An event celebrating dance and queer joy. And all done for a great cause
Last week the Ali Forney Center hosted their inaugural fundraiser event, the WE ARE FAMILY DANCE-A-THON. The event was hosted at The Knockdown Center and was also hosted on Trans Day of Remembrance. The We ARE FAMILY DANCE-A-THON event also brought together some of the most notable nightlife entertainers, queer culinary professionals, and community activists for a night of dancing and queer joy. The event had multiple features including some incredible performances from drag artists like Mardi Gould Cummings, Junior Mintt, Nicky O, Dahlia Sin, Eva Reign, and Monet X Change. And at the event were notable nightlife DJs including Boyyyish and Amber Valentine who brought pop and disco tunes for attendees to dance to.
The Ali Forney Center is committed to saving the lives of queer youth and has been doing so since 2002. And their mission is to provide essential services like meals, mental health services, medical services, and housing to queer youth. And after a full day of dancing, drinking, and activities all around at the We ARE FAMILY DANCE-A-THON , the Ali Forney Center was able to raise $534,037 to fight food insecurity among homeless queer youth.
And with November 20th being the annual Trans Day of Remembrance, The Ali Forney Center was able to honor the lives of trans people taken from the world due to anti-transgender violence. There were speakers throughout the event that brought light to some of the issues facing the Trans Community including issues such as food insecurity and violence. The WE ARE FAMILY DANCE-A-THON uplifted transgender voices and paid respect to the those lost due to violence, along with helping to maintain the AFC meals program – which serves more than 400,000 hot and healthy meals to its clients across 17 NYC housing sites and a 24-hour drop-in center located in Harlem.
And you can still make donations here which will go straight to providing meals and food security to homeless queer youth.