“Ru Paul's Drag Race” Winner Symone, Matt Rogers Support LGBTQ+ Youth at Los Angeles Gala
wayOUT LA raised $125,000 for Capital Tea, a Florida-based transgender advocacy organization, at its annual Spectacular Gayla event
Celebrities are raising money for a good cause.
On Friday, RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 winner Symone, comedian and Las Culturistas podcast host Matt Rogers and screenwriter John August (Charlie's Angels, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), among others, attended wayOUT LA's annual Spectacular Gayla to support LGTBQ+ youth and Capital Tea, a transgender advocacy organization based in Tallahassee.
This year's gala, held at Los Angeles' AVALON Hollywood & Bardot, raised $125,000 for the advocacy organization amidst a rise in legislation aimed at targeting the transgender and queer community by Florida's state legislature in recent years.
Brendan Scannell (Bonding) and Rob Warner cohosted Friday night's show, at which Symone, 28, and August, 53, received awards meant to celebrate "artists and creatives who use their platforms to make positive changes in the world," per a press release.
Rogers, who cohosts the popular Las Culturistas podcast with Saturday Night Live's Bowen Yang, performed at the gala event, as well as singer-songwriter Leland and drag performer Kyra Jete.
Friday night's event concluded with wayOUT's LA chapter presidents Richard Gadsden and Brady Valashinas presentation of the $125,000 check to Capital Tea's executive director Janel Diaz. According to a press release, the funds raised will help Capital Tea "expand their safe-house network and provide life-saving resources to at-risk Trans youth across Florida."
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Specifically, those funds will be used to "primarily support the operational costs of the Tea House, a safe housing facility for displaced Trans youth. . . With additional funds, Capital Tea aims to expand its safe-house network, enhance operational capabilities, and hire new counselors, providing critical support to those in need."
Related: Celebrity Parents Who've Spoken Out in Support of Their LGBTQ+ Kids
wayOUT LA is part of the wayOUT LGBTQ Foundation, a nonprofit organization that "empower[s] local organizations and entrepreneurs by advancing programs supporting LGBTQ+ youth in places where society tells them it’s not okay to be who they really are," per its website.
wayOUT LA plans to continue raising money to support Capital Tea through the end of 2023. Those interested in donating money can learn more information and contribute online here.
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