Wailuku’s Empower Fitness Maui was recently awarded a small-business grant from the Human Rights Campaign, which supports LGBTQ+ business owners and strives to eliminate barriers to economic success and LGBTQ+ equality.

“Being a business owner means that I get to be a leader in my community. I can build a space and a community that our LGBTQIA+ people can feel safe, seen, and grow in ways that go well beyond physical fitness,” said Staci Fujimoto (she/they), owner of Empower Fitness Maui. “Being gender non-conforming myself, I know that identifying as LGBTQIA+ and/or being gender diverse is a huge barrier to health and wellness. With this help in funding, I am able to also eliminate the barrier that is financial privilege for as many in the LGBTQIA+ community as I can.”

The grant program, called “Queer to Stay: An LGBTQ+ Business Preservation Initiative,” served 30 new small-businesses across 19 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico this year, according to a national announcement.

With this fifth iteration of “Queer to Stay,” which originally launched in June of 2020, the program will reach $1 million in total distributed funding, supporting 100 LGBTQ+ businesses and helping them keep their doors open and continue serving their local communities.

“Since its launch, 90% of previously awarded “Queer to Stay” businesses still remain open,” the announcement says. “However, many LGBTQ+ small-businesses are still experiencing economic difficulties from the pandemic’s aftermath.”

Empower Fitness Maui is a queer, female and locally owned fitness space designed to provide a safe and accessible environment for all bodies. Staff strive to create a workout experience that sees, understands and respects every client and their unique needs. Through mindful movement, first class coaching and an inclusive community, Empower Fitness Maui aims to break barriers of physical and mental well-being for LGBTQ+ people.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD

The full list of this year’s awardees of “Queer to Stay: An LGBTQ+ Business Preservation Initiative” include the following:

All She Wrote Books (Somerville, Mass.), Burnside Artist Retreat (Locust Grove, Ga.), Cheer Up Charlies (Austin, Texas), Clínica Psicoalternativa (San Juan, P.R.), Cypress Midwife (Oakland, Calif.), Empower Fitness Maui (Wailuku, Hawaii), Everywhere Is Queer (Portland, Ore.), Footprint Wine Tap (Seattle, Wash.), For Them (New York, N.Y.), Jaymes Mansfield Beauty (Las Vegas, Nev.), Kingfish Cider (Jefferson, La.), Little Lion Collective (New Haven, Conn.), Mixx Atlanta (Atlanta, Ga.), Pink Moon Farm (Eatonville, Wash.), Pink Sappho (Chicago, Ill.), Rose Pelvic Physiotherapy (Huntsville, Ala.), Safe Harbor Counseling of Missouri (Saint Ann, Mo.), Secret Spot DTLA (Los Angeles, Calif.), Speed-o Cappuccino (Portland, Ore.), Sunny (Ashland, Mass.), Teatotaller Cafe (Dover, N.H.), Tender Bois Club (Oakland, Calif., Minneapolis, Minn., and Brooklyn, N.Y.), The Bodega Lounge (Brooklyn, N.Y.), The Lemon Girls (San Antonio, Texas), Trans Affirming Training & Consulting (Philadelphia, Pa.), Trudy’s Spot (Hurricane, Utah), Tufting House (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Under the Umbrella Bookstore (Salt Lake City, Utah), Welcome Castro (San Francisco, Calif.), and xHood (Washington, D.C.).