Another big luncheon has claimed its place on October’s fundraising calendar. 2021 New Friends New Life Luncheon Co-Chairs Jan Osborn and Trina Terrell-Andrews have just announced that the hybrid event scheduled for Friday, October 8, at the Omni Dallas Hotel will virtually feature author/producer/award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o in “A Conversation with Lupita Nyong’o.”
Having won an Academy Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the Critics’ Choice Award, the Independent Spirit Award and the NAACP Award for her performance in “12 Years A Slave,” Lupita showed off her writing talents, scoring a New York Times #1 best seller with her debut children’s book “Sulwe.”
In addition to her online appearance at the luncheon, Mexico-born, Kenyan-raised Lupita is currently producing the YouTube Original “Super Sema,” filming “Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever,” planning to co-produce and be featured in “Born a Crime,” and serving as executive producer and star of Apple TV’s “Lady in the Lake.”
But despite all the accolades and projects, Lupita knows firsthand the ugly truth of sexual harassment. In 2017 she wrote an op-ed piece for The New York Times about film mogul Harvey Weinstein’s sexually harassing her twice and how she handled the encounters. The results were Lupita vowing to never work for Weinstein and the article being part of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service Award-winning collection of stories by The Times and The New Yorker.
According to NFNL CEO Bianca Jackson, “Exuding beauty, strength and courage, Lupita’s passion and message perfectly aligns with our mission to help restore and empower those who have been marginalized and minimized. By being her authentic self, she gives voice to the hopes and dreams of women and girls everywhere.”
Luncheon sponsorships begin at $2,500, with individual in-person tickets going for $250. According to organizers, “a limited number of virtual access-only tickets can be purchased for $100.”
You can lock down your choice of participation here. And if you need more information, email here or contact NFNL Senior Development Director Priya Murphy at 214.217.8652.
Proceeds from the event will benefit NFNL’s mission to “restore and empower trafficked and sexually exploited teen girls, women and their children, and drive awareness of the issue and its prevalence.”
* Graphic provided by New Friends New Life