Hornet Launches "True Colors" Campaign Celebrating The Evolution of the LGBTQ Experience from Past to Present

Every community has a story. #HornetTrueColors

Hornet, the world's premier gay social network, today debuted its "True Colors" campaign to celebrate the inspiring stories of LGBTQ individuals whose relationships propagated the advancement of the community by living boldly and fighting courageously despite enormous risks and societal opposition.

⏩ The centerpiece of the Hornet "True Colors" campaign is a video featuring a collection of colorized black-and-white 19th and 20th century photos of LGBTQ personalities. 

The video's chronological journey spans subjects from the once-romantically-linked Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, through 20th century images of WWII service members to early trans activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, and culminating in a photo-to-video transition featuring present-day married couple, Rob Smith and Misha Safronov, of Instagram fame who are shown as the subjects of a Hornet Stories video within the Hornet app.

"As a global media company dedicated to enabling LGBTQ individuals to make meaningful connections, Hornet has created the #HornetTrueColors project as a storytelling vehicle to connect younger community members to the history of those who came before," says Christof Wittig, Hornet Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder. "The 'True Colors' theme reflects Hornet's commitment to empowering the safe, free expression of LGBTQ identity worldwide."

Matthew Adam Smith, Hornet SVP Global Sales adds: "We created the Hornet 'True Colors' campaign to remind every member of our community, our allies and the marketplace, we are all connected to an important and evolving mission--and Hornet is here to empower that journey."

⏩ Cyndi Lauper's iconic 1980s classic and gay LGBTQ anthem, True Colors, serves as the video's musical score as performed by the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles. 

Every community has a story. #HornetTrueColors

The Hornet "True Colors" video concludes with the message "The gay community has a story — let's keep writing it together," calling for viewers to share their own images and stories at Hornet.com/TrueColors.  

The campaign will also be featured on Hornet social media profiles and supported with exclusive content as part of Hornet Stories.

Every community has a story. #HornetTrueColors

SOURCE: Hornet Networks

The Video:

Hornet Logo (PRNewsfoto/LGBT Foundation)

#NOMAChangingCourse - Reflections on New Orleans Histories

Skylar Fein, Remember the Upstairs Lounge, 2008 (Image courtesy of the Artist)

The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) presents Changing Course: Reflections on New Orleans Histories, an exhibition that celebrates the New Orleans Tricentennial by bringing together a group of seven contemporary art projects that focus on forgotten or marginalized histories of the city. 

Projects by artists Katrina Andry, Willie Birch, Lesley Dill, L. Kasimu Harris, Skylar Fein, The Everyday Projects, and The Propeller Group each shed light on the past while also looking towards the future, returning to defining moments in New Orleans' history that continue to frame art and life in the city today. 

⏩ Changing Course will be on view at NOMA June 29 through September 16, 2018.

"In New Orleans' Tricentennial year, this exhibition will allow visitors to reflect on how our city's histories have shaped our responses to present-day issues and concerns, while considering how the past can help spur evolution and change," said Susan Taylor, NOMA's Montine McDaniel Freeman Director. "During a year of celebration and remembrance, NOMA invites the city to consider how the act of commemoration can also be a form of forward thinking."

• Artist Skylar Fein's installation Remember the Upstairs Lounge (2008) commemorates a 1973 arson at the Upstairs Lounge, a popular gay bar in the French Quarter, while also continuing the conversation around ongoing violence against LGBTQ communities, locally and nationally. 

• The Propeller Group's video The Living Need Light, The Dead Need Music (2014) offers a powerful meditation on the cyclical nature of time and history, drawing points of connection between the cultural traditions of New Orleans' vibrant Vietnamese community and the fantastical funeral traditions and rituals of South Vietnam. 

• Lesley Dill's Hell Hell Hell / Heaven Heaven Heaven: Encountering Sister Gertrude Morgan (2010) pays tribute to the vital legacy of visionary New Orleans artist, preacher and poet Sister Gertrude Morgan. 

• A new installation of woodblock prints by Katrina Andry addresses questions of racial and economic disparity and the uneven urban development in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and also considers the impact that past infrastructure projects, such as the construction of I-10, had on historically African American neighborhoods in the city. 

