If you’ve ever been in a car with me, you know I don’t need a stage to start singing.

Singing and performing have been part of my life since elementary school. They’re what inspired me to move to New York as a 24-year-old twink, determined to get my name into a Playbill within two years. (It took five, but that’s another story.)

Most people know that I’ve been involved with a choir in some way for nearly a decade, whether singing in, working for, or serving on a board of one—sometimes all three for the same group. I currently sing with the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus (NYCGMC). And while the love of singing is a given, there’s a deeper reason this chorus means so much to me.

Being gay, or any other letter in the LGBTQIA2S+ alphabet, can be exhausting. Imagine wondering whether holding your spouse’s hand in public could get you assaulted. Or hesitating before saying “my husband” to someone you’ve just met, unsure whether those two words will change how they treat you. Even an ordinary moment can require a calculation about how much of yourself it’s safe to reveal.

Finding a place where you can let go of that burden is almost unheard of. Even many places of worship have yet to offer that kind of unconditional welcome.

For me, NYCGMC is that place. I don’t have to be anyone other than who I am. I can walk into rehearsal without wondering which parts of myself I need to leave outside. And when we perform, I hope someone in the audience who is still searching for that kind of belonging sees us and thinks, “There’s a place for me, too.”

That welcome takes countless resources to sustain. Corporate and foundation support for arts organizations and queer nonprofits has quickly diminished in recent years, making individual gifts especially meaningful.

I’ve pledged to raise $5,000 for NYCGMC by October 31st. Will you help me get there?

You’ll be supporting something deeply personal to me while helping keep this community alive and thriving for someone who needs it. Someone who has been rejected by family, or who is starting over in a city where they don’t yet know anyone, may find their way here and finally feel at home.

Thank you in advance for helping me care for a community that has given me so much.