Kristin Chenoweth Talks BC/EFA and Charities

Emmy- and Tony Award-winner Kristin Chenoweth, currently starring in Broadway's PROMISES, PROMISES, discusses BC/EFA and the charities it benefits in today's Variety, from learning about the presence of AIDS to her dog's adoption charity.

Of her first awareness of the syndrome, Chenoweth said, "I wasn't aware of AIDS in the 1970s and 1980s. I was young. It didn't affect me until I went to college. Then in the early 1990s my voice teacher passed away from it. I literally watched him die. That changed the whole life of a little girl from Oklahoma."

Chenoweth recently participated in the BROADWAY BARES benefit. She notes being very passionate about the charities aided by the event: "Broadway Cares also helps [victims of] Katrina, Haiti and the oil spill" and some proceeds go to the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative, which benefits women with breast cancer. Said Chenoweth, "That's huge for me, because my mother had it twice. BC/EFA also contributes to the Actors Fund, the AIDS Initiative, and the Dancers' Resource, which helps support housing for injured dancers. It covers the gamut."

Now Chenoweth considers herself an avid supporter of charities helping those in need. She added, "Even my dog, Madeline Kahn Chenoweth, has her own her own charity, Maddie's Corner. It supports No Kill Shelters and dogs that need to be adopted. Part of the money that we raise will go to BC/EFA. Anything that I do goes towards this."

The Maddie's Corner official website may be viewed here. The full Chenoweth article can be viewed here.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised over $175 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

BC/EFA is the major supporter of seven programs at The Actors' Fund - including The AIDS Initiative, The Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative, The Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic, The Dancers' Resource and three supportive housing residences. BC/EFA also awards annual grants to over 400 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide.

For more information, please visit the BC/EFA website at www.broadwaycares.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.