• L. Kasimu Harris' War on the Benighted (ongoing) chronicles his work with New Orleans schoolchildren, which has resulted in photographs that place African American history at the center of a visual narrative that confronts stereotypes of youth and race and question the history of public education in New Orleans.

⏩ Two additional project components offer spaces for community reflection, serving as the beginning of a conversation about how these New Orleans histories impact different communities across the city: 

• Willie Birch's installation will simultaneously address specific historical events and the development of a contemporary art-centered community he is creating in New Orleans' Seventh Ward. Presenting new multi-media works confronts this area's relationship with its slave-holding past while also documenting the creation of a more inclusive community today. 

• The Everyday Projects, a collective of photojournalists who use social media to combat clichéd representations of communities worldwide, will bring their Pulitzer Center-sponsored curriculum to New Orleans with #EverydayNewOrleans, encouraging participants to use photography to share their unique perspectives on life in their neighborhoods throughout Greater New Orleans.

Changing Course: Reflections on New Orleans Histories is organized by the New Orleans Museum of Art and co-curated by Russell Lord, Freeman Family Curator of Photographs, Prints, and Drawings; Katie Pfohl, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art; Brian Piper, The Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow for Photography; and Allison Young, The Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow for Modern and Contemporary Art.

Exhibition Programming: 

Exhibition-related programs will include curator-and-artist-led noontime talks featuring Willie Birch, Katrina Andry, Kasimu Harris, and Skylar Fein, gallery tours, artist perspectives, a lecture by Leslie Dill, an #EverydayNewOrleans round table, and Picturing Us, a five-documentary film series exploring the people and places that make New Orleans home.

Additional Information:  

Facebook and Instagram: @noma1910 
Hashtag: #nomachangingcourse
Website: noma.org

Changing Course: Reflections on New Orleans Histories (Image via noma.org)

About NOMA and the Besthoff Sculpture Garden:

The New Orleans Museum of Art, founded in 1910 by Isaac Delgado, houses nearly 40,000 art objects encompassing 5,000 years of world art. 

Works from the permanent collection, along with continuously changing special exhibitions, are on view in the museum's 46 galleries Fridays from 10 AM to 9 PM; Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 AM to 6 PM; Saturdays from 10 AM to 5 PM and Sundays from 11 AM to 5 PM. 

⏩ NOMA offers docent-guided tours at 1 PM every Tuesday - Sunday. 

The adjoining Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden features work by over 60 artists, including several of the 20th century's master sculptors. The Sculpture Garden is open seven days a week: 9 AM to 6 PM. 

The New Orleans Museum of Art and the Besthoff Sculpture Garden are fully accessible to handicapped visitors and wheelchairs are available from the front desk. 

⏩ For more information about NOMA, call (504) 658-4100 or visit noma.org. 

Museum admission is free on Wednesdays for Louisiana residents, courtesy of The Helis Foundation. Teenagers (ages 13-19) receive free admission every day through the end of the year, courtesy of The Helis Foundation.  

SOURCE: New Orleans Museum of Art

'Pride And Prejudice 2018': Pushing Forward The Global Agenda For LGBT Rights Through Advocacy

Pride and Prejudice 2018 (Image via The Economist)

On May 24th, 2018, The Economist Events hosted the third edition of Pride and Prejudice, a 24-hour event hosted by The Economist Events across three cities – Hong Kong, London and New York. This year's summit focused on evaluating how governments, companies and individuals can turn the global conversation around lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) diversity and inclusion into meaningful action through advocacy.

⏩ The panel of speakers in New York comprised of chief executives, politicians and activists, who spoke to several important issues including:

• Where the intersection lies between corporate and moral responsibility and how a meaningful shift in company culture must begin in the boardroom
• What it means to be an advocate and how the roles of individuals and businesses have evolved as external conditions continue to change
• The implications for executive teams that fail to recognize the importance of their own actions in influencing change within their companies
• How policymakers and business leaders can hold back a tide of regressive politics around the world
• The role of social media as a vehicle for progress
• The Economist Intelligence Unit's new research into the future of advocacy
• Where and how to act and invest to ensure continued progress in the recognition of LGBT rights across the world

"Human rights should come first, everything else should come after that. Corporations have a responsibility to take a stand and be a force for good," said Salesforce Chief Equality Officer Tony Prophet during Pride and Prejudice. "There's something powerful about making a public declaration, being someone's ally and using that as a higher purpose to direct your behaviors. You have to challenge people's moral compass. Are we standing on the right side of history or not?"

