News & Stories

Is it me, or do most LGBTQ+ people seem to be super over-achievers? Across multiple professional contexts—from the corporate world to activism, even in government—the LGBTQ+ community seems to be disproportionately represented at the top. I, myself, was an A-student who went on to earn two graduate degrees, as did many of my friends. And now comes quantifiable data showing that LGBTQ+ people earn degrees at higher rates than our straight counterparts. Is it just self-selection? Is there something in the water, or are we genetically predisposed to be “smarter”? As much as it might be tempting to believe the latter, the same study that produced this data posits that this level of over-achieving is really an act of resilience in the face of victimization. Having been marginalized and discriminated against for so long, many of us over-compensate with other forms of success. When your identity is all but erased for much of your life, you need to find other ways to be seen. Which, of course, is patently unfair. We shouldn’t have to strive to be better-than just to earn a place at the table. Also, many in our queer communities don’t fit this over-achiever stereotype. In fact, the…

As we close out a busy year at the Leonard Litz Foundation, we are already looking forward with anticipation to doing even more in 2022 to support and fund organizations working to advance the interests and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community We continue to be humbled and inspired by the life-saving work being done by so many organizations throughout the Northeast, often by individuals for too little remuneration. We are grateful for their passion and advocacy, and thrilled to be able to be a partner in their work. We happily announce the following Q3 grant recipients: ACLU Connecticut City Lights & Company Community Shelter Services Copper Beech Institute CUNY Research Foundation Dutchess County Pride Center EDGE New Jersey Finger Lakes Family Counseling Services Hudson Pride Center Lambda Legal New York LGBTQ Network OUT Maine The Pride Network Sam and Devorah Foundation for Trans Youth Soule Foundation The South Coast LGBTQ Network, Inc. Team New York Aquatics Westchester Jewish Community Services   As we look ahead to next year, we are excited for the opportunity to engage with even more organizations who share our mission of protecting and expanding the safety, equality, and well-being of LGBTQ+ people—and stay tuned for a…

The Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation epitomizes the most constructive path forward to advance the embattled values of equality, dignity, diversity, inclusivity, and peace. The ominous levels of hate speech, discrimination, and violence here in the U.S. and around the world have fueled an understandable impulse to censor hateful ideas and to “cancel” hateful speakers. But there is an even more powerful antidote to hate: Love. As Dr. Martin Luther King said: “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”  Accordingly, he declared, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” An inspiration to all of us in exercising our all-important right not to remain silent, is the example set by Elliot Leonard and Roger Litz in creating the Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation. The Supreme Court has long recognized that  providing financial support  to a chosen cause or organization constitutes constitutionally protected expression.  If so, what better statement to make than the one that infuses this Foundation’s signature mission:  promoting the heroic work of nonprofit organizations that enhance the rights and lives of people who have endured marginalization. Ample evidence demonstrates that even a small expression of love and…

This year the Leonard-Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation was honored to support several community partners as they celebrated Pride Month. But we know that Pride doesn’t end with June. The ongoing fight for equality and justice, particularly for Black and Brown, Trans, and Gender-nonconforming people happens in ways big and small every day. While most corporate diversity and inclusion efforts may dissipate after June, we believe that uniting and empowering the LGBTQ+ community is essential twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. So we are thrilled to share these pictures and memories from various Pride 2021 celebrations we supported across the Northeast US.   Westchester Pride, hosted The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center, showcased drag queens and hosted film screenings, in tandem with presentations and discussions around LGBTQ+ legislation, intersectionality, mental health, and peer-support sessions. The political discourse around LGBTQ+ rights has impacted many members of our community negatively, especially our youth, who grapple with fear, anxiety, and depression, which is why it is crucial to infuse Pride with comprehensive learning experiences for everyone.       Fairfield Pride, hosted by Triangle Community Center, featured a lineup of primarily outdoor events that were curated for all ages, such as Pride Parade of…

‘Tis the season of Annual Awards and Chicken Dinners! Unfortunately, we are also still battling hopefully the final stages of a global pandemic. While the Leonard-Litz team was looking forward to cutting a rug with some of our local community partners, we also understand and appreciate the need to celebrate in a way that prioritizes everyone’s safety. After more than 18 months of societal upheaval that we all hoped would be over by now, many of us are still longing for some sense of hope. But we also know that it is precisely when things feel hopeless that we must rally together as a community, especially for the sake of our most vulnerable members. We are grateful to the many nonprofit organizations and their staffs for being there when our community needs them most, and even though we had to settle for another scaled back or virtual gala season, we are honored to stand by their side in the ongoing fight for equality and justice for all LGBTQ+ people. No one is free until everyone is free.   Until then, at least we have pictures and memories!   Lambda Legal: Connecticut Cares 2021   Triangle Community Center: 2021 Visionary Gala,…

The Leonard-Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation is growing! Andrew Mitchell-Namdar has recently joined as our newest Trustee. Andrew is the Co-owner and Chief Marketing Officer for Mitchell Stores. He is devoted to a number of charitable organizations mostly focused on LGBTQ equality and Breast Cancer. His current board service includes the National Board of Directors for Lambda Legal, World Health Clinicians, which runs the Circle Care Center, the Breast Cancer Alliance, and Pink Aid, which he Co-Founded in 2010. He joins Founding Trustees Elliot Leonard and Roger Litz, along with Jeff Arnold and Executive Director Colin Hosten as the Foundation prepares to double its charitable giving in 2022. In the words of Elliot Leonard, “Andrew brings not only a wealth of knowledge and a deep and broad professional network to our organization, but also a dedication and commitment to philanthropy, on a personal level, and through his family.” Andrew grew up in Wilton, CT, and currently divides his time between Stamford, CT, and New York, NY, with his husband, Dr. Isaac Namdar, and beloved dog Bitsy Mae. The Leonard-Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation was created to help fund organizations that advance the interests and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community, with particular emphasis on the…