Link:
http://www.blackaids.org/ShowArticle...2&pagenumber=1
'DIVAS Simply Singing' to Support AIDS Fight
First Published: 8/25/2005
Sheryl lee Ralph presents...
DIVAS SIMPLY SINGING! XV
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8,2005
7:30pm
WILSHIRE EBELL THEATRE
LOS ANGELES, CA
Tickets available at DivasSimplySinging.com and ticketmaster.
Select OUT of the CLOSET Thrift Stores.
Sheryl Lee Ralph is at it again! Her 15th installment of DIVAS Simply Singing! will benefit the Black AIDS Institute and the AIDS Heathcare Foundation and promises to cast its spell of magic once again.
DIVAS Simply Singing is a unique, magical evening of song and entertainment now in it 15th consecutive year! This oft-praised and highly anticipated event features a host of the most talented women in show business uniting in a benefit concert to continue the courageous battle against HIV/AIDS.
Created and produced by actress/producer Sheryl Lee Ralph, the program serves as a “tribute to the countless number of friends and family taken by this disease” and also calls to mind those who are currently fighting its effects. It was 1990, soon after the death of one of her close friends, when Miss Ralph began conceptualizing DIVAS:
“When I realized just how many friends I had lost to this disease, I knew that I couldn’t sit by and watch them die; I had to do something,” she later recalled.
And do it she did. She looked for help from such diverse talents as Chaka Khan, Oleta Adams, Melissa Manchester, Dianne Reeves, Roberta Flack, Eartha Kitt, Stephanie Mills, Stacey “Fergie” Ferguson, Raven, Miss Nancy Wilson and many others. Miss Ralph and her troupe of tireless volunteers come together each year to put together what the LA Times dubbed “a well paced professional production bursting with talent.” The show is known for its unparalleled mixture of comedy, song, beauty, fashion and heartfelt human compassion that links generations, races, sub-cultures and unifies us all in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
“It’s one of the best events in town, where the music raises the roof, the applause pours out like love and tears flow like redemption.” --Daryl H. Miller, LA Times
Over the years, DIVAS Simply Singing is proud to have given assistance to organizations such as Project Angel Food, Caring for Babies with AIDS, Minority AIDS Project, The Safe Place for Pediatric AIDS, National Minority AIDS Council and The Black AIDS Institute. Organizations such as these are contributing invaluable services to our community and need continuing support.
Ironically, as HIV/AIDS infection cases rise dramatically in women, children and African Americans, funding for AIDS charities and organizations is significantly diminishing. So it is imperative that we continue our efforts to raise public awareness and give the support that is so badly needed.
FACTS: Of the 14,000 new infections that occur daily worldwide, half are among 15–to–24 years old. More than 50% of adults living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are women.
This year, DIVAS SIMPLY SINGING is thrilled to offer assistance to the Black AIDS Institute and the AIDS HealthCare Foundation their national and global efforts against this dreaded disease. Only with your generous contribution will success be assured. And more importantly, you will be helping to improve the quality of life for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. For the many silent voices, dying to be heard we sing out thank you so very much!!
The DIVA Foundation is a 501 ©3 not for profit public benefit corporation Tax ID #95-4419536.