Condola Rashad, Natalie Hall and More Set for A BETTER HOLIDAY Benefit, 12/16

The It Gets Better Project, created to show young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach will present their 2012 A Better Holiday concert. The concert will be held on December 16 from 7-10PM at XL Nightclub in partnership with The Group Entertainment, and will raise funds for the Ali Forney Center (AFC), the nation's largest organization working on behalf of runaway and homeless LGBTQ youth; the AFC had a vital drop-in center destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in late October.

In addition to previously announced performers, notable stars of stage and screen have been added, including Condola Rashad (Ruined, Stick Fly), Nat Alie Hall (Pretty Little Liars, All My Children), and Ari Shapiro & Thomas Lauderdale (Pink Martini).

The night will kick off with a cocktail party, sponsored by Chopin Vodka, from 7 PM to 8 PM, where photographer Victor Haim's art will be showcased and sold. Fifty percent of the proceeds from art sales from the night will go to the AFC, on top of all proceeds from ticket sales. The evening will also raise additional funds for AFC with a silent auction, with items including: an original script from ABC's hit show "Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23" signed by Krysten Ritter, James Van Der Beek and Dreama Walker; an A/X Gift Bag filled with Khiel's products; a season 1 DVD of SCANDAL signed by the cast; a Victor Haim original framed photograph, and more.

WHY: The AFC operated a drop-in center in Chelsea - providing crucial services to the youth it serves that included mental health services, HIV testing, medical care, housing referrals, job assistance, and more - that was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy in late October. While the AFC plans to open the first-ever 24-hour drop-in center for homeless LGBTQ youth in an alternate location in Harlem, it will not be fully operational for several months. In the meantime, New York's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center has generously offered AFC some of their space to provide temporary drop-in services; the drop-in center is currently operating out of Room 212 in the Center, at its former weekday hours.

Said Stephanie Laffin of The It Gets Better Project: "We were saddened to hear about the fate of AFC's day center, which has been such a crucial lifeline for our city's LGBTQ homeless youth. With A Better Holiday we hope that we can further raise awareness about the plight of these youth, and work to not only restore what Sandy destroyed, but to get homeless LGBTQ young people off the street and provide them with the resources they need."

WHEN/WHERE:

Sunday, December 16

XL Nightclub

512 W 42nd St.

Cocktail Party/Art Sale: 7-8 PM

Concert: 8-10 PM

WHO: Acclaimed comedy duo The Haus of Mimosa will host.

A Better Holiday will also feature numerous notable performers from Broadway, film, and television, including:

? Nat Alie Hall (Pretty Little Liars, All My Children)

? Condola Rashad (Stick Fly, Ruined)
? Ari Shapiro & Thomas Lauderdale (Pink Martini)
? Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Newsies)

? Santino Fontana (Cinderella)

? Andy Mientus (Smash)