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Center's Health & Pleasure Fair Promotes Well Being for LBT People

Nearly 200 people gathered at the Center on a March evening, for the Lesbian Cancer Initiative’s Health & Pleasure Fair. Lesbians, bisexual women and transgender (LBT) people of all racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds came from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, the Bronx, Queens, and New Jersey with one goal: taking charge of their health. Participants were pampered with massages, treated with delicious refreshments, and also received blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose screenings. Many attendees also got mammograms just a few weeks later, following our referrals. Events like this are extremely important in helping underserved communities, which often have higher overall health risks, because of the biases they face in the healthcare system. The Center bridges that gap and connects them with medical care they might not access on their own.

View video of local coverage




Center Celebrates Life and Legacy of Artist Keith Haring

Throughout the month of March the Center paid tribute to artist and activist Keith Haring, whose iconic Center-housed mural, Once Upon a Time, envisioning a world before HIV/AIDS, was recently restored through the generous support of philanthropists Mark Fletcher and Tobias Meyer. We were delighted to place the mural on constant public display during the Center’s hours of operation. Fans of Haring’s work came from far and wide, including Europe and Asia, to see this one-of-a-kind mural. The public viewing also attracted global press attention and local coverage, including feature articles in the New York Times and Time Out New York. In addition to the Haring mural’s public viewing, the Center’s Cultural Programs Department also hosted numerous Haring-themed events including film screenings, discussion groups and a hip-hop dance night. The Center is honored to be the home for Haring’s quintessential artistic commentary on gay male sexuality and is proud to preserve it for the public to enjoy for years to come.

Read The New York Times’ coverage here



Center Celebrates National LGBT Health Awareness Week

The Center has spent nearly three decades improving the health and well-being of LGBT people. During the week of March 26-30, we, and dozens of organizations across the nation, celebrated the 10th Annual National LGBT Health Awareness Week. Spearheaded by the National Coalition for LGBT Health, the theme of the 2012 campaign was “Come Out for Health,” a call to action to recognize health and wellness as an essential part of the social justice movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and families. Here at the Center, the Community Services Department incorporated LGBT health awareness themes into a number of groups in the wellness, recovery, youth and family program areas. One of those groups, Skills for Emotional Health, is an all-gender interactive support group for LGBT people to discuss personal emotional challenges and develop skills for coping with these difficulties. One participant said the group had a very positive impact:

"There are no quick cures, but we are all on a journey of self-discovery and hope. Here at the Center, we can be ourselves with others of similar experience and begin the healing process in a guided and supervised setting. No judgments, no criticism, no harsh words; only our peers, all going through this process together and for many, for the very first time ever."



The Center Dinner Honors Mario J. Palumbo Jr.; Raises More Than $700,000

In late March, we honored Board Member, and former Board President, Mario J. Palumbo Jr. at The Center Dinner, a fundraising gala that he created in 2007.Palumbo joined the Center board in October 2003, and after serving as treasurer, became president in January 2010. He is dedicated to ensuring that the Center, as the community’s home, provides for the entire spectrum of LGBT New Yorkers, and in particular the needs of LGBT families. The Center Dinner paid special tribute to our Center Families Program, showcasing a dynamic gay male couple and their adopted sons; they formed their family through the support of our “Wanna Be Dads and Moms” adoption group. The event raised nearly $730,000 for the Center’s crucial services, more than any Center event has ever raised. The Center is thrilled to have honored Mario for his tireless devotion to the Center and its mission to change LGBT lives for the better.

View photos of the event here: