Patina Miller, Krysta Rodriguez, Norm Lewis, More to Perform in VOICES: STARS FOR FOSTER KIDS Benefit Concert

You Gotta Believe (YGB), a New York City-based, national organization that focuses exclusively on finding permanent parents and families for older kids in foster care, will hold its 9th annual Voices: Stars for Foster Kids benefit concert at The Town Hall in New York City. Created and hosted by Stars In The House’s Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley, the evening will feature special performances and appearances by Sharon Catherine Brown, Charlotte d’Amboise, Ta'Nika Gibson, Matt Gould, Anika Larsen, Norm Lewis, Terrence Mann, Griffin Matthews, Gracie McGraw, Rosie Perez, Krysta Rodriguez, Bellamy Young and more to be announced. The show will open with Tony Award winner Patina Miller reprising her performance as the Leading Player in Pippin by leading the entire company, which will include her two Pippin castmates Terrence Mann and Charlotte d’Amboise, in “Magic To Do.” The entire evening will be directed by Brenda Braxton with music direction by Seth Rudetsky.

Executive Director of You Gotta Believe Jennifer Pinder said, “We are overjoyed that Voices: Stars for Foster Kids is returning to the stage for the first time since 2020! Seth and James brilliantly combine the personal stories of people connected to foster care and adoption with the musical talents of Broadway’s best. It is an honor to work together on such a unique and memorable event and to bring attention to the serious need to find permanent solutions for older youth in foster care.”

Today nearly 400,000 children are in foster care in the United States, and every year as many as 22,000 youth will age out of the foster care system. Without the safety net of a forever family to provide the security and comfort most take for granted, these young people are left on their own to face a future filled with hardships — from lack of education to unemployment, higher rates of incarceration, poor health, early parenthood and homelessness. A staggering 20% of youth who age out alone will experience homelessness - that’s 4,000 homeless kids each year.

Due to the transformative work of YGB since 1995, thousands of parents have been trained to make an unconditional commitment to youth in care, over 750 families have been licensed as foster families after receiving training through YGB, and nearly 375 older youth have been adopted into families trained by YGB. YGB offers families perpetual support, including counseling and mental health services, to ensure permanency.

Created by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley in 2015, Voices: Stars for Foster Kids brings together the very best performers from the American stage and screen to raise awareness about the plight of kids in foster care, particularly those aged 10 and older who are in danger of aging out of the foster care system alone. Combining celebrity, music, and everyday people sharing their incredible stories, Voices: Stars for Foster Kids directly benefits YGB’s mission to find permanent families for older kids in foster care. Since its inception in 2015, Voices: Stars for Foster Kids has raised $3,392,300 for YGB.

In anticipation of this year’s event Wesley said, “These concerts are always amazing. The stories about families finding each other are always so moving and inspiring. And then each story connects with a fantastic song that brings the house down. It’s always a highlight of the year for me.” Rudetsky continued, “And this year, one of the Moms is Sharon Catherine Brown who starred as Effie in Dreamgirls. I don’t want to reveal what she’s singing, but let’s just say, I’m sure that after she adopted her son, she told him “And I Am Telling You, I’m Not Going!”

In addition to their conception of and dedication to YGB’s annual benefit concert, Seth and James are co-hosts and producers of “Stars in the House,” an award-winning charity livestream with over 500 shows produced since the beginning of the pandemic, almost $1.2 millions raised for the Entertainment Community Fund, and nearly $700,000 raised for other charities.

For more information and tickets, visit YouGottaBelieve.org.