As part of the 2016 NYC Alumni Fall Weekend, GALA ND/SMC held its Second Annual NYC LGBT Student Scholarship Benefit on Sunday October 2, 2016 at Phil Donahue ’57 and his wife Marlo Thomas’ beautiful apartment overlooking Central Park.
The money raised at the event was directed to the LGBT Student Scholarship Fund, created in the spring of 2015 to assist qualified LGBT undergraduate students of Saint Mary’s and Notre Dame. The ultimate goal is to create an endowment of $250,000 ensuring the continuity of the scholarships for years to come.
The special “Alumni” Guest Speaker at the scholarship benefit was Greg Bourke ’82 MA. Greg shared his experiences as an advocate for LGBT rights for both youth and adult leaders in the Boy Scouts as well as his role, along with his husband Michael, as one of the couples who brought suit and won the Supreme Court Marriage Equality decision in June 2015.
The “Student” Guest Speaker was Sam Cho ND ’18, one of two recipients of the 2016/2017 LGBT Student Scholarship. Sam talked about how the scholarship has helped him achieve his goals of attending Notre Dame and helping with LGBT causes on campus.
Through the generosity of the alums and friends who attended, the goal of raising $25,000 for the scholarship fund was far exceeded.
Shown here are some pictures of the event. More can be found on GALA’s Facebook Page.
VIP Reception
Main Event
