The Handy Celebrates Pride by Donating $5 of Every Handy Sold to Charity

As the world celebrates and embraces diversity during Pride Month, Ohdoki will be taking a step forward by supporting the Ali Forney Center in their mission to protect and empower LGBTQ+ youth. For the month of June 2023, Ohdoki will donate $5 of every Handy sold on thehandy.com to the Ali Forney Center.

About Ali Forney Center
Its mission is to protect LGBTQ+ youth from the harms of homelessness and empower them with the tools needed to live independently.

Its organization’s namesake, Ali Forney, was a gender-nonconforming teen who fled their home at 13. They entered the foster care system where Ali was bounced around to several homes, and was beaten and abused. Ali ended up living on the streets at the age of 15. Ali was dedicated to helping other young people and publicly advocated for the safety of homeless LGBTQ youth. Tragically, in December of 1997, Ali was murdered in Harlem—shot in the head and left for dead.

Committed to saving the lives of LGBTQ+ young people, in 2002 Carl Siciliano founded the Ali Forney Center (AFC) in memory of Ali. Since AFC’ s launch with just six beds in a church basement, the organization has grown to become the largest agency dedicated to LGBTQ+ homeless youth in the country—assisting 2,000 youth per year through a 24- hour Drop-In Center which provides over 70,000 meals annually, medical and mental health services through an on-site clinic, and a scattered site housing program. Its mission is to provide LGBTQ+ young people housing and a continuum of supportive services to help them thrive and prepare them for independent living.

AFC has been heralded for our full continuum of care approach to services for LGBTQ+ homeless youth. AFC’s founder, Carl Siciliano, was named a White House Champion of Change by President Obama citing the wide recognition AFC’s programs have received for their quality and innovation.