Two-time Tony-winning actress Adrienne Warren is set to perform at the forthcoming 40th Anniversary of the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA) Gala next month, March 28, alongside jazz vocalist and trumpeter Brian Newman and DJ Michaelangelo L'Acqua at the Lighthouse in New York's Chelsea Piers.
DIFFA to Celebrate 40 Years of Impact in 2024 Gala
The foundation was established in 1984 as a response to the mounting HIV/AIDS crisis at the time. Since then, DIFFA has branched out farther than its initial mission and is now undertaking initiatives to alleviate community issues concerning mental health and homelessness.
"What started as a group of designers and manufacturers' gathering in an NYC basement to raise money to help support their ailing friends and co-workers' doctor's visits and living expenses, has grown into a catalyst for change," said DIFFA Executive Director Dawn Roberson in a statement.
"Since our founding, we've granted more than $55 million to organizations that provide direct care to those most in need of assistance," he continued.
Serving as Chair Emeritus of DIFFA, Tony-winning designer David Rockwell also expressed how the organization has been "close to [his] heart" across three decades now, especially for how it encouraged and empowered the design community to provide creative solutions to "some of the most intractable social and healthcare challenges of our era."
"I'm so proud to celebrate 40 years of giving back and am excited about DIFFA's next chapter," Rockwell said.
In recognition of the countless contributors, supporters, and champions of social change across DIFFA's multi-decade history, the upcoming gala will be holding an award ceremony with special video segments honoring the work that has been done for DIFFA's many grantees.
These beneficiaries include organizations like Gay Men's Health Crisis, Housing Works, God's Love We Deliver, Bailey House, SAGE, Health, Hetrick-Martin Institute, and Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, among others.
To see the full list of the DIFFA grantees, click here.
