Broadway stars sang their hearts out to support You Gotta Believe, an organization that helps foster youths find their forever families.
On May 4, You Gotta Believe hosted its 30th Anniversary Fundraiser at Guastavino’s in New York City. The NYC-based organization focuses on helping older foster kids find forever families, facilitating 400 adoptions since its founding in 1995. The event was a star-studded affair, with artists like Ainsley Melham and Tony-winning Brian Stokes Mitchell performing during the reception.
Ta’Nika Gibson — the star of Ragtime on Broadway and a former foster kid herself — hosted the event and sang “Wheels of a Dream” with Mitchell, who originated the role of Coalhouse Walker during the show’s original Broadway run. Gibson, who was legally adopted in her twenties, was touched to see artists and advocates alike supporting the cause.
“Honestly, it feels wonderful to have my community of adoption and also my Broadway community here coming together to raise awareness for this,” she told The Knockturnal on the red carpet. “It just means the world. It’s like a merging of the best of both worlds.”
Melham, who recently ended his run as Aladdin in Aladdin on Broadway, was more than happy to perform for the cause, singing “Proud of Your Boy” to commemorate the special occasion.
“As somebody who lives and breathes the arts, it’s always a joy to come and lend our talents to an evening like this to raise some money for such a generous cause,” he told The Knockturnal on the red carpet.
“The arts are such a beautiful way to raise awareness, a beautiful way to encourage empathy, a beautiful way to tell a story,” Melham continued. “So when we’re trying to raise money for a beautiful organization like this, I think the arts are crucial.”
The night also honored Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley Jackson, who have raised over five million dollars for the organization since they first got involved in 2015. The married couple created and planned Voices: Stars For Foster Kids, a fundraising concert featuring major Broadway, television and film stars. As an adoptive parent himself, YGB’s mission is incredibly important to Jackson.
“I have such sympathy for these young people that really, through obviously no fault of their own, don’t have this core of stability that I’ve always had,” he told The Knockturnal on the red carpet. “So it just really resonates ’cause I’ve always had it and I feel so bad for the kids that don’t.”
But Jackson knows his work isn’t done yet — the writer and producer hopes to see YGB reach more communities in the coming years.
“ It’s amazing how much work they’ve done,” Jackson added. “I just really want it to expand a lot more. I hate that its only focus is on New York. This is something that should be all over the country.”
