Trevor Project to Honor Barr at Cracked Xmas
The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization that operates a 24x7 suicide prevention helpline for teens in the United States, is awarding actress Roseanne Barr with The Trevor Life Award on 3 December 2006. Organizers will also give cable network HBO The Trevor Hope Award (that evening) during its annual Cracked Xmas event in Los Angeles at the Wiltern Hotel.
The Trevor Life Award honors those who, through example, inspire teens to accept themselves. The Trevor Hope Award honors a company or organization that sets the example of corporate acceptance for all people regardless of sexual orientation.
Barr, 54, known best for her comic television performance as a 1990s small town housewife on Roseanne made a positive impact "through her work and her visible example of acceptance of individuals regardless of their sexual orientation," said Jorge Valencia, executive director of The Trevor Project.
"We’re thrilled to be honoring Roseanne Barr with this year’s Trevor Life Award. In addition, the bold choices Roseanne made to prominently portray gay characters in a funny and thoughtful way, continue to give young people across America encouragement and hope.”
Barr said that “it is a great honor to receive The Trevor Life Award.”
“I have always been committed to expanding the definition of what is normal and what is good and what is human.
"The Trevor Project’s work is especially critical because gay and questioning youth are three times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. I’m personally aware of the tough challenges gay youth can face and I hope that some of my efforts have helped lead to greater acceptance and made their lives a bit easier,” Barr said.
HBO was the first network to broadcast the Academy Award winning short film Trevor, which chronicled the attempted suicide of a young gay man, and will receive The Trevor Hope Award.
“HBO has played an instrumental role in the history and life of The Trevor Project,” said Valencia. “In fact, by being the first national broadcast outlet to air Trevor, HBO provided the impetus for the creation of The Trevor Helpline and we are extremely pleased to honor the company with The Trevor Hope Award."
Carolyn Strauss, president, HBO Entertainment said, “HBO has believed in the critical nature of The Trevor Project’s work since we first broadcast Trevor nearly 10 years ago and we are pleased indeed to receive The Trevor Hope Award.”
“Through its helpline, its website and the educational materials it provides to educators and parents, The Trevor Project saves lives every day. In the future, we hope that other media companies will follow our lead and make even more young people aware that The Trevor Helpline’s trained counselors, who listen without judgment, are always available and remain a constant source of hope,” Strauss said.
In 1998, The Trevor Project held its first annual Cracked Xmas fundraising gala in order to keep The Trevor Helpline open and available. Now an annual event, Cracked Xmas brings together top entertainers to raise the financial resources necessary to fund the organization’s services with an irreverent evening of music, mayhem, and benefiting.
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