Why the Palette Fund donated to the winner of Drag Race All Stars 9

Terrence Meck found—and lost—love early in life when his fun-loving and hard-working husband, Rand Skolnick, died suddenly of pancreatic cancer 16 years ago. But Meck found a path to recovery by helping others.

“The power to turn that pain into that passion healed me,” the 46-year-old tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview. “It was our story that paved the way for the foundation.”

Meck’s grief flowed into the Palette Fund, which has donated over $15 million to over 200 organizations, from grassroots groups supporting the LGBTQ+ movement to major health care institutions and international campaigns to end LGBTQ+ stigma.

Meck was 24 when he met Skolnick, CEO of the family-owned Solgar Vitamin and Herb Company and a well-known philanthropist. They dated for six years before Skolnick was diagnosed on Meck’s 30th birthday in March 2008.

Four months later, on July 4, 2008, Skolnick died at the age of 50—but not before the two had established the financial basis for the charitable foundation that Meck would run after Skolnick’s death, later that same year.

“We always talked about starting a foundation together,” says Meck, who owned and managed three hotels and restaurants with Skolnick. “He was touched that my heart and thoughts were attached to it (as he was dying). He just said, ‘Please don’t name it after me.'”

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Meck was now inspired to give the Foundation’s grant-making an innovative twist after RuPaul’s Drag Race while suffering from COVID-19 in 2021.

For the latest season of the franchise, All stars of the Drag Race In Season 9, the queen who takes the crown wins $200,000 from the Palette Fund to donate to a charity of her choice.

The eight queens returning to the show and the charities they are competing for are Angeria Paris VanMicheals (Season 14) for the National Black Justice Collective, Gottmik (Season 13) for Trans Lifeline, Jorgeous (Season 14) for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Nina West (Season 11) for The Trevor Project, Plastique Tiara (Season 11) for The Asian American Foundation, Roxxxy Andrews (Season 5, All stars 2) for Miracle of Love, Shannel (Season 1, All stars 1) for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and Vanessa Vanjie (seasons 10 and 11) for the ASPCA.

It was a great incentive for the returning queens to give something back.

“My reason for returning to All stars was because a big part of me is dedicated to charity and organizations that try to improve and empower people’s lives and give them freedom of action,” said Nina West diversity“It’s still a tough competition but the great thing was that we were all playing for different charities. And something close to my heart was the Trevor Project, so I jumped at the opportunity.

Meck believes Skolnik would be happy about the connection to the drag community.

He remembers the first time he saw Skolnik, walking through Newark Airport in New Jersey. Although they “looked into each other’s eyes” on the flight to Miami, they never saw each other again on the plane.

But then, as unlikely as it seemed, two nights later, Meck spotted Skolnik dancing on a very crowded dance floor.

As Meck came over, Skolnik whirled around and said, “I knew you would find me!”

“And so began six years of the most incredible love I have ever experienced in my life,” said Meck, who works as press spokesman for Wine spectator Magazine back then, it is said today.

Skolnik introduced Meck to the drag community when the two purchased the Raven in New Hope, Pennsylvania, one of the oldest gay venues in the Northeast, in 2004.

“I was never really part of the drag community, but Rand was into drag in his younger years,” says Merk. “I still wasn’t very comfortable with my own gay identity.”

But Skolnick was all about having fun and had Merk dress up as “Taylor Made.”

“They always made fun of me because I worked at Gucci and they thought I was too fancy for this town in Bucks County,” Merk says, laughing. “So Taylor had a tiny career.”

Merk admits that he has never seen an episode of Drag racing before his COVID isolation. But he and his current partner of 14 years, Breton Alberti, decided to watch the popular competition series in one go.

“I was just impressed by this community that I knew was struggling to make ends meet and yet was constantly doing so much for charity,” Meck says.

And then he came up with the idea for a tie-in and quickly sent a text message to his old friend Carson Kressley, a long-time judge on the show: “I have this crazy idea. Do you think Drag racing Would I ever be willing to add a philanthropic aspect to the show?”

Kressley quickly responded, “That’s exactly what was talked about on the show.”

Their first collaboration took place in the 7th season of All starsin which the Palette Fund donated $30,000 to the charity of the winning queen of an episode. Shea Couleé donated to the Period Poverty Project. Merk surprised the other queens by also donating $10,000 each to their charities.

But it was all in for the All stars this season, with the season finale scheduled for July 19.

“One goal of all this is that I have 80 percent control over where the money goes,” says Meck. “I wanted to pass that power on to people who don’t look like me, who don’t have my background.”

And it’s something that combines many things Skolnick loved in life, including Meck, he says.

“Rand thought I was so great (in the costume). He thought I was gorgeous and funny, even though I probably wasn’t either of those things,” says Meck. “But I think he recognized a little bit of himself in his twenties. Back then, they really had to hide more. Now we can celebrate that.”