Also speaking at the event, actor and activist Nico Tortorella shared his perspective as a leading man in Hollywood. Tortorella stated that "because of the way I look, the color of my skin and the [straight] character I play on television, I have the ability to have this conversation [about LGBT issues] in a way that's more digestible for people because of how people see me. That is my privilege. So it's a no-brainer for me—I have a responsibility that comes with that privilege to not only share my story, but to also share my platform with as many people as I possibly can."

⏩ During the event, The Economist Intelligence Unit also unveiled findings from a global survey of over 1,000 executives across 87 countries to assess different aspects of LGBT inclusion. The research focused on the evolving landscape for public LGBT advocacy, how the environment for it may change in the future and the obstacles that still stand in the way of progress. 

Key findings include:

• Nearly half of executives believe that businesses in their country will take on a bigger role as agents of progress for LGBT rights over the next three years
• Almost 60% say current global political climate could undo progress made in LGBT inclusion, although few cite inaction by government in driving corporate advocacy
• Business advocacy on LGBT issues is heavily concentrated in North America; Asia, the Middle East and Africa lag behind

"We've come a long way, but we have a lot further to go as well. There are a lot of people who need to a little nudge to get the conversation going to realize how many allies they actually have. Unless they speak, you don't know that they're there. Don't be afraid to let your voice be heard. Otherwise, you are colluding in the abuse," urged Olympic athlete and LGBT activist Greg Louganis during the event. "Be a voice, be an advocate, and don't back away from standing up for what's right."

⏩ To access the full research report, please visit Pride and prejudice: the future of advocacy.

About The Economist Events:

The Economist Events brings the rigour of informed analysis and intelligent debate that The Economist is known for to life on stage in international forums. They host over 80 events annually in over 30 countries on topics that convene world-class thought leaders on a range of strategic business issues.

⏩ Follow @EconomistEvents on Twitter and check #EconPride for event updates

SOURCE: The Economist Events

Related Video:

"Beyond I Do" Campaign Launches to Raise Awareness about the Prevalence of Discrimination Against LGBT People in the United States

The goal of the Beyond I Do campaign is to raise awareness of the discrimination millions of LGBT Americans face every day and to promote equality for all Americans.

A campaign launching today aims to raise awareness about the prevalence of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the United States, despite the widespread misconception they have basic protections.

The public service campaign from the Ad Council, in partnership with the Gill Foundation, promotes acceptance, empathy and understanding for the millions of LGBT Americans who can be kicked out of their homes, fired from their jobs or denied services because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

Created by ad agency CP+B with research and strategy from Redscout, the "Beyond I Do" campaign will confront the common misconception that LGBT Americans received full equality along with the right to marry.  

The campaign highlights many stories of Americans who have faced discrimination across the country, along with facts about discrimination, at BeyondIDo.org. They speak for the 55 percent of LGBT people who have reported being discriminated against due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. 1 And while public opinion research shows 79 percent of non-LGBT Americans support equality for LGBT people, 80 percent mistakenly believe it's illegal under federal law to fire, evict or refuse service to someone because they are LGBT. 2 3 In reality, 31 states lack comprehensive protections and allow these acts of discrimination against LGBT Americans.4

"Everyone should have the ability to live in safety, support their families, and go about their daily lives without the fear of being turned away because they're gay or transgender," said Lisa Sherman, Ad Council President and CEO. "By sharing powerful and poignant stories, this campaign highlights the values we hold so dear as Americans and provides a real opportunity to grow awareness and empathy."

