amfAR and GBCHealth to Honor Bill Gates at
Washington, D.C., Benefit
Gates to be honored for
visionary leadership on global health and HIV/AIDS; July 21 event sponsored by
M·A·C Viva Glam; will kick off 19th International AIDS Conference
amfAR Media Contacts:
Bennah Serfaty, (212) 806-1607, bennah.serfaty@amfar.org
Natalie Marquis, (212) 806-1694, natalie.marquis@amfar.org
NEW YORK, July 13, 2012—amfAR, The Foundation for
AIDS Research and GBCHealth will honor Bill
Gates at a benefit event in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the 19th
International AIDS Conference there in July. The event, titled “Together to End
AIDS,” will take place on Saturday, July 21, at the John F. Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts. It will pay tribute to the spirit of global collaboration
that has underpinned the world’s progress in the fight against AIDS.
Gates, the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the former
CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, will receive amfAR’s
Award of Courage for his visionary leadership on global health and HIV/AIDS.
Previous recipients of the award include President Bill Clinton, Dame Elizabeth
Taylor, and Sir Elton John. Sharon Stone,
amfAR’s Global Fundraising Chairman, will present Mr. Gates with his award.
“We’ve come this far in our collective fight against HIV/AIDS by working
together on research and advocacy, and in the past two years alone we have seen
breakthrough after breakthrough in our understanding of how to treat and
prevent HIV infection,” said amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost. “We’re proud to
honor Bill Gates—a towering figure in global health and someone who understands
the power of partnerships, both big and small, in our efforts to end AIDS once and
for all.”
The event will feature a performance by much-admired opera singer Jessye Norman, and remarks by CNN
anchor Anderson Cooper, among others. The evening will kick off the first
International AIDS Conference to be held in the U.S. in more than two decades.
In 2010, President Barack Obama signed legislation that lifted the longstanding
ban on HIV-positive foreign visitors to the U.S., allowing the first conference
to take place on U.S. soil since 1990.
“Twenty-five years after President Ronald Reagan delivered his first policy
speech about HIV/AIDS at an amfAR event in Washington, D.C., we hope this
year’s event will mark the beginning of the end of the worldwide AIDS
pandemic,” said John Tedstrom, President and CEO of GBCHealth.
“Together to End AIDS” will be generously
underwritten by Platinum Sponsor M·A·C Viva Glam.
Delta Air Lines is the Official Airline of
amfAR.
About amfAR
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world’s leading
nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV
prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public
policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested more than $366 million in its programs
and has awarded grants to more than 2,000
research teams worldwide.
About GBCHealth
GBCHealth is a coalition of more than 200 member companies and organizations
committed to investing their resources to
making a healthier world ... for their employees, for the communities in which
they work, and for the world at large. Through world-class convenings,
partnership creation, thought leadership and representation in key global
health settings, GBCHealth has established itself as the go-to organization for
companies interested in bringing their assets, skills and passion to the quest
for a healthier world.
About M·A·C Cosmetics
M·A·C (Make-up Art Cosmetics), a leading brand of professional
cosmetics, was created in Toronto, Canada in 1984 and is part of The Estée
Lauder Companies, Inc. The company’s popularity has grown through a tradition
of word-of-mouth endorsement from makeup artists, models, photographers and
journalists around the world. M·A·C is now sold in 79 countries/territories
worldwide. Follow M·A·C on Twitter @MACcosmetics (twitter.com/maccosmetics),
become a M·A·C fan on Facebook (facebook.com/maccosmetics), watch M·A·C videos
on YouTube and find our M·A·C Senior Artists at macartiststweets.com. For a
M·A·C location visit maccosmetics.com.
Please send press credential requests
in writing to Natalie Marquis at natalie.marquis@amfar.org.