The Family Equality Council Los Angeles Awards Dinner took place on Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton.
Credit/Copyright: Slate PR
The event was hosted by Sandra Bernhard, and included performances from Maxine Nightingale, Cheyenne Jackson and Glee cast members Lea Michele, Darren Criss, Chord Overstreet, Jenna Ushkowitz, Harry Shum, Becca Tobin and Alex Newell.
Also in attendance were Lance Bass, Matt Bomer, Shannon Beador, Beau Bridges, Jason Collins, Wilson Cruz, Eileen Davidson, Camille Grammer, Max Greenfield, Ty Herndon, Dot Marie Jones, Michelle Lee, Steve Levitan, Patti LuPone, Alec Mapa, Ryan Murphy, Eric Christian Olsen, Sarah Wright Olsen, Sarah Paulson, Andrew Rannells, Kyle Richards, Lisa Rinna, JJ Totah, Lisa Vanderpump, Vern Yip and more.
Family Equality Council’s premier West Coast event honored notables in the worlds of arts, entertainment, politics, and the LGBT movement for their efforts to advance equality for all families. The event raised $618,430 on Saturday night.
The fundraising evening included moving stories, new announcements and amazing performances. Executive director of Family Equality Council, Gabriel Blau, announced that Family Equality Council is launching the “Snap It & Send It” app.
Says Blau, “Our life is full of filling out forms. At the doctor’s office, at our children’s schools, at their dance classes. The forms that we’re presented with at every turn still don’t reflect us or many of today’s families. But now there’s an app for that. This app will make it possible to bring hundreds of forms to our attention, and for LGBTQ parents on the front lines across the country to work with our staff and make these changes on the ground.”
Blau also announced that this sprint the FEC will begin a new public education and engagement effort in a new partnership with the “It Gets Better” project. They are also expanding its legal clinic project for low-income LGBT families, launching clinics in Alabama and Louisiana. They also plan on holding the first Stakeholder and Partner Summit on Southern Families in North Carolina. The Family Equality Council continues to expand, reaching 25,000 people in 2013, 32,000 in 2014, and hold to reach even more in 2015.