"Beyond I Do" features stories of Americans from across the country who have been fired from their jobs, kicked out of their homes, or denied services because they are LGBT. They include:

• Krista and Jami of Michigan, who were married in 2012. A pediatrician refused to provide medical care for their six-day-old newborn because of the couple's sexual orientation. It was, and still is, legal in Michigan for a doctor to refuse service to a child based on the sexual orientation of the child's parents.
• Aaron and Shaun, who were married in 2015. Shortly after their joyous September wedding, they attempted to place an announcement in Shaun's hometown newspaper in Missouri to continue the celebration with his childhood friends and neighbors. The publisher decided that announcing the marriage between two men was inappropriate, and denied the announcement.
• Jimmie and Mindy of Ohio, who became the first LGBT couple to marry in Franklin County. Jimmie was unexpectedly fired from her job as a teacher when her school's principal and board members had "questions about her sexuality." Until that point, Jimmie had received nothing but positive performance evaluations.

Actor Nick Offerman also lends his voice to the campaign by recording radio spots that will be heard nationwide. Several media partners have made commitments to the "Beyond I Do" campaign prior to launch including Fox Networks Group, Oath, Pinterest and Upworthy.

"The power of this campaign comes from leveraging the shocking fact that millions of Americans are being denied basic rights," said Quinn Katherman, Creative Director, CP+B. "We realized that nothing could ever be as compelling as the true stories these couples have to tell."

"We wanted to be clear and non-judgmental with the message that we are all just human beings and yet some of us are denied basic rights," said Redscout Founder and Chairman, Jonah Disend. "Through real stories, the campaign is exposing the fact that the right to marriage wasn't a golden ticket to equal rights for LGBT Americans."

➤  Read all of the stories at BeyondIDo.org and learn more about discrimination protections in your state.

Footnotes:

1 GLAAD: Accelerating Acceptance 2018. A Survey of American Acceptance and Attitudes Toward LGBTQ Americans. Conducted by The Harris Poll. Available at: glaad.org/files/aa/Accelerating%20Acceptance%202018.pdf 
2 Ibid. 
3 Jones, Robert P., Betsy Cooper, Daniel Cox, and Rachel Lienesch. "Majority of Americans Oppose Laws Requiring Transgender Individuals to Use Bathrooms Corresponding to Sex at Birth Rather than Gender Identity." PRRI. 2016. prri.org/research/poll-lgbt-transgender-bathroom-bill-presidential-election/.
4 BeyondIDo.org

SOURCE: Ad Council

The Videos:

Trump's Military Policy Overlooks Data On Why Transgender Troops Are Fit To Serve

Transgender U.S. Army Capt. Jennifer Sims lifts her uniform. AP Photo/Matthias Schrader

By Brandon Hill, University of Chicago and Joshua Trey Barnett, University of Minnesota Duluth

The Trump administration released a memorandum on March 23 that imposes limits on transgender troops and excludes transgender people from enlistment in the U.S. military.

The policy states that individuals with a history of “gender dysphoria” are now disqualified from military service “except under certain limited circumstances.” It defines people with gender dysphoria as “those who may require substantial medical treatment, including through medical drugs or surgery.” This is a deviation from the medical definition of gender dysphoria. The American Psychiatric Association defines it as “a conflict between a person’s physical or assigned gender and the gender with which he/she/they identify.”

Since 2014, we have been working with transgender service members and veterans to better understand their experiences. Our work is part of a large and growing body of scientific research President Donald Trump, and conservatives more broadly, have ignored.

The evidence is conclusive: Transgender people are fit to serve in the U.S. military.

Medical rationale
In the U.S., transgender individuals were officially barred from serving in the armed forces starting in the 1960s. The early prohibition was based on a now-outdated psychiatric classification. Until 2013, the American Psychiatric Association classified transgender people as having “gender identity disorder.” This disqualified them for military service, along with anyone else who exhibited a mental disorder.

Since the 1980s, the U.S. armed forces barred service of any person with a “current or history of psychosexual conditions including but not limited to exhibitionism, transsexualism, transvestism, voyeurism, and other paraphilia.” This view conflates transgender identity with mental illness and distress. It assumes that all transgender people experience gender dysphoria. That is false.

In 2015, the American Medical Association adopted a formal policy stating that there is no medical rationale for excluding transgender people from openly serving in the military.

Serving under a ban
Transgender people have long served in the armed forces. The Williams Institute, a think tank at the University of California in Los Angeles, estimates that roughly 134,000 transgender Americans hold veteran status.

About 15,000 transgender people are currently serving across all branches of the U.S. armed forces, including the National Guard and Reserve forces. The vast majority have served under the transgender ban.

