• Equality
  • Community
    • Health
    • Youth
    • Seniors
  • Voices
    • From the CEO
    • Take Five
    • Why I Give
  • About the Center
  • Galleries
  • Calendar
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • 2nd Annual Sabor de Mi Centro Block Party Boogies in Boyle Heights
  • Senior Prom Celebrates 25th Anniversary
  • “Solidarity Forever”: Montana State Rep. Zooey Zephyr at Trans Town Hall
  • “We Are Immense, and We Are Abundant”: Trans Pride LA Organizer Gina Bigham Looks Back on a Decade-Plus of Highlights and the Biggest Trans Pride Yet
  • Trans Actors, Athletes, and Activists Celebrate Community and Solidarity at First-Ever Trans Town Hall
  • “My Crown Is Paid For”: 12 Center Portraits of Juneteenth
  • House of Avalon, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Join Center Staff and Supporters for LA Pride: “F*ck the Margins. We’re the Center.”
  • This Year’s AIDS/LifeCycle Participants on Why They Ride
Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube
LGBT News Now
Learn about career opportunities at the Center
  • Equality
  • Community
    • Health
    • Youth
    • Seniors
  • Voices
    • From the CEO
    • Take Five
    • Why I Give
  • About the Center
  • Galleries
  • Calendar
LGBT News Now
You are at:Home»Community»Celebrating Donors Who Have Been There Through Thick and Thin: “You Can Never Be Thanked Enough”

Celebrating Donors Who Have Been There Through Thick and Thin: “You Can Never Be Thanked Enough”

0
By on November 15, 2021 Community

By Greg Hernandez

It was clear from the beginning that the more than 300 Los Angeles LGBT Center Sustaining Donors who gathered on Sunday afternoon were more than ready to celebrate.

Pride Hall and the Bayard Rustin Courtyard at the Anita May Rosenstein Campus were immediately filled with people from the 3 p.m. start time through the end of the festivities nearly three hours later.

All were invited to an inspiring and celebratory donor appreciation event as a thank you for their ongoing and impactful support during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s great to be out with people again and to see a happy, healthy, thriving crowd that is enjoying being here and is happy to be supporting the Center and its great work,” longtime donor Paul Lerner said as he and other guests enjoyed an array of appetizers and cocktails.

“We’ve been really impressed at how the Center has been able to keep its activities going and continue to provide the life-affirming services that so many people need and have come to rely upon,” Lerner added. “We know how great the Center is, and they’ve lived up to all of our expectations about keeping things going through these very difficult times.”

Donor Melinda Garcia had taken her very first tour of the Center just before the pandemic hit and said what she saw “just blew my mind away.”

“All the things that are offered that are so needed—I was hooked!” she shared. “I was working on my Trust at the time and I put the Center in it. It’s just incredible all that’s been done during the pandemic.”

Donors Julaine Salem and her wife Sharon Congdon drove in from their home in Big Bear for the event, with Salem thrilled to finally be wearing her favorite necklace out in public again.

“I thought, I can wear it here if I want to!” Salem said, laughing. “It’s amazing what the Center has done, coming up with new ideas to make this all work. I am very impressed. Truly.”

Congdon said that after so many months of the pandemic, “it’s just so special to be at a social event.”

“We have tried to come to every Center function that we can and they are always wonderful and lovely,” she said. “There was a level of trust that we had to have to come, to know we’d be safe.”

All guests were required to show proof of vaccination to enter the party, which featured remarks by CEO Lorri L. Jean, Executive Director Joe Hollendoner, and Board of Directors Co-chairs Susan Feniger and Frank D. Pond.

“You can never be thanked enough,” Jean said to the crowd. “I want to thank all of you for sticking with us during the last 20 months. I especially want to acknowledge those folks who dug more deeply to help us compensate for some of our Sustaining Donors who had to put their giving on pause because their livelihoods were impacted by COVID. We really wouldn’t have been able to have made it if it wasn’t for all of you.”

