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By Kenya M. Yarbrough

September 7, 2007

Robi Reed & Kimberly Elise *For the past five years, producer/casting director Robi Reed has been celebrating her birthday a little early.

But it’s not so she can extend her birthday and garner lots of presents. On the contrary; it’s so she can spread philanthropy.

The industry exec opens up her home every August for family, friends, and a few celebrity buddies to enjoy barbecue and give to a good cause.

For the past two years, that cause has been the Black Aids Institute. The Black AIDS Institute is the first Black HIV/AIDS policy center dedicated to reducing HIV/AIDS health disparities by mobilizing Black institutions and individuals in efforts to confront the epidemic in their communities.

Reed, along with Institute founder and CEO Phill Wilson have teamed again this year to sponsor the event that has grown into the place to be in August over the past five years. Usually hosted in Reed’s own home, this year’s event took place at the home Judge and Linda Mathis in a gated exclusive community off of Mulholland Drive.

Actor Don Cheadle and his family pose with Robi Reed

Stars from TV, film, and music came out to support the cause. On hand were Eddie Murphy, Tracey Edmonds, Don Cheadle, Kenny Lattimore, Mekhi Phifer, and Kimberly Elise just to name a few. And emceeing the event was comedic actress Kym Whitley.

“I promised Phill about a year ago that I was going to help with the Black Aids Institute and I had fallen short,” Whitley admitted. “So I’ve volunteered my time to host the event for Robi and that’s my donation. I’m going to leave a check too.”

Whitley told EUR’s Lee Bailey that organizers expected the event to fetch upwards of $200,000 for the Institute.

“I’m going to get on the microphone and tell all these high-falutin’ celebrities that they’re going to leave something here,” Whitley said before going on. “Some folk don’t even come to this neighborhood without spending something.”

Raising funds for the organization is just one role of the event, however. As Wilson explained, the major goals are AIDS awareness and education for the African American community. It is with those tools that the organization believes they have a chance to do some good.

“We’re really glad to be out this evening and we’re grateful to Robi Reed for supporting the Black Aids Institute,” he said of the event. “But this is an initiative that’s really important. We’re talking about ending the AIDS epidemic in the next five years. That’s not eradicating of the virus, but we can change the trajectory of the epidemic. We can stop new infections; we can reduce the HIV/AIDS rate; we can increase the percentage of folks that know their HIV status; we can get people into care treatment earlier. All of those things will end the epidemic. It won’t end the disease, but it will end the epidemic, but it requires each of us to do our part.”

Eva Pigford & Robi Reed

Reed is certainly doing her part in creating the event and urging others to join the fight.

“It’s an early birthday celebration and I opted that people not bring me presents.” Reed graciously explained. “What I’ve asked people to do is make a meaningful donation to the Black Aids Institute in lieu of gifts.”

In addition, Reed is leading the charge in the Institute’s ‘Test One Million’ campaign. She and the organization are challenging African Americans to get an HIV test, with a goal to have one million people between now and the National AIDS Day in February.

“This is about bringing awareness to our community because AIDS is killing us. It’s the #1 killer of African American women between the ages of 25 an 34. That is ridiculous, and it’s because people won’t find out their HIV status,” Reed said.

Wilson echoed the importance of getting tested and said that he hopes events like Reed’s and the Institute’s campaigns will help spread that message.

“The Black Aids Institute continues to be leading in this fight,” he said. “We think it’s important and we have a chance to turn this thing around. We encourage people to continue to support us. For more information, they can go to our website, www.blackaids.org.”