Help Audra McDonald Raise Money for Homeless Youth

Six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald is once again participating in the annual Covenant House Broadway Sleep Out, and her goal this year is to beat her previous fundraising total for this worthy cause. In 2014, she raised more than $17,000 by offering a unique series of prizes, and this year, she's upping the ante in hopes of raising more than $25,000.

The following prizes are in exchange for donations made between now and August 5 at noon EDT:

$50: Audra will recognize you in the "Cool People Hall of Fame" on her Facebook page.


$100: Audra will tweet you her personal thanks. (Share your handle with her on the donation form.)


$250: Audra will send you a signed copy of her 2013 recording "Go Back Home," courtesy of Nonesuch.


$500: Audra will send you or someone special of your choosing a video message filmed on the night of her Sleep Out on November 19.


$1,000: Audra will deliver a singing telegram via phone to you or a loved one when she sleeps out on the evening of November 19.

$2,250: Audra will join you and one guest for hot chocolate at Sardi’s in New York before the Covenant House Candlelight Vigil for Homeless Youth on November 19.

The Broadway Sleep Out, taking place on August 17, is both a way of raising funds for these children and of offering them moral support and a chance to be heard. The Broadway community will spend time with them at the crisis shelter at 460 W. 41st Street, and participants will then spend the night on the pavement. McDonald will be raising money for the August 17 Sleep Out and will spend the night on the pavement herself as part of Sleep Out: Executive Edition on November 19. This summer, she is starring in the Williamstown Theatre Festival production of A Moon for the Misbegotten.

Click here to access McDonald's fundraising page.