CONTESTANTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE

SEVENTH ANNUAL

“ B R O A D W A Y B E A U T Y P A G E A N T ”

TOVAH FELDSHUH HOSTS

CELEBRITY JUDGES INCLUDE

ANDREA MARTIN, BILLY PORTER, AND MICHAEL URIE

ONE-NIGHT-ONLY

MONDAY, MAY 20

AT NYU SKIRBALL CENTER

New York, NY (4/29/13) – The contestants for the seventh annual Broadway Beauty Pageant have been announced. Participants include Callan Bergmann (Silence! The Musical), Julius C. Carter (SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark), Yurel Echezarreta (Matilda), Matthew Goodrich (The Nance), Orion Griffiths (Pippin), and Paul HeeSang Miller(Mamma Mia!). As previously announced, four-time Tony nominated and Drama Desk Award-winning actress Tovah Feldshuh will host the event which will take place on Monday evening, May 20^th, at 8:00p.m., at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Place). The popular event is the annual benefit of New York’s Ali Forney Center.

The Broadway Beauty Pageant will feature Bergmann, Carter, Echezarreta, Goodrich, Griffiths, and Miller as they represent their respective Broadway shows, competing for the title crown through talent, interview and swimsuit competitions. The contestants will go head to head in front of a panel of celebrity judges, but ultimately, the final vote is in the audience's hands. Andrea Martin (Pippin), Billy Porter (Kinky Boots), and Michael Urie (Buyer and Cellar) have been tapped to judge the event. This year’s winner will receive a photo shoot and cover in NEXT Magazine.

The Broadway Beauty Pageant will be directed by Seth Sikes and choreographed by Paul McGill. The evening was conceived by Jeffrey Self and will be produced by the Ali Forney Center in association with Ryan Davis. The complete creative team includes Brendan Whiting (Musical Director), Paul DePoo (Scenic Designer), Brian Tovar (Lighting Designer), Walter Trarbach (Sound Designer), and Jason Quinn (Production Stage Manager).

To see a promo video for this year’s contest, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5LtnvPnYxQ&feature=youtu.be

The Ali Forney Center (AFC) was started in June 2002 in response to the lack of safe shelter for LGBT youth in New York City. The Center is committed to providing these young people with safe, dignified, nurturing environments where their needs can be met, and where they can begin to put their lives back together. AFC is dedicated to promoting awareness of the plight of homeless LGBT youth in the United States with the goal of generating responses on local and national levels from government funders, foundations, and the LGBT community. For more information, see www.aliforneycenter.org

Tickets for The Broadway Beauty Pageant are available at www.nyuskirball.org/calendar/broadwaybeautypageant, and range in price from $25 – $150. All VIP tickets include a pre and post-show VIP cocktail reception, gift bag, and premier seating.

JBFCS Annual Spring Benefit 2013 Honoring Seymour R. Askin, Jr., Jerold D. Jacobson, Jean Shafiroff, and with special tribute to Paul Levine.

2013 SPRING BENEFIT

HONORING

SEYMOUR R. ASKIN, JR., HONORARY CHAIR OF THE

JBFCS BOARD

JEROLD D. JACOBSON, PROSKAUER, PARTNER

JEAN SHAFIROFF, JBFCS BOARD MEMBER

With a Special Tribute to

PAUL LEVINE, JBFCS EXECUTIVE VP AND CEO

The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services (JBFCS) celebrated its 2013 Spring Benefit honoring Seymour R. Askin, JBFCS Honorary Chair of the Board, Jerold D. Jacobson, Proskauer, Partner, Jean Shafiroff, JBFCS Board Member and Paul Levine, JBFCS Executive VP & CEO on April 24, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.at New York City’s Plaza Hotel. Melissa Russo, WNBC news anchor, served as master of ceremonies.

The evening began with a flourish, as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended the cocktail hour to address the crowd and thank JBFCS, noting that “you can’t do it alone” and that the work of JBFCS is a necessity for the city to help its residents in need. At the conclusion of the cocktail hour, the attendees moved upstairs where master of ceremonies Melissa Russo introduced Tony Mann, the President of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Mann announced the news to the 375 attendees that some $1.3 million dollars had been raised for the organization.

After Fred Yerman blessed the bread, Paul Levine, Executive Vice President of JBFCS, was introduced by John Herrmann, the former President of the Board of JBFCS. Outgoing VP and CEO Levine reflected upon his time with JBFCS and concluded by thanking everyone involved with the organization and the leadership under which he served.

Chair of the Board Jean Troubh then introduced honoree Seymour R. Askin, Jr. who outlined his detailed past with Big Brothers, the Jewish Board of Guardians, and JBFCS, working with those in need. He said his mother taught him that “people who are able to live well have an obligation to pay it back in some way.” Jerald D. Jacobson, the next to be honored, spoke about his four decades spent as counsel for JBFCS and the experience of working with four generations of leadership in the organization.

Jean Shafiroff, the final honoree of the evening, was then introduced by Joyce Cowin. Jean, in attendance with her husband Martin and daughter Elizabeth, kept her address brief, noting with genuine modesty that the actual heroes are the staff, the volunteers, and the thousands of individuals that JBFCS helps and houses.

The $1.3 million raised will benefit JBFCS’ 175 community-based programs, residential facilities, and day-treatment centers that annually serve more than 55,000 New Yorkers-in-need of all faiths, races, and cultures.

JBFCS has been a trailblazer in treating social problems for more than a century. Today, the organization is one of the nation’s largest and most respected nonprofit mental health and social service agencies—every night, more than 1,000 individuals call a JBFCS residence home. The work of JBFCS is built upon a network of more than 2,200 professionals, including social workers, licensed psychologists, and psychiatrists, as well as a cadre of clinical support personnel in continuing day treatment and residential treatment centers, and a corps of more than 800 dedicated volunteers.

JBFCS provides a comprehensive network of mental health and social services to promote well-being, resilience, and self-sufficiency for individuals and families in need in the New York metropolitan area. As leaders in the field of human services, JBFCS’ mission is clear— 175 social service programs. 1 mission. To get help to those who need it.

For further information, please visit www.jbfcs.org.