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ERIC McCORMACK & JESSICA HOLMES RETURN TO HOST LEAD WITH LOVE 2021: PROJECT ANGEL FOOD TELETHON LIVE ON SATURDAY, JULY 17 ON KTLA 5
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ERIC McCORMACK & JESSICA HOLMES RETURN TO HOST LEAD WITHLOVE 2021: PROJECT ANGEL FOOD TELETHON LIVE ON SATURDAY, JULY 17 ON KTLA 5
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LONI LOVE & ALEC MAPA ADDED AS CELEBRITY CO-HOSTS
(Los Angeles, CA June 28, 2021) - Project Angel Food is pleased to announce Eric McCormack and KTLA 5 anchor Jessica Holmes will host LEAD WITH LOVE 2021, presented by City National Bank. The two will be joined by special celebrity co-hosts Loni Love (Emmy-winning host of The Real and best-selling author) and stand-up comic and actor Alec Mapa (Ugly Betty), who was a Project Angel Food driver before finding fame. Funds 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 Hulu, on KTLA 5, and Project Angel Food websites and their respective Facebook pages.
Executive director Richard Ayoub commented “It’s like we’re getting the band back together. Eric and Jessica hosted our first telethon last year. Eric was originally going to be out of town and I’m so happy he changed his plans; Loni is a huge supporter; and it’s a Project Angel Food homecoming for Alec. It doesn’t get any better.”
Bessey adds, “We have so many stars this year, we are taking over two studios at KTLA. Loni will bring the fun as she takes over our tote board thermometer and count the donations come in throughout the show –our goal is to hit $800,000! Alec will be in our Celebrity Call Lounge with a dozen of our favorite celebrities on phones with donors. Of course, Eric and Jessica will be in the middle of the madness.”
Newly announced: Celebrity Chefs Cat Cora, Stuart O’Keeffe, and Duff Goldman (Duff Takes the Cake) will pay tribute Project Angel Food Chef Randy Nakamura, who lost his life to COVID in January. Jonathan Del Arco (Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Next Generation, Major Crimes) has a heartwarming visit with a Project Angel Food client, and Rachel Lindsay (The Bachelorette, Extra)tours the Project Angel Food kitchen.
Jimmy Smits, Megan Hilty and Brad Garrett have just been added to all-star line-up which includes performances by Gloria Estefan, LeAnn Rimes, Andy Grammer, Jewel, Phillip Phillips, Vanessa Williams and Oliva Holt; along with Jamie Lee Curtis, Matt Bomer, Maria Shriver, Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin, Olympic Gold Medalist Shannon Miller, Oscar De La Hoya, Pauley Perrette, Ross Mathews, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Katey Sagal, Annie Potts, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ana Gasteyer, Rachel Dratch, Kathy Hilton, Rufus Wainwright, Sandra Lee, Yvette Nicole Brown, Conrad Ricamora, Javicia Leslie from CW’s Batwoman, and Project Angel Food founder Marianne Williamson and many more surprises.
Joining Mapa in the live “Celebrity Call Lounge” will be Kirsten Vangsness (Criminal Minds), Joely Fisher (singer, actress, director), Gabrielle Dennis (HBO’s Black Lady Sketch Comedy Show), 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. 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-in security 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.
Media Contacts:
Carol Marshall
Rachel Kogan
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