The Attic Youth Center gleefully announced the headliner this week for its 20th anniversary gala.
Alex Newell, who plays transgender student Unique Adams on the hit Fox show “Glee,” will be the special celebrity guest at The Attic’s Nov. 16 gala.
The Attic will present Newell with the LGBT Youth Role Model Award at the gala.
Newell spoke to a crowd of Attic supporters, via a video greeting, for a June 12 invite-only preview party of the gala at the Ritz Carlton.
Carrie Jacobs, executive director of The Attic, said Newell has helped promote LGBT awareness through his music and performances on “Glee.”
“The way we see it, he demonstrates visibility on a national level and helps LGBT youth not to be afraid to be themselves,” she said. “He is someone who clearly has a commitment to LGBT youth and accepts them for who they are and tells them to be true to themselves, particularly for transgender youth.”
Jacobs said before the big reveal that youth from the center were not yet made aware of Newell’s presence at the gala, which she thinks will be a hit.
“They will be incredibly excited. He is a performer and we have kids who sing, who do drag, who act, so they will be excited,” Jacobs said.
Newell, 20, was the runner-up on “The Glee Project,” a reality-TV show in which contestants performed to vie for a spot on the Fox show.
Jacobs said that although the center honors and celebrates youth every day, this is the first time a younger individual will be honored as a role model.
Also at Wednesday’s party, The Attic announced The Dow Chemical Company as the gala’s title sponsor, and Dow global business counsel Patrick Cumberland was on hand to talk about the company’s support for LGBT youth.
Other speakers include guest host and out CBS3 consumer reporter Jim Donovan, as well as two Attic youth who shared stories about how the organization impacted their lives.
The Attic was founded in 1993 and in the past 20 years has evolved into a multifaceted youth-service agency and the city’s only nonprofit focused solely on LGBT youth.
For more information, visit www.atticyouthcenter.org.