The Center has continued to provide front-line, essential services in person while other programs went virtual. New programs and services such as Pride Pantry, Senior Angels, and the Hello Club were launched, and all of the Center’s nearly 800 employees kept their jobs.

The 98-unit Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing also opened during the pandemic, as well as the 25-unit Michaeljohn Horne & Thomas Eugene Jones Youth Housing.

“The Center handled a second pandemic like they handled HIV/AIDS in the earlier years,” observed longtime donor Jim Petrone. “They took in more people in need and expanded the campus. There was nothing going on but there was everything going on and they handled it.”

During his remarks Hollendoner shared that the demand for Center services are at an all-time high.

“Not only is the demand high, what we are seeing from our clients and community members is that the needs they are experiencing are more dire and more complex than before the pandemic,” he said. “That’s why I’m so proud that the Center has been able to evolve, to make sure we are responding to the ever-changing needs of our community.”

Hollendoner, formerly the CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation, joined the Center during the summer and will succeed a retiring Jean as CEO in July 2022.

“The beauty of our organization is when our community comes together, because when we come together, we are truly unstoppable,” he said. “I assure you that part of my vision is to continue to expand our services here at the Center while also making sure that we sustain our hard work.”

Pond and Feniger presided as co-chairs as the Center was forced to cancel such major fundraising events such as AIDS/LifeCycle and the annual anniversary gala.

“This has been a long time coming,” Pond said of the donor reception. “We saw some of you at some events on Zoom, we talked to some of you on the phone, but being here in person, together, is the magic that makes this place hum and brings the lifeblood here to the Center.”

Feniger, the famed chef who has been a board member for more than 15 years, described it as “mind-boggling” to see such a large crowd of supporters gathered together again.

“It is you Sustaining Donors who kept us in business, so from the bottom of my heart, I just want to thank you all for all that you’ve done and all that you continue to do,” she said. “We are excited about the future.”


Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

Related Posts

2nd Annual Sabor de Mi Centro Block Party Boogies in Boyle Heights

“Solidarity Forever”: Montana State Rep. Zooey Zephyr at Trans Town Hall

“We Are Immense, and We Are Abundant”: Trans Pride LA Organizer Gina Bigham Looks Back on a Decade-Plus of Highlights and the Biggest Trans Pride Yet

Comments are closed.

Upcoming Events

Oct 14
7:30 am - 6:00 pm

Models of Pride 2023

View Calendar
About Us

LGBT News Now

LGBT News Now is a publication of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019, the Center is the largest LGBT organization in the world, dedicated to building a world where LGBT thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society. Learn more at lalgbtcenter.org.

Follow Us on Instagram

lalgbtcenter

The Los Angeles LGBT Center is building a world where LGBT people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society.

Los Angeles LGBT Center
🌈Great news! #California Gov. Gavin Newsom sign 🌈Great news! #California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law 9 bills this weekend that will help ensure the safety and dignity of the #LGBTQ+ community through measures addressing inclusive school climates, gender-affirming business licensing, and public accommodations. This is a moment to take action, click the link in bio to urge Gov. Newsom to sign AB1645 🗣️
Swipe for more info➡️
“Queer people are told to minimize everything. W “Queer people are told to minimize everything. We’re told to be the friend or the supporting character. But drag makes us think, what if I’m the main character?” asked #TrixieMattel in her speech at last year’s #ModelsofPride, the world’s largest free conference for #LGBTQ+ youth. “I want you guys to know that you are all the main character.”

The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” champ accepted the event’s Model of Pride award, celebrating her epic career spanning entertainment, music, cosmetics—and even commercial renovation, with the hotel makeover series “Trixie Motel” for Discovery—at a time when drag was becoming a growing target for the far-right. 

