SunServe Tony Lima, CEO

You have to walk before you can dance, at least according to SunServe's social calendar. March 2023 is shaping up to be their most significant month of the year with two major events on back-to-back weekends. OutClique magazine had a chance to talk with Tony Lima, SunServe’s CEO.

The Florida AIDS Walk is Saturday, March 18, 2023, followed by their Studio 54-themed Glam Gala on Friday, March 24, 2023. And topping it all off, SunServe is announcing a new partnership mid-March that will bring their services to thousands of people across the state of Florida. This could be both the biggest and most hectic month in SunServe's history while also being their most impactful and triumphant.

Progress

SunServe's work is extensive. Their youngest client is just three years old while the oldest is likely a centenarian. They help people facing food and housing insecurity. They provide therapy, psychiatry, and life coaching. They help people dealing with substance use disorder, offer vital services to the transgender community, provide mental healthcare and life coaching to LGBTQ Youth, most recently opening a home for those LGBTQ youth that are homeless. The organization also has a specialized education and advocacy department that trains corporations, police departments, educational institutions, and other organizations on LGBTQ sensitivity and inclusion of the transgender community. SunServe also operates the first-of-its-kind senior daycare center. Their main office is in the heart of Wilton Manors and always has food on hand. If a client comes in hungry, he/she/ they are fed as they wait for service. People seeking help can receive treatment or care immediately, regardless of their ability to pay. Most recently, through a partnership with Project Soar, SunServe has added an assisted living option for substance use disorder clients, which currently houses eight people.

Oftentimes, mental health issues are the core problems that affect our communities. By continuing to improve and expand their programs and hiring the top mental health and social work professionals in South Florida, Lima says

SunServe will be able to provide mental health and case management beyond Broward County's borders. "Our work for the last 20-plus years has mostly been relegated to Broward County. Our footprint is expanding significantly. My goal is to continue to grow our organization so that we can provide services not only in Broward but expand our work into Miami-Dade and Palm Beach. SunServe will soon be able to serve more people in our most marginalized communities throughout South Florida."

Walk the Walk

The first big event for SunServe year after year is the Florida AIDS Walk. Financially speaking, the annual event kicks off SunServe's most crucial week of the year. The walk draws thousands of participants on dozens of teams representing several non-profit organizations to Fort Lauderdale Beach Park for a walk and music festival.

Team SunServe will be bigger than ever this year. The organization has spent much of the last year reaching out to make new ties in the community and cement old ones. This year they have enlisted other civic-minded groups and businesses. Bears of South Florida, Peak Fitness, Center for Spiritual Living, Cheer Fort Lauderdale, and GYM Bar are just some of the teams fundraising under SunServe's umbrella.

"These are organizations out in the community serving different purposes," Lima said. "These folks volunteer and fundraise under our moniker for Florida AIDS Walk to benefit SunServe."

By partnering with SunServe for the walk, these groups are beginning what could be a long-time allyship. "Part of what we're trying to do with these partners is enlisting them to be ambassadors for SunServe. It's not just a means of raising more money; it's a means of expanding our ambassador circle to, in a simple way, explain the work we do and bring more community members in for services and care. Our friends at these organizations are committed to SunServe's mission and are very invested in the community. When our message is amplified, we can reach more individuals needing support."

While much of SunServe's budget comes from grants and corporate sponsorships, those come with strings attached. Money from the Florida AIDS Walk is used to fill in the gaps and cover the overhead costs that these grants leave unfunded.

"The wonderful thing about the money from AIDS Walk is that it goes to our general fund. As an organization, we rely on grants that support our services. But all of those grants have limitations," Lima said.

For example, one grant is targeted to help provide housing to people living with HIV/AIDS but not negative patients. Money from the walk can go into a fund to help find housing for them. It's all part of SunServe's plan to help anyone, anytime. "We don't turn people away. If in any way, shape, or form they don't meet the requirements of the programs we are offering, we still help. Everyone receives services at SunServe despite the ability to pay."

One program Lima and his team are particularly excited about is a new homeless shelter for LGBTQIA+ youth. "The homeless shelter brings our youth program full circle. Now we can house the most vulnerable members of our community and give them a little bit of a head start." They also help kids organize their finances and they receive mental health care and case management. The residents work, and SunServe takes a portion of their earnings and sets it aside as a 'nest egg.' The money is there waiting when the kids are ready to go out on their own.

