The Point Foundation Honors Scholarship Recipients

The virtual campaign to raise awareness of bullying, known as the "It Gets Better" Project, reminds young people that something better waits for them beyond high school. The Point Foundation not only hopes to disseminate that same message, but sets out to proactively help members of the LGBTQ community to find their voice.

Last night, at the Point Honors New York dinner, a network of influential gay and lesbian advocates and entrepreneurs came together to celebrate the next generation of queer activism. Hosted by Ted Allen, and with notable guest speakers like Thomas Roberts, Judith Light, and Dennis O'Hare, one of the evening's highlights came by way of an amusingly droll acceptance speech given by Point Legend Award Honoree Edward Albee. The three-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright shared a story wherein he was asked to watch students perform his work for the Point Foundation. He admitted to grimacing at the thought, especially when the high schoolers chose a scene from his epically iconic play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?, but when the duo decided to switch genders on the author--the young man would play the role of Martha and the young woman would play George--Albee admitted to being fully enraptured by their performance.

Also honored was Focus Features, the company that has produced, in just ten years, some of the most prolific and high profile film content from the gay community, including Ang Lee's now-seminal Brokeback Mountain, Gus Van Sant's Milk, Mike Mills's Beginners, and Dee Rees's Pariah. Former recipients of the scholarship took to the podium to speak of what the foundation has done for them, not only in terms of financial assistance, but in terms of a community project they were required to complete. Students noted how that project became a springboard from which they have shaped their careers.

To find out more about what you can do to help the Point Foundation, click here.

Top, from left: Ted Allen, Dennis O'Hare, and Jorge Valencia, Executive Director and CEO of the Point Foundation.

Above: Point Legend Award Honoree, Edward Albee.

Photos courtesy of Linda Lenzi