Press Release: 2025 Show of Hope Gala
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Diana Lieu
Communications Manager
dlieu@sfcommunityhealth.org
Toni Newman, Director of the Coalition for Justice and Equality Across Movements, NMAC
Juanita MORE! and Mr. David Glamamore and Code Tenderloin to be honored
by San Francisco Community Health Center at its 2025 Show of Hope Gala
San Francisco, February 25, 2025 — San Francisco Community Health Center (SFCHC), which for 38 years has provided critical health care and social services in the Tenderloin and beyond, will hold its Show of Hope Gala on Friday, April 18, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, 5 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco.
Hosted by ABC7 Mornings Anchor Reggie Aqui, the gala will celebrate the center’s mission-critical work and raise funds needed to provide medical care, dental care, mental health care, housing, and critical social services for immigrant and communities of color, queer, trans, unhoused people, and people who are most impacted by oppression. The event will honor Toni Newman, director of the Coalition for Justice and Equality Across Movements, NMAC with its 2025 Health Justice Champion Award; Juanita MORE! and Mr. David Glamamore with its 2025 Arts & Activism Award; and local economic development non-profit Code Tenderloin with its 2025 Community Impact Award. A special performance by Ada Vox, the voice of drag, will close out the evening.
“Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we unite as a community,” said SFCHC Chief Executive Officer Lance Toma. “With our very existence being threatened, particularly for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, and our health center’s programs and services at risk, we must continue to fight, protect, and advocate for the preservation of the most vulnerable and marginalized amongst us.”
San Francisco Community Health Center was founded in 1987 in response to the 1980s AIDS crisis, specifically focusing on the impact of the epidemic on Asian and Pacific Islander communities. While remaining rooted in these communities, the health center welcomes anyone in need of its services with particular attention to LGBTQ+ individuals, transgender individuals, people of color, individuals experiencing homelessness, and people living with or vulnerable to HIV. In 2015, it became recognized as a Federally Qualified Health Center enabling it to greatly expand its clinical capacity and outreach.
“For over 38 years, San Francisco Community Health Center has been providing critical life-saving services to our Tenderloin neighbors,” said Toma. “We offer primary medical and behavioral health care as well as dental services to those who would not otherwise have access to care, and we will continue to find a way to do so regardless of the current political climate.”
Each day, the health center provides support to historically oppressed persons who have been marginalized by systemic factors, including poverty and discrimination, and those most impacted by structural violence. Its comprehensive, integrated approach to health care puts clients at the center of an expanding array of medical, mental health, dental, substance use, and community programs. The health center’s work is designed to empower people through a safe, respectful, culturally responsive, and gender affirming approach. SFCHC also conducts training, consultation, and works to advocate for health justice at the local, state, and national levels.
“The Show of Hope gala is our way of thanking all those who support us,” said SFCHC Board Chair Ben Plumley. “We will continue to come together to honor those who champion HIV and LGBTQ+ rights and demonstrate our strength and resilience. We will never stop fighting for health justice.”
The gala is presented by Gilead Sciences. Tickets for the evening are available at https://sfcommunityhealth.org/gala or by calling 415-646-1012.
About San Francisco Community Health Center
San Francisco Community Health Center celebrates and attends to the health and wellness of the communities that define San Francisco—immigrant and communities of color, queer, trans, unhoused people, and all of us who are most impacted by oppression—through comprehensive medical, dental, and mental health services. We believe that health care starts with healing justice and meeting the basic needs of our communities. Our culturally informed services are designed by the very people we serve. Learn more at sfcommunityhealth.org.
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