“Over the years many of my friends have benefited from the services the Center offers. They are able to have full and healthy lives today because of the assistance they received,” said Chambers, a Texas native. “I’ve literally seen the Center save lives, and we want to be part of that and support the future endeavors of the Center.”
As part of their family trust, the couple included the Center in their estate plan last year. The new Circle of Life members also regularly volunteer at the annual Models of Pride youth conference, attend signature Center events like Simply diVine and the Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards, and are regulars at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza’s Renberg Theatre. Kusy participated in AIDS/ LifeCycle last year and will be making the 545-mile journey again this June.
They met nine years ago in Provincetown, where they returned for their wedding in 2014. As the couple began their life together, Kusy soon relocated to Los Angeles from Massachusetts and immediately shared Chambers’ enthusiasm for the Center.
“Ever since my introduction to the Center in the early ‘90s, it was clear to me that we had something here that was giving and providing so much,” said Chambers, who owns an interior design business. “I just believed in the organization and admired it from day one.”
They also consistently make an effort to get others involved.
“We always try to take friends with us to events who aren’t as familiar with the Center in hopes of getting them involved and aware,” said Kusy, a certified personal trainer with his own private gym. “Our community is better and stronger because of the Center. It’s a well-oiled and well-working machine. And one of the most efficient.”
The couple is particularly excited about the Anita May Rosenstein Campus that will enable the Center to greatly expand its youth and senior services when it opens in 2019.
“It is a dream come true for us,” said Chambers. “We were looking at the model of the new campus the other day and just thought, ‘Wow, think of all that this will provide for our community.’ As a young adult, I would never have thought we’d be able to have a campus dedicated to the well-being of our community. We are so proud, and we want to keep going, keep helping, keep inspiring our community to excel and flourish.”