This year, the drag bans have evolved into an anti-LGBTQ assault on California schools, but Models of Pride is back on October 14th with keynote speakers like #DylanMulvaney and #HayleyKiyoko to create the safe, empowering space our students need right now. You can register at the #linkinbio, or head to modelsofpride.org for more info.
Closing out #BiVisibilityWeek with a banger. (Did Closing out #BiVisibilityWeek with a banger. (Did YOU know the B in Cardi B was for #Bisexual?) Remember you are valid, you owe nobody an explanation, and you’re loved. 🩷💜💙
Happy #BiVisibilityDay! Today we’re giving love Happy #BiVisibilityDay! Today we’re giving love to and celebrating the B in LGBTQ. Bi Visibility Day was created to recognize and celebrate the Bi+ community including the need to reduce stigma of the identity. Bisexuality is beautiful and bi folks deserve love, support and acceptance. How are you celebrating Bi Visibility Day? Drop your 🩷💜💙’s in the comments 

🎥 @kimhoyos
🚨#Breaking: The United States is facing a short 🚨#Breaking: The United States is facing a shortage of injectable penicillin, which is the usual medication used for treating #syphilis. Fortunately, #DoxyPEP has been proven to effectively lower the risk of sexually transmitted infections, such as syphilis, by as much as 87%. For more information, swipe to view our FAQs on DoxyPEP or visit the link in our bio.
We are excited to announce recording artist #Hayle We are excited to announce recording artist #HayleyKiyoko (@hayleykiyoko), AKA #LesbianJesus, as this year’s double headliner and honoree at our #ModelsofPride youth summit! She joins keynote speaker and Model of Pride Award recipient #DylanMulvaney and social media star @RubasWorld, who will serve as the event’s host on October 14.

At a time when LGBTQ+ education is under attack, Models of Pride lifts love, acceptance, and queer joy for LGBTQ+ youth and allies. For more info and registration, visit modelsofpride.org. 

#ModelsofPride #LGBTQYouth  #LoveAndAcceptance
Join us for #Queerceañera on Friday, Sept. 29th! Join us for #Queerceañera on Friday, Sept. 29th! 

Hosted by RuPaul's #DragRace Season 15 alum, @EsTitties, Queerce is a vivid cultural summit and community cotillion rooted in unbridled celebration. This year’s honorees RuPaul’s #DragRaceMéxico host @allaboutvalentina and actress/recording artist @MissBenny sitting down together in a candid keynote conversation. 

But wait, there’s more! The post-program reception features tropical cocktails and live performances by #LA’s own Latin dance phenomenon @Queerchata. RSVP now at our #linkinbio #LatinxHeritageMonth
We are thrilled to announce superstar and host of We are thrilled to announce superstar and host of #DragRaceMexico #Valentina as an honoree and keynote speaker at the Center’s first-ever #Queerceañera! Join us in celebrating the vibrancy of LA's LGBTQ+ Latinx community on Friday, Sept. 29 in Hollywood.

There’s more! The post program reception features tropical cocktails and live performances curated by LA’s own Latin dance phenomenon @Queerchata. RSVP now at our #linkinbio #LatinxHeritageMonth
“You don’t necessarily have to be from a ranch “You don’t necessarily have to be from a ranch to be a cowboy.” Every spring in Zacatecas, Mexico, men from across North America don their finest cowboy attire for a private gathering of gay vaqueros. The weekend-long convention is a celebration of Mexican culture where attendees are free to embrace their authentic selves. “[Mexican culture] is ours, too,” one attendee told the Los Angeles Times.

Founded nearly 20 years ago by bar owner Mariano Escobar, the event features live music, dancing, and a contest for “rostro vaquero”—the official face of the convention and a nod to Mexican festivals where women are crowned “princesses” or “queens.” This year, the title went to Eros Herrera, a police officer who recently opened a homeless shelter and soup kitchen serving the #LGBTQ+ community in San Luis Potosi.

“When I’m on the street, I’m very discreet,” Daniel Renteria, an agave farmer who traveled an hour and a half to attend, told the Times. “Having to hide yourself is hard. Events like this one unite us.” Read more at the #linkinbio.

Happy #LatinxHeritageMonth—stay tuned for more coverage on this page over the next few weeks.

📷 Gary Coronado via @latimes
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Stay Connected
Subscribe
Copyright © 2022 Los Angeles LGBT Center
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy
  • Contact Us

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.