`Evening of Stars' fund-raiser for United Negro College Fund

`Evening of Stars' fund-raiser for United Negro College Fund

United Negro College Fund (UNCF) supporters, ranging from music stars Destiny's Child and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds to UNCF alumni Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton and Brown University President Dr. Ruth Simmons, will appear on "An Evening of Stars: A Celebration of Educational Excellence," the annual television fund-raising event airing on nearly 70 top stations nationwide Saturday, Jan. 5, airing on WGN-TV Channel 9.

Yolanda Adams, Debbie Allen, Bishop T.D. Jakes and Lou Rawls will co-host this year's fund-raiser. "An Evening of Stars" is a four-hour celebration of UNCF that's packed with powerful performances, poignant testimonials and salutes to extraordinary alumni and students.

Over the years, this successful fund-raiser has amassed more than $200 million in financial assistance for UNCF students, colleges and universities and scholarship programs.

An "Evening of Stars" will feature performances by chart-topping music artists Destiny's Child, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Boyz II Men, Tyrese, Chante' Moore, Boney James and Rawls.

Audiences will also be graced with a special gospel interlude showcasing Yolanda Adams, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Fred Hammond and Radical For Christ, Donnie McClurkin and The Potter's House Mass Choir. Broadcaster Bryant Gumbel and athletes Vince Carter, Maurice Greene and Jason Terry will speak out on UNCF educational opportunities.

The diversity on UNCF campuses, which are populated by African American, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, white and international students, will be reflected on "An Evening of Stars" with two salutes.

There will be special segments on students Zinnia Jimenez, a senior at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas, who is president of the campus Mexican-American student association and Kenyan twins John and Joseph Ondinyo, seniors who are attending Wiley College in Marshall, Texas on full basketball scholarships.

The Ondinyo brothers are among the 1,400 international students enrolled at UNCF's 39 member colleges and universities Alumni honored include Eunice W. Johnson, a graduate of Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama, who is the secretary-treasurer of Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. (Ebony and Jet Magazines).

As the producer and director of Ebony Fashion Fair, Mrs. Johnson has donated more than $47 million to UNCF and other Black charities. "An Evening of Stars" will honor six UNCF students and six UNCF alumni with poignant profiles.

Through the assistance of UNCF celebrities, sponsors, and supporters, in 2001, "An Evening of Stars" raised a record $13.7 million in cash and pledges.

"For every dollar UNCF collects in donations, more than 85 cents goes directly to supporting the college ambitions of needy young people," said William H. Gray, III, President and CEO, United Negro College Fund.

"Today there are more than 60,000 students who depend on our support so that they can attend UNCF colleges and graduates schools."

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