Demi Moore Steps Out Smiling at Charity Event in N.Y.C.

By Tim Nudd

10/18/2012 at 10:45 AM EDT

Whatever the turmoil of her personal life, Demi Moore remains firmly committed to her charitable works.

The actress, 49, co-hosted the GEMS Girls Like Us Benefit Gala in New York City on Wednesday night, joining author Rachel Lloyd in welcoming friends and donors to the event devoted to ending sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking of girls and young women.

Moore wore a sleeveless bejeweled black dress and black heels, and flashed a smile for photographers.

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She participated in a reading with other actors and played out scenes from the lives of young women in the Girls Education & Mentoring Services program.

Natasha Lyonne was among the stars who read excerpts from Lloyd's Girls Like Us memoir at the event. And India.Arie performed three songs.

Moore has been under a microscope ever since her marriage to Ashton Kutcher collapsed last year. She also spent time in treatment earlier this year.

Meanwhile, at a separate event in New York on Tuesday, Moore's friend Soleil Moon Frye, the former Punky Brewster star, put in a good word for her pal. "I love Demi, she's like a sister to me," Frye said at Target's 50th Anniversary party. "I will always love her, and she's a very big part of my life."

Asked how she's doing these days, she replied: "She's great!"

Reporting by SABRINA FORD and SHAKTHI JOTHIANANDAN