Canadian Telecommunications Company Telus Opens First Retail Store Specifically Designed For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, And Transgender Customer

Telus, a Canadian telecommunications company, opened a new retail store Friday in Vancouver – Caya: an acronym meaning Come As You Are, the venue, located at the corner of Howe and Davie streets in the downtown, is designed specifically for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, reports the Vancouver Sun. The store, the first of what Telus hopes will be many across Canada, features 20-foot ceilings, designer lighting, exclusive electronic accessories, but perhaps most notably, the retail space has been created as an area where community events can be held, Kenn Hamlin, the director of special projects for Telus, and founder of the corporation’s Spectrum resource group for LGBT employees, says that the space was a collaboration between the company and community partners, including A Loving Spoonful (a local non-profit that helps feed those living with HIV/AIDS), Out on Screen, and the Vancouver Pride Society. “A lot of them are very grassroots and need a space that they can call home to do fundraisers – and we’ve been approached by a couple already to book a gay wedding in the summer,” said Hamlin, who added that “If you look at that internally at Telus, we’ve had same sex partnerships benefits since 1994. If you look at how we have engaged in the LGBTQ community, from a community affairs and investment perspective, we’ve given over $1 million nationally to a number of LGBTQ organizations. There has been a long-standing partnership, and in listening to those people we were told that this particular space would be welcome.” Hamlin said he is most proud of the store’s Giving Wall, where patrons are encouraged to drop a $2 coin into a slot, all of the money collected going directly to a program called Out in Schools that aims to make students safe from bullying and homophobia.