 Demetria McKinney of Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne”; CFL player Stevie Baggs; and Jonell Whitt of Jonell PR and publicist for Tyler Perry Studios’ Roger Bobb. photos by Terry Shropshire |
 Former NFL player and current CFL player Stevie Baggs, right, and Demetria McKinney, second from right, formed a partnership through Baggs’ CETA Foundation to create AIDS awareness |
Demetria McKinney, CFL Player Stevie Baggs Lead AIDS/HIV Fundraiser
Former NFL player and current CFL player Stevie Baggs, right, and Demetria McKinney, second from right, formed a partnership through Baggs’ CETA Foundation to create AIDS awareness
The AIDS Awareness Cocktail Reception, featuring actress Demetria McKinney of Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne” and Canadian Football League defensive end Stevie Baggs, was held at Atlanta’s Over Da Edge restaurant to announce the launch of a national partnership to empower and enlighten the community. AIDS is the No. 1 killer of young African American men and women, Baggs said, and blacks overall have the highest rate of contraction of this deadly virus than any other demographic in the industrialized world. Baggs, founder of the CETA Foundation that facilitated AIDS Awareness event and which also hosts an annual youth football camp, says the impetus to set up the AIDS Awareness gala emanated from very personal circumstances.
“I had some close family members who were stricken with the disease [and] who passed away,” says Baggs, who will also host an AIDS Awareness Day later in the summer. “In addition to it being so close to home in so many arenas in my personal life, I just think that we need to become aware as a people of what’s going on with this terrible disease. Hopefully, we can leverage [our platform as] entertainers and athletes to bring awareness to this.
The AIDS Awareness Foundation attracted hundreds to Over Da Edge Restaurant & Lounge in Atlanta
McKinney, who also works to raise self-esteem with young urbanite girls, says the CETA Foundation’s AIDS Awareness is an ideal vehicle to channel her activist leanings. “I’m always interested in being part of something innovative, something that is very philanthropic,” McKinney says. “The CETA Foundation has a knack for not being put inside a box. He [Baggs] did the football camp and the AIDS Foundation event, so there [are] a lot of different facets to it. And I wanted a multifaceted platform to put my efforts into.
The event served as a prelude to the Interactive CETA Foundation AIDS Day, which will take place Aug. 28-29.The AIDS DAY event will include a golfing tournament and a bowling outing, and will culminate in a fundraising gala the following evening. – terry shropshire
