Over 500 people attended San Diego Human Dignity Foundation’s (SDHDF) annual gala “Springtime in Paradise” at the Shelter Pointe Hotel & Marina last Saturday evening. San Diego LGBT Pride presented the foundation with a check for $100,000, which will be granted to various organizations within the community.

“The LGBT community is faced with many important issues. Marriage equality, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, and hate perpetrated by members of religious groups and others that would deny us our equal rights,” said Joe Mayer, co-chair of the board of directors for San Diego LGBT Pride. “Pride’s $100,000 donation to the Human Dignity Foundation will help the LGBT communities of San Diego address these issues.”

SDHDF Executive Director David Pierce estimates the gala itself raised nearly $90,000. He said Pride’s donation would be awarded as grants in September.

“The donation from LGBT Pride is a very generous and significant gift. This was money that was raised during the Pride festivals, and it seems very appropriate and wise to grant that money back out to the community by supporting non-profits that help LGBT folks,” said Pierce. “We’re very grateful for the support of LGBT Pride, and really it’s a partnership with us and them to best use these community monies.”

Roderick Reinhart, president of SDHDF’s board of directors, welcomed guests to the dinner while thanking all of the 2005 gala committee members and volunteers for their hard work in putting the event together. He highlighted gala board chair Erich Foeckler, as well as Kevin Tilden as the gala host committee chair.

This year’s gala was dedicated to the memory of past board members Richard Geyser and John McCusker.

Geyser was the foundation’s first president, who passed away in June of 2004. He was among the founding members of the foundation and was heralded as a strong leader. As an architect, he was an active member of numerous professional and civic associations. His partner of 42 years, Philip Flick, created the Richard Geyser President’s Ethics Award, which is presented annually by SDHDF to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the San Diego community with his or her high ethical behavior.

Reinhart also honored former board member McCusker, who died last March while vacationing at Mammoth Lakes. As the owner of Club Montage and ReBar, McCusker served as a SDHDF board member for four years and was also instrumental in planning several annual galas for the foundation, including chairing the gala’s silent auction for two years in a row.

“John made a tremendous contribution to our organization,” Reinhart said. “[He] will be remembered for his generous spirit and outstanding dedication.”

McCusker donated time and money to many local GLBT causes and organizations, including a $50,000 gift to The Center.

In memory of McCusker, his family and member’s of the GLBT community established the John R. McCusker Education Fund at the SDHDF to help fund GLBT organizations at colleges, universities and high schools, as well help fund substance abuse prevention education, health-related programs and other educational needs.

A warm applause followed Reinhart’s acknowledgement of the clergy and staff from St. Paul’s Cathedral, who welcomed McCusker’s family and over 500 people into their church for his funeral after Bishop Robert Brom forbade any of the 98 churches and chapels in the Catholic Diocese of San Diego from holding McCusker’s funeral.

San Diego council member and former SDHDF board member Toni Atkins keynoted the event, and elaborated on how important the foundation is to the GLBT community. She said the foundation has granted over $500,000 to non-profit organizations, which have served the GLBT community in San Diego over the last eight years in partnership with other local GLBT groups.

“The foundation is doing critical work,” Atkins said. “Nationwide, major foundations historically have only allocated 0.1 percent … of their dollars to programs that help the LGBT community. With your help, the Human Dignity Foundation is changing this trend locally. It’s very important that the LGBT community support programs that make a difference in our lives.”

The evening also featured a live auction, in which two tickets to “Ellen” were auctioned off for $1,400. Jerry and David’s Cruises and Tours donated an RSVP Aegean, cruise and it won the highest bid of the night at $6,000. A seven-night trip to a villa in Puerto Vallarta went for $1,800, and a two-night stay at Montage Spa and Resort in Laguna Beach auctioned off for $1,000.

The SDHDF was established in 1996 with a mission to improve the quality of life within San Diego’s GLBT community by promoting responsible philanthropy to enact positive social change. A permanent endowment has been build to meet the long-terms needs of the community.