On November 4, 2011 Keep a Child Alive’s (KCA) co-founder Alicia Keys announced that the eighth annual Black Ball NY, held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, raised over $3 million – funds that will go to providing lifesaving AIDS treatment, care and support to children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. The event honored late musical legend George Harrison and celebrated the 40th anniversary of his ‘Concert for Bangladesh.’ A star-studded crowd cheered on Alicia Keys, Usher, will.i.am, Norah Jones, Gary Clark Jr., Jay Sean and Midival Punditz with Karsh Kale as they gave a moving tribute performing the songs of George Harrison.
“I am overwhelmed by the kindness I witnessed last night at the eighth annual Black Ball NY,” said Alicia Keys. “I am forever grateful to all of our supporters whose generosity will provide AIDS treatment and care for so many in desperate need.”
Along with incredible performances, Black Ball NY guests enjoyed a live auction led by Sotheby’s Maarten ten Holder with special guest Tyra Banks. The evening also recognized the philanthropic achievements of Anthony Scaramucci, philanthropist and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital.
This year’s Black Ball NY followed on the heels of the successful Black Ball London that occurred on June 15, 2011 with performances by Alicia Keys and Mark Ronson. The Black Ball has generated over $17 million since 2004.
Founded in 2003, KCA provides lifesaving AIDS treatment, care and support to children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. KCA currently funds eleven clinical and orphan care centers in India, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa. To date, KCA has served over 250,000 people.
About The Black Ball
The Black Ball is a special benefit event where celebrity and philanthropy walk hand in hand, raising hopes, dreams and millions of dollars to help children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. In years past, Alicia Keys has shared the Black Ball stage with JAY-Z, Bono, Annie Lennox, David Bowie, Chris Martin, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer, Justin Timberlake, Common, Sheryl Crow, Lenny Kravitz, Angelique Kidjo, Janelle Monae, Femi Kuti, Damian Marley, John Mayer, Lou Reed, Paul Simon, and Usher amongst others.
In the past, the Black Ball honors humanitarians who have used their willpower, fame, and courage to save lives devastated by the AIDS pandemic. Previously, KCA had the pleasure of honoring President Bill Clinton for his immeasurable achievements through the William J. Clinton Foundation and The Clinton Global Initiative; Sir Richard Branson who has cultivated sustainable change worldwide with Virgin Unite; Simon Fuller for spearheading the Idol Gives Back phenomenon on American Idol; Bono, rock star and campaigner for Africa; and Stephen Lewis of The Stephen Lewis Foundation, Co-Founder of AIDS Free World and author of Race Against Time.
About Keep A Child Alive
Keep a Child Alive provides first class AIDS care, support, nutrition and love to children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. There are currently 15 million AIDS orphans in Africa alone and 30 million people have died from HIV/AIDS worldwide. Anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment has transformed the lives of people with AIDS in the West, returning them to health from illness. However, millions of people with AIDS have no access to these lifesaving drugs. KCA funds more than just the pills necessary to fight HIV/AIDS by providing the necessary nutrition, shelter and support to ensure the treatment is taken properly and is effective. KCA currently provides funding to 11 clinical and orphan care sites in 5 countries: Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and India; with previous projects in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Zimbabwe and South Africa that have been successfully scaled to new levels of service and self-sustainability within their communities.
Keep a Child Alive is committed to engaging the global public in the fight against AIDS and is proud to be a pioneer in fundraising. KCA was the first charity to ask the public to donate directly to purchase AIDS treatment and the first to make a documentary, “Alicia in Africa” available for free download. Keep a Child Alive also pioneered text messaging as a means to donate using our innovative Text ALIVE campaign to inspire whole new audiences to support our work. Keep a Child Alive’s latest campaign, BUY LIFE, uses the smart-phone applications to scan bar-code technology to donate directly to KCA. KCA is the first to use this bar-code technology for philanthropic purposes.
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