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Oct. 5, 2004 -- LOS ANGELES – The Family Pride Coalition held its first awards dinner in Los Angeles on Sat., Oct. 2, honoring Rosie and Kelli O'Donnell and Wells Fargo.
The O'Donnells were the recipients of the Family Pride Coalition's “Family Tree” Award for their work in advancing the rights of lesbian and gay couples and families. They are the parents of four children.
In accepting the award, Rosie O'Donnell spoke of her family's first experience at Family Pride's annual Family Week event in Provincetown , Mass.
“The first time we went, my son, who was seven years old at the time, said it was the best week of his entire life,” she said. “It was a life-altering experience for our whole family. We're going every year, not just because our children demand it, but because it's unbearably life-affirming.”
O'Donnell also encouraged the sell-out crowd to raise $100,000. She and her family pledged the first $10,000 and were successful in motivating the crowd to raise a grand total of $145,000.
“We continue to be in awe at the spirit of generosity of the O'Donnell family. No one family has done more to raise the visibility of lesbian and gay parents and their families,” said Aimee Gelnaw, executive director of the Family Pride Coalition. “We are fortunate to count them among our strongest supporters, and are grateful for all they continue to do to support equality for our families.”
Family Pride also honored Wells Fargo with its first Corporate Community Responsibility Award in recognition of its leadership in advancing equality for the LGBT community, and for creating non-discriminatory workplace policies that have influenced other corporations to adopt similar policies.
Gwen Baba, a 2003 Family Tree Award recipient, along with her partner, Nicole Conn, presented the award to Shelley Freeman, regional president of Wells Fargo.
Los Angeles City Councilmember and former Speaker of the Assembly Antonio Villaraigosa also joined in the festivities, presenting a proclamation honoring the Family Pride Coalition's 25 th anniversary. The state proclamation was from the office of California Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg, a lesbian mom and author of California 's groundbreaking AB 205, the Domestic Partnership Rights and Responsibilities Act.
Entertainment for the evening was provided by Tony Award-nominated Gavin Creel and Robbie Roth, as well as vocalist Dominque DeSanto.
Event sponsors for the 2004 Family Tree Awards Dinner included Wells Fargo; Growing Generations; Damon Wolf & Ignacio Valdes; Crew Creative Advertising; Will Halm & Marcellin Simard; Jehan Agrama & Dwora Fried; the Law Office of Willard K. Halm; the Norris-Rocaberte Family; R Family Vacations; Absolut; the David Bohnett Foundation; the Johnson Family Foundation, the Gay & Lesbian Times; the Human Rights Campaign; Lesbian News; Planet Out/Gay.com Families Channel; 1-800-flowers.com; Brady, Klein & Weissman, LLP; Sound System Rentals; Freixenet; Rainbow Ridge Wines.
The Family Pride Coalition is the only national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to securing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents and their families.