HOBOKEN—Judy Shepard, a nationally renowned LGBT rights activist, will be in Hoboken Tuesday night for a fundraiser at Amanda’s Restaurant. Shepard is the mother of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming teenager whose torture and murder in 1998 helped to inspire federal hate crime legislation.
The event will feature cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a dinner with Judy Shepard, starting at 6 p.m. on April 14. Attendees are requested to give a $100 donation to the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which was co-founded by Judy and her husband Dennis after Matthew Shepard’s death, to promote civil rights for gays and lesbians and acceptance of diversity and difference.
Amanda’s owners Joyce and Eugene Flinn first met Shepard at an event in Jersey City, and they said her advocacy work is “dear to our hearts.” The Flinns got the opportunity to host an event with Shepard when she scheduled one of her many seminars with college students at nearby Montclair State University.
Eugene Flinn said he hopes Tuesday’s event will raise over $10,000 for the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
Amanda’s Restaurant is located at 908 Washington St. Interested individuals can donate and RSVP online at www.matthewshepard.org/amandas.
Civil rights activist Judy Shepard, Matthew Shepard’s mother, to appear at Hoboken fundraiser April 14
