Alicia Keys' 12th annual Black Ball at the Hammerstein Ballroom for her charity, Keep A Child Alive, raised $3.8 million dollars. Keys' charity event was an enormous success and cemented the fundraising power of someone with her celebrity. Keep A Child Alive focuses on HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa and India.
According to AllHipHop, Keys referred to the event as "electrifying." She said, "Everyone in the room was there to do their part, to add their support," in a statement. "It's not right to me that Africa continues to be disproportionately impacted by AIDS, with too many young lives lost. Last night was about helping to correct that situation. To all of our amazing supporters, thank you for joining us, we couldn't do this every year without you."
The event featured a number of high-profile performances by artists including Wale, LION BABE and Lenny Kravitz. It was clear that Keys' charity was close to the hearts of many celebrities, athletes, artists and the like. HIV/AIDS has always been a large fundraising cause, but Keys truly outdid herself for this event. Guests included Carmelo Anthony, Clive Davis, KRS-One, Maxwell, Tyson Beckford and Swizz Beatz, Keys' husband.
As of today, Keep A Child alive has raised $28.7 million for African and Indian families and victims of the deadly virus. According to USAToday, Keys has visited Africa in support of her charity and has sat with children in a pediatric HIV clinic. As Dr. Anderson Kahindi, the head of the clinic, said, "She learnt about the plight of children from a medical doctor who used to work at the hospital and is now studying in the U.S. After the tour of the hospital she will also visit selected homes of the children who are undergoing treatment to find out how they are responding."
