Co-founder

Hi, 

I’m Graham, Gray as some people may know me – or much worse depending on who you speak to! You can see me below sharing my dance moved on the left. 

The reason I wanted to start Roundabout probably goes back to when I first came out – ask no questions and I will tell no lies!

I discovered my true self when I was very young. I felt that I had nowhere to turn and no one that would understand everything I was going through. I spent hours trying to find people like me and safe places where I could meet people like me. The old-school way then was to spend hours scouring through magazines, newspapers etc. Google wasn’t a thing. The good thing was that, after all those hours going through all the local places, I found one that kept popping up. So, in my teens I thought let’s give it a go. As I was in my teens and had no one to advise me, it did not enter my mind that mid-afternoon on a Saturday was not the best time to pace up and down outside a gay bar for about three hours, building up the courage to walk in. I did go in eventually, to find that inside there were only five people who welcomed me in without question. From there, I have built a family; friends for life and met the man I will spend the rest of my life with!

You might all be wondering what this has to do with Roundabout, and the not so simple answer is …

The LGBTQ+ community is unfortunately slowly disappearing. The pub into which I first walked, had my first kiss, saw my first drag show, met my best friend, unfortunately went sadly with the wind. The few places and the community, the friends you haven’t met yet, the first kiss that hasn’t happened yet are vanishing – which to me is devastating. This is why I have come to the conclusion we need safe places for all, where everyone is able to be themselves – without prejudice, without judgement and without feeling they don’t belong. The LGBTQ+ family is something we should embrace, take into our life and hearts. It is a place where everyone belongs!

This is why I believe in Roundabout as a facility where we can show the community safe spaces, where you can be you, where you can have everything without judgement and can be free to live life. You too could fall in love with whoever you wish to love, have your first kiss, find you best friend, find the friends you never thought about and find your extended family.

Yours,

Graham (Gray)

Graham
Co-founder
 

Please join us 

We have 25+ towns and cities and over 45 groups who have joined Roundabout already! Please join us on that journey and download, follow us on social media and contribute if you can. The golden question is do you believe in Roundabout? 

Please download and take a look at the app and our socials :)

Download our app and view our socials https://linktr.ee/Roundaboutuk

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roundaboutlgbtq/

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roundaboutlgbt

website: https://roundabout-uk.com/

This project successfully funded on 16th September 2022