Homeless center for LGBT youth will be named after Bea Arthur at her Sept. 14 memorial service in NYC

The late, great  Bea Arthur may have been best known for her Emmy-winning roles as Dorothy on The Golden Girls and as Maude Findlay in Maude, but she was also a quiet supporter of LGBT causes.

That is why the 2008 Television Academy Hall of Fame inductee, who died in April, will be remembered at a Sept. 14  memorial service at New York City’s Ali Forney Center — an organization dedicated to homeless LGBT youths.

The Tony Award–winning star (Mame) had flown to New York in 2005 for a benefit performance for the center which raised more than $40,000. It will celebrate her contributions by naming a residence center in her honor.

Carl Siciliano, AFC founder and executive director, said in a statement Tuesday: “Bea Arthur was tremendously kind and generous to the Ali Forney Center. The caring and concern that Bea expressed for our kids meant the world to us, and we are thrilled to be able to give honor to her memory in this way.”

“Before Bea became involved with us, we only had two sites, and could only shelter 12 kids,” Siciliano added. “We were struggling to respond to an epidemic of homelessness that was not very well understood, even in the LGBT community. Bea’s support and advocacy really helped raise awareness in our community.”