Alan Cumming, et al. Set for LIKEME Benefit Concert, 3/10

The LIKEME Organization, founded by country music recording artist and Kansas native Chely Wright, will open its first LIKEME Lighthouse in Kansas City on March 10, 2012. Located in Midtown Kansas City, the Lighthouse is a welcoming and safe community center for the LGBT community, their families and straight allies. Doors will be open Monday-Saturday, 11AM to 7PM, and on Sunday from 12PM to 6PM.

As the first country music star to come out as gay, Wright created The LIKEME Organization in 2010 after the release of her acclaimed memoir Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer. The book tells the story of Wright's struggle to accept her sexuality as a young girl growing up in Kansas and then as a recording artist in Nashville with chart-topping hits like 'Shut Up and Drive' and 'Single White Female' First Run Features award-winning documentary, 'Wish Me Away,' tracks the three years Wright spent preparing to come out publicly.

Several LGBT and straight ally celebrities will join Wright to celebrate the grand opening the weekend of March 9-11, including: comedian and 'Queer as Folk' star, HAl Sparks; Tony Award winning and Emmy nominated star of "The Good Wife," Alan Cumming; Grammy nominated, Dove Award winning recording artist Jennifer Knapp; The Real L Word's Stamie Karakasidis and Tracy Ryerson; and MSNBC news anchor Thomas Roberts.

On March 10 at 7pm, the LIKEME Lighthouse Benefit Concert at the UMKC Student Union Theater with Chely Wright, HAl Sparks, Alan Cumming, Jennifer Knapp, Thomas Roberts, Tracy Ryerson, Stamie Karakasidis, and Kristie Stremel.

The LIKEME Organization mission is to provide resources, education, and support to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends. LIKEME has established an LGBT Community Center in Kansas City, Missouri, providing health information, counseling, education, and a sense of community; a college scholarship program for students who actively advocate for LGBT equality; and our founder, recording artist Chely Wright, publicly advocates for inclusion, respect, and equality for the LGBT community.

The Kansas City LIKEME Lighthouse serves as a beacon of hope for the area¡¦s lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender community. Located in the heart of Kansas City, the Lighthouse comes fully equipped with resources, staff, counselors and a sense of community and safety. Within the Lighthouse, the Community Center provides resources on such topics as the coming out process, gender identity, bullying and other issues the LGBT community faces. 

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos