Proud2Be was founded in 2011 by twins Max and Maya Price. They drew on their experiences of growing up queer in a rural West Midlands Village where they were made to feel like they weren't accepted.
They launched the Proud2Be campaign to show a different side of queer life, gaining endorsements from activists internationally for being “inclusive, intersectional, challenging, supportive and genuinely welcoming”.
In 2012, Proud2Be held several focus groups and identified that LGBTQIA+ people living in Devon felt that there were significant issues around a lack of support and social and rural isolation. In response Proud2Be launched a monthly social event in a small coffee shop in Totnes.
In 2013 Proud2Be launched the first Totnes Pride. It attracted over 1000 visitors. Proud2Be hosted Totnes Pride until 2022, a total of ten events over the years.
Year round though Proud2Be continued to run its social groups. In response to demand in 2015 it opened the first Proud2Be Youth Group. We delivered training and awareness sessions across the South West and Online.
We stayed open throughout the pandemic, offering services online and supporting people with things like food parcels. This time really highlighted the need for consistent, high quality support tailored to the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community.
As things opened back up again Proud2Be increased our workforce allowing us to provide more groups for adults, more youth groups, more 121 support sessions and more events across South Devon.
At the end of 2015 Max and Maya Price stepped down from Proud2Be. After a rigorous recruitment process the board appointed Mel Saint to be the new CEO. Mel has been involved with Proud2Be since 2019 and is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community and upholding the values that have always underpinned Proud2Be’s work.