$1 million trust donated to LGBT Resource Center

From the Spartan Daily:

A living trust of $1 million was made to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center from two SJSU alumni, the first major gift to SJSU’s Division of Student Affairs under which the LGBT resource center operates.

“It’s a great investment to the future of the LGBT center, friends and allies of the university,” said Bonnie Sugiyama, the assistant director of the university’s LGBT Resource Center. “It is money we will use in the future.”

The gift from philanthropists Larry Arzie and David Stonesifer, both Los Gatos residents and businessmen, is a living trust, which means their estate will transfer $1 million to the center after they pass, Sugiyama said.
The center is currently located in Building BB in room 101, next to the Aquatic Center.

“We are part of the plan for the new student union renovation project,” Sugiyama said.  Wiggsy Sivertsen, a faculty counselor, said the gift means a number of things to the campus and the community.

“Ten years down the road, there will be a flourishing center for the students with programs to peak interest in their needs,” she said. “It’s a way of saying this campus recognizes and accepts that this community is important.”
Angela Krumm, a counselor and licensed psychologist on campus, works with Sugiyama leading a LGBTQQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and intersex) discussion group every Monday afternoon.

“I think the center is very important and offers a variety of resources,” Krumm said. “It’s wonderful and very generous of Larry and David. I really hope students on campus take advantage of the programs being offered at the center.”

The discussion group offers support in a confidential environment for the LGBTQQI students to share, discuss and explore their personal experiences.
Along with the discussion group, the center offers a mentor program, Peers in Pride. It is a mentor program to bridge connections for incoming students.

Krumm said she developed and coordinated the program and said she asked Sugiyama to help after she received a grant to do a research study of the needs of the LGBT community.

“Out of the study, students wanted more peer connection on campus,” Krumm said.  During a news conference with members of the student media, SJSU President Jon Whitmore said that the university is immensely grateful of Arzie and Stonesifer for their support.