In our research, we have found that transgender service members have had to conceal their identities. In fact, among the transgender service members we surveyed under the transgender military ban, only 16.2 percent reported being “out” as transgender to friends within their military unit. Only 5.6 percent were out to their commanding officer. This has limited their access to support services and health care, and made it difficult to gain institutional recognition.

It is also in stark contrast to their personal lives. The majority of those surveyed reported being out to immediate family members (72.2 percent) and nonmilitary friends (69.4 percent).

Our findings suggest that transgender individuals enlist for many of the same reasons as cisgender men and women, those whose assigned sex at birth corresponds with their gender identity. Transgender people are motivated by educational goals, career aspirations, travel, family history, patriotism and stability. Transgender service members also report few mental or physical health issues that would limit them from meeting fitness criteria.

Research conducted by the nonprofit RAND National Defense Research Institute has found similar evidence. RAND was commissioned by the government to conduct a wide-ranging external study to assess the impact of transgender service.

RAND reported that extending health care coverage for gender transition–related treatments would create only small increases in the budgets for the Department of Defense and Homeland Security. It estimated increases between US$2.4 million to $8.4 million, which represented only 0.04 to 0.13 percent of the departments’ budgets. That is in direct contrast to President Trump’s statement in July 2017 that it would incur “tremendous medical costs.” The report also noted that transgender service has minimal impact on unit readiness and cohesion. It recommended that military fitness policies align with contemporary medical standards.

Impact of a military ban
President Trump’s memorandum referenced inaccurate information. It undermines several rigorous scientific studies, peer-reviewed publications, the expert opinions of military leaders and officers, and the medical recommendations of our nation’s leading professional organizations.

Most concerning, however, in our opinion, is that the current commander-in-chief discredits the service and sacrifices of tens of thousands of transgender veterans and service members. They have served and will continue to proudly serve our country despite persistent injustice and inequality.

About Today's Contributors:
Brandon Hill, Executive Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health, University of Chicago and Joshua Trey Barnett, Professor of Rhetoric, University of Minnesota Duluth

This article was originally published on The Conversation. 

First Transgender Day of Remembrance Cenotaph Statue to be Unveiled in Palm Springs

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2017 Cenotaph Sculpture by Heath Satow

On November 20, the Transgender Community Coalition will host their annual Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) honoring the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence in the past year. 

• The event will take place at Palm Springs City Hall, 3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., with the vigil commencing at 5 p.m.

"One out of eight transgender people of color face murder in their lifetime, and one out of 12 Caucasian trans people face murder in their lifetime," says Thomi Clinton, Chief Executive Officer and founder of the Transgender Community Coalition in Palm Springs.

• Speakers at this year's event include: the CEO of the Transgender Community Coalition with Gwendolyn Ann Smith, founder of the TDoR, Ian Harvie, Transgender comedian and actor from the award-winning TV series Transparent, Ryan Sallans, Transgender author and advocate and Ashlee Marie Preston, Transgender producer and activist.

This year, Palm Springs' Transgender Community Coalition unveils the first Transgender Day of Remembrance Memorial Cenotaph Sculpture. The non-profit organization commissioned the life-size sculpture to honor victims of transgender violence. 

The statue was inspired after the death of a transgender woman, Yaz'min Sanchez, who was shot and burned behind a garbage bin in Florida. Sanchez' body left a silhouette where her remains were discovered.

Los Angeles-based metal artist Heath Satow created the breathtaking sculpture, illustrating the life-size figure, made of steel butterflies (symbolizing metamorphosis or transition), lying on their side. 

• The sculpture aims to inspire needed conversations aimed at ending discrimination and violence against transgender people in the United States and across the world.

Transgender Day of Remembrance - Leaflet

About Heath Satow:

(Via Transgender Day of Remembrance)

Heath Satow (b. February 6, 1969) is an American artist who works primarily in fabricated metals. He received national attention for his 9/11 Memorial sculpture of hands – created with 3,000 stainless-steel doves – lifting one of the twisted steel beams from the World Trade Center to the sky. 

His passion is art that expresses social justice issues and the inequality of the discriminated and oppressed. Inspired by the scale model that Thomi Clinton presented to him, he has created a unique piece of Cenotaph art – an empty tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people – that embodies the murders and injustices faced by the transgender community in hopes of increasing public conversation to support transgender equality. 

