Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida will welcome civil rights activist and “Me Too” founder Tarana Burke at the “In This Together” Orlando benefit dinner Saturday, April 21 at The Alfond Inn, 300 E. New England Ave., Winter Park.
Burke’s “Me Too” movement – popularized in 2017 with the hashtag #MeToo – has become a global phenomenon that has raised awareness of the pervasiveness of sexual harassment, abuse and assault in our society. She was among a group of prominent activists dubbed “the silence breakers” who were collectively named Time magazine’s 2017 “Person of the Year.” Burke is currently the Senior Director at Girls for Gender Equality and is founder of “Just Be, Inc.,” a youth organization focused on the health, well being and wholeness of young women of color.
“Tarana has given a voice to sexual abuse survivors, and her revolutionary movement supports so many Planned Parenthood patients both here in Orlando and around the country,” said PPSWCF President and CEO Stephanie Kight, who took the nonprofit’s helm in February after serving in senior leadership roles at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood affiliates in Ohio and California.
Registration and cocktails will start at 6:30 p.m.; dinner and the program will begin at 7:30 p.m. General tickets are $175. Youth Advocate tickets are also available for $125 for supporters who are 30 and younger. Your gift is tax-deductible excluding the cost of goods and services, valued at $125 per ticket.
Tickets will be available online until 11:59 p.m. Monday, April 16th, then by phone until noon Friday, April 20th. For more information, contact Rene Givens at 239-687-2910 or [email protected]. Dr. Boyd Lindsley, Debbie Mintzer and Dr. Jennifer Sandoval are serving as event chairs. Alan Ginsburg is presenting sponsor.
With four local health centers in the Orlando area, Planned Parenthood provides a full range of reproductive health care services including birth control, STI testing and screening, hormone replacement therapy for transgender community members, options education, and access to safe and legal abortion. Local PPSWCF board members include Vice Chair Boyd Lindsley; Georgine Lamvu, MD; Maria Ruiz Margenot; and Dr. Jennifer Sandoval.
PPSWCF covers 22 counties and operates 11 health centers located in Fort Myers, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Manatee, Naples, Orlando, Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Tampa. Today, the organization collectively serve 42,000 patients and host 51,000 health visits annually. Go to myplannedparenthood.org or call 941-365-3913 for more information.
