A little over two years ago, we had the idea of starting a Foundation with the goal of supporting nonprofit organizations that offer programs and services addressing the needs of the most vulnerable in our diverse LGBTQ+ community. We knew that, no matter the level, every single gesture of support can make a tremendous difference to so many community-based organizations.
We believe that even more passionately today.
We’ve had the privilege of meeting amazing leaders and advocates from over a dozen states, and learning about the ways in which they all work to protect the safety, equality, and well-being of our community. We are grateful for their activism, and proud to count them as partners in this work.
What we didn’t necessarily foresee is just how personal this work would be. We have both led rewarding lives. We’ve had our ups and downs, but always managed to persevere and thrive through a combination of wits and luck. And with a little help from our friends. Friends like the City University of New York, which offered opportunities for future success for a young Jewish kid from Brooklyn. Friends like the fine people at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST), colloquially known as the “The Gay Synagogue,” where we found a way to strengthen our commitment to the LGBTQ+ community through some of the tenets of faith.
What a joy, then, to now be able to support these two organizations that are near and dear to our hearts. We are thrilled that the Leonard Litz Foundation has become an early backer of the expansion of the CUNY LGBTQ+ Student Center and the Mixner LGBTQ+ Equality Fellowship program, both based at City College of New York. And we are delighted to support CBST’s Aging Together program, which provides assistance, referrals, education, and peer support for our burgeoning generation of LGBTQ+ seniors, a demographic that, unfortunately, is all too often relegated to the invisible margins of our community.
These two multi-year grants reflect just how meaningful this work is to us. These are our people. You are our people. And we’re still just getting started. As we look forward to 2023 and beyond, we are hopeful and eager for more opportunities to be part of this movement in ways big and small. This is our ongoing commitment to help LGBTQ+ people everywhere achieve their full potential.
We thank you all for being a part of this journey with us.
Wishing everyone a Happy and Memorable New Year!
Elliot and Roger