The piece was inspired by the murder of transgender woman of color Yaz’min Sanchez, who was thrown into a Florida alley and burned to death. The scorched burned marks from her remains inspired a breathtaking sculpture of a person laying in a somber fetal position covered in butterflies. 

• Butterflies are the spiritual symbol of transgender people. These butterflies represent the spirits of those we have lost preparing to return to their Creator in the heavens.

About Transgender Day of Remembrance:

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) was founded in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith when she held a vigil for Rita Hester, a transgender woman that was murdered. It has become a global event to address the violence and oppression against this community.

It is a time when the community that supports LGBTQ+ equality comes forward with their direct support to end violence against the transgender, intersex, gender non-conforming and non-binary communities. 

SOURCE: Transgender Community Coalition

The Video:

Celebrities Stand with LGBTQ Students and Point Foundation

 Actress Kathryn Hahn (L) and Point Executive Director & CEO Jorge Valencia at Point Honors Los Angeles 2017, benefiting Point Foundation, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 7, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Point Honors)

More than 450 guests and celebrities filled the Beverly Hilton Hotel to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students at Point Honors Los Angeles. Point Foundation (Point), the evening's beneficiary, is the nation's largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students. 

The gala evening also included an announcement by Wells Fargo of $1.8 million in continued support for Point.

Wanda Sykes was presented with the Point Legend Award by Anthony Anderson for having achieved greatness in her career and unapologetically supporting the LGBTQ community. Writer, director, and producer Jill Soloway received the Impact Award, presented by Kathryn Hahn, for the impact Soloway has made on improving the lives of the LGBTQ community. Wilson Cruz, via video message from New York, was accorded the Point Courage Award for his advocacy work on behalf of the LGBTQ community.

Honoree Wanda Sykes at Point Honors Los Angeles 2017, benefiting Point Foundation, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 7, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Point Honors)

Comedian Michelle Collins hosted the buoyant evening with a special performance by Adam Lambert accompanied by a live band. 

Host Michelle Collins at Point Honors Los Angeles 2017, benefiting Point Foundation, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 7, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Point Honors)

Previous honorees, Neal Baer, Greg Louganis, Pete Nowalk, and Adam Shankman, also attended, along with celebrities Tyler Alvarez, Hayden Byerly, Jay Duplass, Judith Light, Trace Lysette, Benjamin Patterson, Brandon Stansell, Jacob Tobia, JJ Totah, and Rain Valdez. 

"Thank you to tonight's honorees for inspiring our scholars and to all the celebrities who joined us to champion equality in education for LGBTQ students," said Jorge Valencia, Executive Director and CEO of Point Foundation. 

The evening featured an especially encouraging demonstration of support when representatives from Wells Fargo presented Point with a check for $1.8 million. The funding continues the company's support of Point's new Community College Scholarship program, scholarships for Point Scholars in four-year and advanced degree programs, and Point's leadership development programs and conferences.

"Wells Fargo is thrilled to continue our support for Point Foundation, especially the new Community College Program," said Gigi Dixon, Director of Strategic Partnerships for Wells Fargo. "This program will fill critical gaps and allow aspiring LGBTQ students to reach their educational goals and achieve their full potential. This impacts not just the scholars themselves, but also their families and communities." 

"For more than a decade Wells Fargo has joined with Point Foundation to help LGBTQ students work toward earning their higher education degree," said Jorge Valencia, Executive Director and CEO of Point Foundation. "Wells' significant investment in the LGBTQ community is also an important catalyst for encouraging the generosity of other donors, as we saw at Point Honors, with hundreds of thousands raised in additional support for LGBTQ students."

Point Foundation Scholarship Recipients at Point Honors Los Angeles 2017, benefiting Point Foundation, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 7, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Point Honors)

Point Honors Los Angeles Sponsors:
Presenting: Hilton, Wells Fargo
Premier: HSBC
Principal: AT&T, Cadillac, Citizen Relations, HBO
National Media: OUT
Local Media: Los Angeles Blade 

Point Honors Los Angeles 2017

SOURCE: Point Foundation