‘An activist and a changemaker’: Buffalo Grove resident receives award from Arlington Heights church for LGBTQ+ advocacy
Carolyn Pinta, a champion for the LGBTQ+ community in the Northwest suburbs, has been given the Heart of a Lion Achievement Award from Southminster Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights. Pinta was recognized for her “exceptional courage, dedication, and advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community.”
Pinta, a Buffalo Grove resident, has been making a positive impact on LGBTQ+ people for the past eight years. She is co-founder of the annual Buffalo Grove Pride Parade, which has grown to more than 100 entries, 2,000 participants and crowds of thousands. Pinta also is founder of the nonprofit Pinta Pride Foundation that raises awareness and support in suburban communities for LGBTQ+ people. Since 2022, her card-writing initiative has sent messages of love and care to thousands of LGBTQ+ people in need of affirmation and support locally and throughout the United States.
At the award evening on April 23, Buffalo Village Board President Eric Smith said, “Carolyn’s kind of leadership is powerful. It takes heart to stand up for others, and she has done so with grace and conviction. Her courage, dedication, and advocacy have helped shape a stronger, kinder Buffalo Grove — one where members of the LGBTQ+ community feel seen, supported, and celebrated.”
In presenting the award, Jan Tossman, leader of Southminster’s Rainbow Ministry Team, said, “Carolyn has been an inspiration and a role model. She is an activist and changemaker — a person who puts words and thoughts into action. We respect everything Carolyn has done to ensure that, not only her child, but all those in the LGBTQ+ community know they are respected and loved for exactly who they are.”
Southminster Presbyterian Church at 916 E. Central Road, Arlington Heights, is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA); according to its members, it is a welcoming and affirming church which celebrates people of all ages, races, ethnicities, gender identities, gender expressions, sexual orientations and backgrounds.