The shelter complements its existing youth program, which operates out of their Fort Lauderdale Campus. "It's a drop-in center where youth can also receive therapy and life coaching," Lima explained. "If kids want to come after school and do their homework, they can hang out with us. There are social programs nightly for youth so they can connect and be with other like-minded youth and adults that support them."

These programs are helped or solely supported by money from the AIDS Walk. All money raised in SunServe's name will be matched by AHF, making the event all the more vital.

That Seventies Gala

Six days later, SunServe will take off its walking shoes and put on its dancing shoes for Studio Shine, a Studio 54-inspired party. "We're creating an experience where attendees will be transported back in time to 1978, New

York City, for the opening of Studio Shine, an allusion to Studio 54, with a modern twist."

The event is still formal, but sequins, sparkles, and an aesthetic evoking the end of the disco era are encouraged. "That's what we're trying to conjure for partygoers, the glamor of late-seventies, early-eighties disco through a comprehensive experience."

Happening at The Venue in Wilton Manors, the program won't follow the traditional gala format. While the night will begin with a cocktail party, it will be followed by an award presentation before everyone moves into the dining room.

The award presentation will honor Karen Prescod, the founder of Bowtie Kids, with the Tomorrow's Legacy Award. David Jobin, CEO of The Our Fund Foundation, is the recipient of the Visionary Award. "I've developed a deep respect for the people there and for Tony Lima's vision and leadership," Jobin told OutClique. "To be recognized for the role I play at The Our Fund Foundation is especially meaningful as it comes from friends and colleagues I hold in the highest regard."

He also voices support for their mission, especially in the mental health field. "As LGBTQ people, we are twice as likely to suffer from mental health disorders than our heterosexual counterparts. That South Florida has one of the leading LGBTQ mental health agencies in the country is something we should all celebrate and not take for granted."

Once the presentation is finished, guests will move into the dining room for food and surprises. In addition to a sumptuous, four-course dinner and an open bar provided by Bacardi and Grey Goose, there will be fantastic entertainment to get the crowd on its feet.

Headlining the night is club sensation Ultra Nate, perhaps best known for her cover of "If You Could Read My Mind" on the soundtrack of the movie 54 and the gay anthem "Free." Following the dancing and performance, 200 additional guests will “crash” the Gala for an after party complete with a superstar DJ and drag performances until the wee hours of the night.

Lima came to SunServe in November 2021 and immediately got to work creating a gala designed to stand out on the South Florida social calendar that would also become a fundraising vehicle for Florida AIDS Walk. He held a 1920s-themed party three months later that sold out weeks in advance. The SunServe team immediately started planning this year's party, which sold out three weeks after tickets went on sale, meaning the community lent support twice in one calendar year. "There's immense satisfaction for me that people had such a good time last year and want to buy tickets to join us again," he said.

In addition to his team, he credits the gala's co-chairs for going into the community and raising money, support, and enthusiasm. Among the Gala Chairs are Terry Behal, G Wright, Commissioner Chris Caputo and community activist Marc Martorana who's back for a second year. "The popularity of this gala made us want to add an additional five tables plus an after-party for those who want to show their support and join in on a more affordable level," he said. "Not only does the gala bring our community together, but it also raises much-needed funds to support the most vulnerable in our community."

Making the gala's success even more important is that money raised will still count towards their AIDS Walk total, meaning it will all be matched by AHF. "People look to connect in interesting ways to be in community and be in solidarity with like-minded people," Lima said. "That's what we try to develop with the host committees for Studio SHINE and Crash the Gala After Party, to take ownership of SunServe's mission by representing the organization and becoming our ambassadors in the community."

Studio Shine gala will be the disco party of the year, but its effects will be felt long after the music stops and the disco balls come down. From the youth shelter to senior service to everything SunServe does, the funds raised will lift people up daily.

"It feels amazing that our hard work and intention to publicly tell the stories are being heard. There are a lot of folks in the community that support SunServe and the work that we do as being vital to the community. That's a very satisfying feeling."

Lima says he knows some of his ideas are innovative and sometimes out-of-the-box but loves that his staff trusts him and his vision for the organization. "I'm fortunate to have a great team that supports my leadership. They've seen the fruits of our labor over the last year and a half and know that our future can only be brighter and stronger. We have become a family, committed to each other's success and the vital work we do for our community."

To learn more about all that SunServe does, visit SunServe.org.

Author: John Hayden

Cover and Article Photos Courtesy of Matthew Tippins