Inside The 19th Annual Golden Heart Awards with Anne Hathaway, Audra McDonald, and Ben Platt
Over 800 guests at the God’s Love We Deliver Golden Heart Awards couldn’t sit down for long on Monday evening. Every few minutes, a standing ovation was warranted. Whether for a world class performance, the staggering amount of money being raised in the room, a rousing speech, or to acknowledge the prolific efforts of the beloved organization, there was seemingly a fire lit under attendees who kept leaping from their seats en masse.
That spring-to-action sense of urgency helped this year’s installment raise over $4 million. At one point in the paddle raising round, Harry Santa-Olalla—aka The Fundraising Guy—had to pause and accept a glass of water amid sprinting the length and breadth of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Santa-Olalla broke it down in simple math, explaining the scale of good that God’s Love We Deliver’s 20,000 volunteers can achieve with every dollar amount. From humble beginnings in the basement of a nearby church, the organization is on track to deliver four million medically-tailored meals this year for New Yorkers in need—adding to the 40 million meals it has distributed in its 40-year history.
“These volunteers, they are literal angels on earth—they are teaching us to be better humans,” said Audra McDonald, one of the evening’s honorees. “God’s Love reminds us that compassion is not passive. It’s not pity—it’s a daily practice. Every meal that they prepare, every delivery they make, and every life that they touch, it makes the world a little lighter, kinder, and freer.”
Michael Kors, the charity’s most ardent supporter, explained why McDonald was receiving the award for Outstanding Philanthropy, Artistry, and Activism by commending her professional and personal attributes alike. “She has won six Tony’s—yes, six! Count them!— but as big as her talent is, her heart is truly bigger. She uses her influence for the greater good through everything she does.”
“We do have a rule that we do not ask our honorees to perform,” joked Kors—a known theatre devotee. Still, McDonald did so of her own accord. Glittering in sequins under the spotlight, she gave an impromptu operatic rendition of an Irish blessing, May You Always. Underneath the church’s colossal 177-foot ceilings, her lyrics rang out crystal clear: “May your heartaches be forgotten, may no tears be spilled, may old acquaintances be remembered, and your cup of kindness filled.”
The stylish crowd, which included Zoey Deutch, Rosie Perez, Mark Ronson, James Corden, and Chloë Sevigny—dined on autumn salads and beef with pumpkin puree as they enjoyed a performance by the cast of Saturday Church, a new Broadway musical with an important and topical storyline about love, identity, and community, set to music by Sia.
They also heard remarks from CEO and president, Terrence Meck. As he proudly announced the inaugural God’s Love We Deliver distribution center opening in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, Meck spotlighted some special guests in attendance. One of the founding volunteers of the organization had flown from California to attend her first-ever Golden Heart Awards—“we call her the chief love officer,” Meck praised. A Queens teenager named Mohit who turned to the delivery service amid his cancer diagnosis—and is now asymptomatic—was also given a rapturous round of applause. Now that he’s in better health, he’s getting involved in the inaugural Youth Leadership Council. “If you are the future of God’s Love We Deliver, count us in,” Meck said.
Someone who’s no stranger to the non-profit is Anne Hathaway. The recipient of this year’s award for Outstanding Philanthropy and Volunteerism, the actress was welcomed to the stage by her friend Gigi Hadid. Hathaway, who could be found discreetly helping out at the Soho headquarters with her family just a few weeks ago, recalled where it all began. Funnily enough, when in her early 20s, the then-emerging actress raised a hand to attend a luncheon for the charity, spurred on after hearing Meryl Streep, her idol and future co-star, would be there too. “It was the most splendid-feeling room I had been in up until that time of my life. Baby-me noticed immediately that somehow, I had lucked into an invitation…to take part in seismic goodness.”
“If you ask me, the most epic heart in the city is on Spring and Sixth,” Hathaway continued. “Once a day, a month, a year: it’s always a good day to do something good,” she urged the audience.
To introduce the evening’s performer Ben Platt, the event’s longtime honorary chairwoman Anna Wintour took to the stage after Hathaway. (“Anne, you make a wonderful assistant,” she said—referring to a recent satirical Vogue’s video starring The Devil Wears Prada actress—much to the audience’s audible delight.) “Ben is a man with his values intact. He always shows up for what he believes in, as he has shown up tonight for God s Love with his warm smile, his excellent dress sense, and his magic voice,” Wintour remarked.
Platt, a former recipient of a Golden Heart Award himself, joked about the low-stakes pressure of performing for his own idols, Anne Hathaway and Audra McDonald, while explaining the rationale for choosing his set list. To nod to Hathaway’s Fantine in Les Misérables, an emotive rendition of I Dreamed a Dream came first. For McDonald—whom he has been “endlessly inspired” by—he picked a number with sentimental value: “Every song in the canon has been devoured by Audra. But this is one that has been particularly special to me.” Having recorded and repeatedly rewatched an old PBS special of hers when he first moved to the city to pursue his career, he pulled out all the stops with a performance of Maybe This Time from Cabaret.
Platt finished on a high note, revealing that he’d been asked to sing something hopeful and optimistic. “What an easy time to throw that out there” he laughed, before serenading the cathedral with Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Cue one more final standing ovation.
Photo: Emilio Madrid1/31
Photo: Emilio Madrid2/31Audra McDonald, Will Swenson
