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LEAD WITH LOVE 2021: PROJECT ANGEL FOOD TELETHON LIVE ON SATURDAY, JULY 17 ON KTLA 5
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LEAD WITH LOVE 2021: PROJECT ANGEL FOOD TELETHON LIVE ON SATURDAY, JULY 17 ON KTLA 5
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Special Performances and Appearances include LeAnn Rimes, Gloria Estefan, Andy Grammer, Vanessa Williams, Jamie Lee Curtis, Maria Shriver, Matt Bomer, Eric McCormack, Olympic Gold Medalists Oscar De La Hoya, Shannon Miller…and more!
(Los Angeles, CA June 28, 2021) - Project Angel Food is pleased to announce LEAD WITH LOVE 2021, presented by City National Bank, a two-hour primetime telethon led by KTLA 5 anchor Jessica Holmes, who will be joined by special celebrity co-hosts throughout the night. Project Angel Food is feeding more people today than ever before. As the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to ripple through the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors, monies raised from Lead with Love 2021 will support the continued production and distribution of life-saving meals at the record levels set during the pandemic. Executive produced by Emmy Award-winner Brad Bessey, KTLA 5 in Los Angeles will broadcast the telethon LIVE on Saturday, July 17, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, and will be streaming live on KTLA 5, and Project Angel Food websites and their respective Facebook pages.
Executive director Richard Ayoub commented “This year’s show is a huge thank you to the Los Angeles community for helping us serve over one million medically tailored meals this year to our most vulnerable neighbors. And there is still work to be done because we don’t take on critically ill clients for a week or a month, but for as long as it takes.”
The telethon will culminate with a special performance by platinum recording Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter LeAnn Rimes. In addition, the show will feature Andy Grammer singing his new single “Lease on Life,” released June 28, Gloria Estefan singing a song written for the pandemic, “We Needed Time,” Jewel singing “Hands,” Phillip Phillips singing “Home,” Vanessa Williams singing “Colors of the Wind,” and Oliva Holt performing her new song “Next” with others to be announced.
Celebrities will join in-studio, via Skype, or in pre-taped messages. Early confirmations include Jamie Lee Curtis, Matt Bomer, Maria Shriver, Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin, Eric & Janet McCormack, Olympic Gold Medalist Shannon Miller, Oscar De La Hoya, Pauley Perrette, Ross Mathews, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Katey Sagal, Rachel Lindsay, Annie Potts, Loni Love, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ana Gasteyer, Rachel Dratch, Kathy Hilton, Rufus Wainwright, Sandra Lee, Yvette Nicole Brown, Conrad Ricamora and Javicia Leslie from CW’s Batwoman, along with Project Angel Food founder Marianne Williamson and many more surprises.
The telethon will include a “Celebrity Call Lounge” with Kirsten Vangsness (Criminal Minds), Joely Fisher (singer, actress, director), Gabrielle Dennis (HBO’s Black Lady Sketch Comedy Show),Jonathan Del Arco (Star Trek Next Generation; Star Trek: Picard), Peter Porte and Juan Pablo Di Pace (Dashing in December), Lauren Tom (Friends),Jonathan Adams (Last Man Standing) Gregory Zarian (HBO’s Westworld),and Lawrence Zarian (The Kelly Clarkson Show). These celebrities will feature prominently in the telethon as they talk to donors via phone throughout the night. Celebrity auctioneer Gabriel Butu will keep a tally of donations on tote board as Project Angel Food attempts to reach a fundraising goal of $800,000. Lisa Foxx (iHeartRadio) will announce live from KTLA Studio 6.
With Project Angel Food’s client base exploding from 1,500 per day pre-pandemic, to 2,300 today; this event will provide the funding needed to sustain the expanded service to those in need as Project Angel Food prepares and delivers a record million plus each year.
Project Angel Food was founded in response to the AIDS pandemic in 1989 and has kept its door open to all critically ill Angelenos during the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming one of the only meal delivery organizations to take on clients with COVID. Project Angel Food helps address food-insecurity for those suffering life-threatening illnesses and feeds vulnerable populations: 74% of Project Angel Food’s clients are people of color, 98% live at or below the poverty level, and 62% of Project Angel Food’s clients are over 60 years of age.
Project Angel Food would like to thank the generous Lead with Love 2021 sponsors who have come forward and joined in this effort, led by presenting sponsor City National Bank and title sponsors Eugene Kapaloski, Herb Ritts Foundation who are each providing matching grants. Other sponsors include Mary Fisher, the National Rongxing Foundation & Human Heritage Project, Whole Foods Market, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation, Steve Tisch, Michael J. Libow, The Stanley and Joyce Family Foundation, and Block Party WeHo
“Project Angel Food is an essential organization in Los Angeles that has fed our neighbors and provided comfort and hope for more than32 years,” said Linda Duncombe, executive vice president and chief marketing, product and digital officer of City National Bank. “The opportunity to support our communities is part of City National’s DNA, and there is nothing more important than having access to a nutritious meal. City National has supported Project Angel Food for many years, and we’re honored to be a part of this event for the second year in a row that will help bring hope and nourishment to so many Angelenos.”
About City National Bank
With $69.1 billion in assets, City National Bank provides banking, investment and trust services through locations in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada, New York City, Nashville, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C. and Miami*. In addition, the company and its investment affiliates manage or administer $76.9 billion in client investment assets.
City National is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada(RBC), one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies. RBC serves more than 17 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the United States and 34 other countries.
For more information about City National, visit the company’s website at cnb.com. For more about Project Angel Food’s COVID Relief efforts, visit the organization's website at angelfood.org.
*City National Bank does business in Miami and the state of Florida as CN Bank.
Media Contacts:
Carol Marshall
Rachel Kogan
