LI GAY AND LESBIAN SERVICES NETWORK TO HONOR HARVEY MILK, SAG HARBOR LESBIAN FILMMAKERS BEA ALDA AND JENNIFER BROOKE, HUNTINGTON

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

APRIL 15, 2009

LI GAY AND LESBIAN SERVICES NETWORK TO HONOR HARVEY MILK, SAG HARBOR LESBIAN FILMMAKERS BEA ALDA AND JENNIFER BROOKE,
HUNTINGTON NATIVE AND LONGTIME GAY ACTIVIST RICHARD BURNS

Long Island, NY – The Long Island Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Services Network announced today their annual GLBT Equality Awards Gala, a celebratory awards dinner that brings together GLBT and straight-ally individuals dedicated to equality for the GLBT community.

This year, The Gala will honor “Homegrown Heroes” – individuals who have made significant contributions to advance GLBT equality and whose roots are in Long Island.
Among the honorees are:
• Harvey Milk (posthumously), award accepted by Harvey Milk’s nephew, Stuart Milk. The iconic openly gay politician and activist graduated from Bay Shore High School, a mere half mile from where LIGALY, The Center and SAGE-LI stand today.
• Richard Burns, Chief Operating Officer of the Arcus Foundation and Executive Director of New York City’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Community Center. Burns grew up in Huntington and graduated from Harborfields HS in 1973.
• Beatrice Alda and Jennifer Brooke, Co-Founders of Forever Films, Inc and producers of the film “Out Late.”

New York Congressman Steve Israel will present the award for Harvey Milk at the gala. He is running for the U.S. Senate next year. Dr. Marjorie Hill, CEO of Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York, will present the award for longtime friend Richard Burns. Emma Walton and Stephen Hamilton, co-founders of Bay Street Theatre, a not-for-profit professional regional theatre situated on Long Wharf, in Sag Harbor, NY, will present the award to Beatrice Alda and Jennifer Brooke.

LIGALY, The Center, and SAGE-LI provide a safe and supportive space for GLBT people of all ages to come together to build community, advocate for GLBT equality, and to end homophobia and transphobia on Long Island. The organizations serve more than 3,000 individuals annually with support, advocacy, and community-building programs, and reach more than 40,000 through outreach and education services.

The media is invited to attend the 2009 Long Island Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Equality Awards Gala. The Gala returns to the stunning East Wind in Wading River, evening features a cocktail reception, dinner, dancing, and awards ceremony.

WHAT: The Long Island Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Equality Awards
WHERE: The East Wind
Wading River, NY
WHEN: Saturday, April 18th, 2009, 7:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Cocktail Reception: 7:00 PM
Dinner, Dancing, & Awards Ceremony: 8:30 PM

About The Long Island Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Services Network

Long Island's GLBT community is afforded a broad range of services throughout their lifespan, via a unique collaborative effort of three organizations:

* Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY)
* Long Island GLBT Community Center (The Center)
* Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders - Long Island (SAGE-LI)

These three organizations comprise a multitude of services and programs that aim to provide safe spaces for GLBT people of all ages to find support and develop positive peer networks, increase individual health of GLBT people, and to reduce homophobia and transphobia in our communities. In working together, each organization is able to share resources, and thus reduce overhead costs and expenses. Each organization shares administration, programming space, and fundraising efforts making for an efficient system, and ensuring the money raised through grants, donations, and special events are maximized providing the greatest benefit to all of Long Island's GLBT community. For more information, please visit http://www.liglbtnetwork.org.

About LIGALY (Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth)

Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY) is a bi-county (Nassau and Suffolk) not-for-profit organization providing education, advocacy, and social support services to Long Island's gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) youth and young adults, and all youth, young adults, and their families for whom sexuality, sexual identity, gender identity, and HIV/AIDS are an issue. Our goals are to empower GLBT youth, advocate for their diverse interests, and to educate society about them. For more information, please visit http://www.ligaly.org.

About The Long Island GLBT Community Center (The Center)

The mission of The Long Island GLBT Community Center (The Center) is to provide a home for the birth, nurture and celebration of the LGBT community; care for individuals and groups in need; educate the public about the LGBT community; and empower LGBT individuals and groups to achieve their fullest potential. The Center’s goals are to address health disparities, build community, and empower LGBT adults and families, particularly for those most underserved. The Center views addressing heterosexism, homophobia and transphobia as central to its work in meeting its mission. For more information, please visit http://www.liglbtcenter.org.

About SAGE-LI (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders, Long Island)
Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders – Long Island (SAGE-LI) is a bi-county (Nassau and Suffolk) not-for-profit organization dedicated to meeting the unique needs of the Long Island GLBT senior community by providing education, advocacy, and social support services. It is committed to providing high quality, life enriching programs that value age, gender, racial, ethnic, religious and economic diversity and is further committed to fostering greater understanding, support and advocacy for the rights of GLBT seniors in the Long Island. For more information, please visit http://www.sageli.org.