Jenesse Center is proud to announce the dates for the 2010 Silver Rose Weekend, chaired by Academy Award winning actress Halle Berry. Celebrating its 30 year anniversary of continued service in the community, Jenesse will kick off the weekend event with the annual Silver Rose Gala and Auction on Sunday, April 18, 2010 at the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, followed by the 2nd Annual Halle Berry Celebrity Golf Classic on Monday, April 19, 2010 at the Wilshire Country Club.

(Thursday, November 12, 2009) NBC Nightly News “Celebrities Making a Difference” special week long series. Halle Berry shares her dedication to working with domestic violence survivors with NBC’s Natalie Morales.

(Wednesday, November 11, 2009) NBC Nightly News “Celebrities Making a Difference” special week long series. Glenn Close shares her work to bring awareness and eradicate the stigma surrounding mental illness with NBC’s Anne Thompson.

As one of her season intros borrowed Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman,” Oprah has indeed found a unique way to reach the hearts of women all over the world, and men, too. She broke the stereotype too often required of women on television or in film that they need to be a size 0, fair-skinned and with features unlike Oprah. Now, once she has 25 golden seasons under her belt, Oprah is retiring her weekday talk show to make room for new pursuits. She didn’t offer much detail, but her next venture will be under her own cable network, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).

In her interview with Lester Holt, R&B singer Alicia Keys visits Agape Orphanage in Durban, South Africa and a health clinic that the organization Keep A Child Alive sponsors. It was after witnessing the impact of HIV and AIDS, firsthand, during a trip to Africa in 2003 that motivated Alicia Keys to action. Together, Leigh Blake and Alicia Keys founded Keep A Child Alive providing free lifesaving medical assistance, resources, and support to families all over Africa and India that cannot afford anti-retroviral medication and related care.

As I mentioned in my post “NBC Nightly News hosts special week long series ‘Celebrities Making A Difference’” the week beginning November 9, 2009 expanded the regular “Making A Difference” segment to include celebrities and their philanthropic efforts. Rock star from one of the few groups of any music genre with a lifeline spanning several decades Jon Bon Jovi of Bon Jovi was the first to be featured with his organization that provides affordable housing called the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. It started out as a charitable extension from the days when Jon Bon Jovi was part owner of the the Philadelphia Soul arena football team, league now defunct, that was called Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation.

All too often we are captivated by horrific yet true stories that are seemingly unfathomable. Whether it’s our poor response to natural disasters as in Hurricane Katrina, acts of terrorism as in 9/11, or school shootings as in Columbine High School. Then there are stories like Shaniya Davis whose mother treated her own daughter as a commodity and sold her to sexual human trafficking…now dead. These stories affect the families directly associated with them as well as many of us who get a glimpse via newspapers or television.

The Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF), America’s largest and most prestigious Black film and arts festival, has moved its Los Angeles headquarters from the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza to 6820 Latijera Boulevard Suite 200 Los Angeles, CA 90045. Their new phone number is (310) 337-4737 and the fax number is (310) 337-4736. For more information, please visit www.paff.org.

Captain Ann E. Young (Capt. Young), has held a variety of positions as she’s grown through the ranks within the LAPD. Not being familiar with the various divisions within the LAPD or any police force, I wanted to get a better understanding of Capt. Young’s specific responsibilities at the moment and probe a little more into some of her community involvement.

“NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” regularly airs a “Making A Difference” segment whose focus is to showcase the “extraordinary efforts of ordinary people.” Beginning on Monday, November 9, 2009, NBC Nightly News hosted a special edition of this segment “Celebrities Making A Difference” highlighting philanthropic efforts from celebrities each night this week. Today (Friday), will close out this series, but I wanted to bring this information to you through my blog to encourage viewership and discussion.

When I was asked if I would like to speak to Capt. Ann E. Young (Capt. Young) and given her bio, I responded with a resounding yes. Her career has included service in the Juvenile Division (Abused Child Unit), Robbery Homocide Division (Rape Special Section), and Internal Affairs. Outside of her main responsibilities, Capt. Young is very active in the community. Just the day before she she was part of the Los Angeles FOX 11 News “Wednesday’s Child” segment, a series that features older children in foster care, after spending a day with Christopher who is an aspiring police officer. Check out the segment below.

South Africa: 2010 FIFA World Cup soccer organizers confident about safety. I’ll be there. Will you? Are you concerned about safety?

I learned about this movie, Secret Sisterhood, by Walt Anderson via YouTube. I’ve seen the trailer (below) and am definitely going to watch the entire film online. I just wanted to spread the word. This covers some taboo aspects of black Greek organizations. I do not belong to one so I don’t claim to be any sort of authority, but I went to an HBCU, contemplated joining at various points in life, and know a lot of people who are part of Greek organizations.