Demi Lovato, Glenn Close and Anderson Cooper to Talk Mental Health at Virtual Event (EXCLUSIVE)

Glenn Close will welcome Demi Lovato to Bring Change to Mind’s virtual event “A Conversation Starter,” which will be held on May 23 at 8 p.m. Anderson Cooper, who lived through the tragedy of losing his brother to suicide, will be moderating the event.

Mental health advocates Lovato, Close and Cooper will all share courageous stories of resilience and honest revelations relating to mental health. They share the belief that having open discussions about disorders in the brain, personal vulnerabilities, how a diagnosis affects a family and ways to ask for help are all essential ways to save lives. The goal of the conversation will be to encourage attendees to either help themselves, support a loved one or continue this dialogue within their own communities.

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Close co-founded Bring Change to Mind in 2010 to encourage dialogue about mental health and raise awareness, understanding and empathy. The idea for the nonprofit organization stemmed from Close’s close encounters with her sister’s bipolar disorder and her nephew’s schizoaffective disorder.

Tickets can be purchased on Bring Change to Mind’s website for $25. Questions for Lovato, Close and Cooper can be submitted through the ticketing process to encourage open dialogue and participation for all.

Bring Change to Mind is also asking for donations to support its high school program, which gives teens a platform to create a peer support group and fight against mental health stigmas. All ticket proceeds will be used to support the 10,000 high school students participating in the nonprofit organization’s national clubs. Registered club members are invited to join free of charge.

Night of Covenant House Stars

Hosted by Audra McDonald and “60 Minutes” correspondent John Dickerson, the Covenant House gala on May 17 will include appearances and performances by Jon Bon Jovi, Meryl Streep, Jon Hamm, Dolly Parton, Ryan Reynolds, Robin Roberts, Stephen Colbert, Rachel Brosnahan, Ariana DeBose, Morgan Freeman, Vanessa Williams, Sara Bareilles, Desus Nice and The Kid Mero, Ben Platt, Zach Braff, Marlon Wayans, Capathia Jenkins, Jo Ellen Pellman, Darius De Haas, Daniel Yearwood, Kelli O’Hara, Ames McNamara, Laurie Metcalf, Jewel, Charlie Day, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Dionne Warwick, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ana Villafañe, Alex Newell, Stephanie J. Block, Keala Settle, Jeremy Jordan, Laura Osnes, Jason Ralph and Terron Brooks.

The theme of the evening is “Stand Up, Stand Strong” to recognize the resilience of young people homelessness and the heroism of frontline staff working to keep them safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Night of Covenant House Stars will be streamed on CovenantHouse.org, Amazon Prime Video, Broadway On Demand, Facebook, YouTube, WNBC and via TodayTix. covenanthouse.org/nightofstars

Hot Pink Evening

Host Elizabeth Hurley is joined by Sir Elton John, Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka, Kathryn Gallagher, Mandy Gonzalez and Paul Schaffer for the annual Breast Cancer Research Foundation benefit on May 20. hotpinkparty.org

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