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*The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) will conduct its annual convention Sept. 7 through 10 in Baltimore, MD in an effort to increase support and make new strides in the treatment of the disease. Highlights of the 33rd Annual Convention include: An Evening of Jazz with saxaphonist Kim Waters & Fertile Ground at 8 p.m. on Sept. 9, an announcement of the incoming SCDAA Poster Child, an awards session reception/gala and educational sessions led by experts in the field of SCD. Tickets for An Evening of Jazz can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com. For more information, visit www.sicklecelldisease.org, or contact Helen Shelton at 212-593-6443.
*Georgia’s DeKalb County and Freddie Mac have teamed up to host the HoopsDeKalb-Atlanta Three-on-Three Basketball Tournament to help raise awareness and funds for agencies that serve Atlanta’s homeless population. Usher will join the partnership and serve as the celebrity host of the event, scheduled for Sept. 3rd, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on the New Birth Church campus in Lithonia. The charitable event will directly benefit 10 agencies that serve the homeless with outreach, housing, employment, and food programs in the Atlanta area. In conjunction with the tournament, DeKalb County will host its Family Fun Day, which includes kids’ activities with inflatable games; health screenings provided by CVS; credit checks from Freddie Mac; dental screenings; live entertainment; and local entertainment. The cost of the registration is $1,000 per team. Teams can register by calling Joy Graham at SWI Consulting at 770.441.5050. Spectator tickets are: $10/ages 12 and over; $5 /ages 4 – 11; and free for youth under four with an adult. Tickets can be purchased at Called to Conquest book store in StoneCrest Mall; at the information booth at The Gallery located in South DeKalb Mall; or online at www.hoopsdekalbatlanta.org.
*Blushing bride Sheryl Lee Ralph will host the 15th installment of her DIVAS Simply Singing event in Los Angeles on Oct. 8 to benefit the Black AIDS Institute and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Wilshire Ebell Theater. Created and produced by actress/producer 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. Tickets are available at DivasSimplySinging.com, www.ticketmaster.com and select OUT of the CLOSET Thrift Stores.
*In the first 24 hours of bidding, the auction for two VIP tickets to the opening of Jennifer Lopez's first JLO boutique in the U.S. has reached more than $5,000. The two tickets cover entry into the boutique at Marshall Field's Chicago store, premiere seating at the store's fashion show, $1,000 toward travel accommodations, and the chance of meeting Lopez in person. The seven-day auction at http://auctions.overstock.com/jenniferlopez ends on Sept. 1 with proceeds benefiting the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.
*Baseball legend Henry Aaron, Nancy Wilson and Harry Belafonte were among 11 people inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame during a ceremony Friday at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. The Walk of Fame was founded two years ago with the help of Turner to establish a permanent tribute to those in the civil rights struggle. Other inductees included comedian Dick Gregory, late newspaper editor and columnist Ralph McGill, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the late former Mayor Maynard Jackson Jr., business mogul Ted Turner, activist Addie L. Wyatt of Chicago, late chief judge of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Elbert Tuttle Sr., and the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth of Cincinnati. The walkway leads visitors on a path to the museum honoring King at the historic site near King's Atlanta home and across the street from King's Ebeneezer Baptist Church.