The Attic Youth Center is looking to raise more than $200,000 at its 25th-anniversary gala in support of local LGBTQ youth.
More than 500 guests are expected to attend the “Once Upon a Time” fundraiser Nov. 3 at the Crystal Tea Room intended to support the youth center’s programs and services. The gala’s special guest will be “Pose” star Dominique Jackson (Elektra Abundance) who will also receive the OK2BU Role Model Award.
The Attic’s founder and executive director, Carrie Jacobs, said the event will honor past and current members who helped to keep the center running.
“The most important thing to emphasize is how much passion and energy young people put into building The Attic. I’ve watched some of these teens grow into adults who are helping to make the community better. We’ve seen more than 30,000 youth come to The Attic and find a place of refuge, and many of them wouldn’t be alive without the center’s support.”
The Attic helps LGBTQ individuals ages 14-23. It began in 1993 as a small, weekly support group for LGBTQ youth. Voyage House, a Philadelphia-based social-service organization that worked with runaway and homeless youth, allowed Jacobs to use its attic for the weekly group.
More than 40 youth showed up every week. It signaled to Jacobs said she knew she wanted to do more for them.
“It was just supposed to be an eight-week pilot project. This was back in a time where there were no GSAs or programs for queer youth anywhere. It was pretty sparse in 1993,” she recalled. “These young people were so relieved. They were happy to walk up the 12 flights of stairs. They found joy in the fact that they were not the only gay youth on the planet.”
The program continued for more than a year in the attic of Voyage House — without funding. Jacobs said she wanted to provide the young people with money for food and transportation. The state’s Department of Public Health’s AIDS Activities Coordinating Office provided the group with its first funds.
“As time went on, some of the foundations loosened their policies and saw the need for supporting LGBT programming,” Jacobs said.
In 2000, The Attic became an independent nonprofit organization and received a gift from an anonymous donor to purchase its current building at 255 S. 15th St.
Dena Underwood will receive the Outstanding Alumni Award and John Taylor will receive the Founders Visionary Award. The gala will be hosted by NBC10 reporter and multimedia journalist, Miguel Martinez-Valle. The six-time Emmy award winning actor and comedy writer, Bruce Vilanch, will also be attending the event.