LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The 23rd
annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party
hosted by Sir Elton John and
David Furnish raised $5.8 million for the fight against HIV/AIDS. The
gala, which took place on Sunday, February
22, at West Hollywood Park in Los
Angeles, was sponsored by Chopard, Neuro Drinks, and Wells
Fargo; American Airlines serves as the Foundation's official
airline. Attendees included Sir Elton
John & David Furnish,
Heidi Klum, Miley Cyrus, Alec
Baldwin, Robert Duvall,
Tim Allen, Aaron Paul, John
Stamos, Chris Colfer, Beck,
Lil' Kim, Ryan Kwanten, Cloris
Leachman, Judith Light,
Rob Low, Moby, Lydia Hearst, Ozzy, Jack, Kelly &
Sharon Osbourne, Petra Nemcova, Cody
Simpson, Gigi Hadid, Dita
VonTeese, Brittany Snow,
Lisa Rinna & Harry Hamlin, Alessandra
Ambrosio, Camilla Belle,
Nina Dobrev, Sandra Lee, Jane
Seymour, Sia, Russell
Simmons, Bellamy Young,
Sarah Hyland, The Band Perry,
Julianne Hough, Maggie Grace, Peter
Fonda, JC Chavez, Dermot
Mulroney, Jonathan Groff,
Chris Hardwick, Jared Harris, Eric
McCormack, Giovani Ribisi,
and Bryshere Y. Gray, among others.
Guests arrived at the Academy Awards Viewing Party for cocktails
followed by a gala dinner and viewing of the 87th
Academy Awards® telecast. For a third consecutive year, Chef
Gordon Ramsay, British celebrity
chef, television personality, restaurateur, and holder of 14
Michelin stars, prepared an exquisite 5-course meal for guests.
The dinner was followed by a lively auction. Auction items
included the Alex Prager photograph Sheryl: 2009; the
Jeurgen Teller photograph of Joan
Didion for the Celine Campaign Spring Summer 2015; the
Stephen Somerstein print Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Speaking to 25,000 Civil Rights Marchers at
End of Selma To Montgomery,
Alabama March. In Front of Alabama State House. March 25, 1965 - View of Rear of Head with Crowd
of Marchers in Background; a Greg
Gorman photograph and portrait sitting; an all-inclusive,
four-night stay for four people at the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort;
a five-day stay for four people at Steven Tyler's Hawaiian Retreat;
and two tickets to the Vanity Fair Oscar Party later that
night.
Following the auction, Grammy winner Nile Rodgers & CHIC
took the stage to perform several songs, including such favorites
as "Le Freak," "We Are Family," "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsa, Yowsa,
Yowsa)," "Everybody Dance," and "Good Times." Nile will be
releasing the first CHIC single in 23 years on March 20th. The title of the song is "I'll Be
There." The new CHIC album, It's About Time, will be
released summer of 2015. Both single and album are coming out
on Warner Brothers Records.
In his remarks for the evening, EJAF Founder Sir Elton John thanked his guests for
enthusiastically participating in the evening's audience
participation feature, which enabled guests to make gifts to the
Foundation on the spot using their cell phones. Throughout
the evening video messages from long-time EJAF supporters
Neil Patrick Harris and Matt Lauer, as well as live messages from EJAF
friends Alec Baldwin and
Mike Myers, encouraged guests to
text in pledges to support the Foundation's urgent mission.
"What we're able to do in just one evening continues to amaze
me," said Sir Elton. "Because of your generosity last year,
we helped nearly 70,000 people across the U.S. and the Caribbean to receive regular HIV testing
services. Because you cared, an additional 15,000 people were able
to stay in continuous medical care, and nearly 12,000 achieved
complete viral suppression. That's an amazing achievement. And this
year, we're poised to do even more. Together, we're making real
progress against this epidemic by helping one person, one
community, at a time. And it is not at all unrealistic to think
that together we can end AIDS in our lifetime."
Full Electronic Press Kit (EPK) and photos will be available at
http://www.epklink.com/EJAFOscarParty2014.
Follow the Elton John AIDS Foundation on Facebook:
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/5321. And on Twitter @ejaforg.
ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION - At EJAF, we believe that AIDS can
be beaten. We act on that belief by raising funds for effective
programs and policies, and also by speaking out with honesty and
compassion about the realities of people's lives. Sir Elton John created EJAF over twenty years ago,
first in the United States in 1992
and then in the United Kingdom in
1993. Through hard work and with the help of our network of kind,
amazing, creative, and generous friends and supporters, the two
foundations together have raised more than $321 million over the past two decades to combat
stigma, prevent infections, provide treatment and services, and
motivate governments to end AIDS. The U.S. foundation focuses its
efforts on programs in the United
States, the Americas, and the Caribbean, while the U.K. foundation funds
HIV-related work in Europe,
Asia, and Africa. Join us in speaking out, taking
action, and contributing to our efforts to achieve a world without
AIDS. For more information, please visit www.ejaf.org.
CHOPARD – Passion for excellence: Louis-Ulysse Chopard founded his own workshop in
1860 in Sonvillier, the Swiss Jura. Since 1963 Chopard is owned by
the Scheufele family and its headquarters are located in
Geneva. Internationally renowned
for its watch and jewellery creations, the Group today employs 1950
people worldwide. It is independent and vertically very integrated,
controlling the entire process from design to distribution through
1500 points of sale and 130 dedicated boutiques. Over 30 different
crafts are practiced in 4 manufacturing sites with a strong
emphasis on in-house training. Chopard has built its reputation on
iconic collections such as "Happy Diamonds," "Happy Sport," and
"Mille Miglia." The firm is also heralded for its High Jewellery
creations, fine watchmaking, and manufacturing expertise, which is
expressed through the L.U.C collection.
According to two of its fundamental values, respect and social
responsibility, Chopard is strongly committed to various
philanthropic organizations and is setting a milestone for the
luxury jewellery and timepiece industry by embarking on The Journey
to Sustainable Luxury. The Journey is a multi-year program
launched by Chopard at the Cannes
Film Festival 2013 in partnership with Eco-Age and its creative
director Livia Firth. Chopard has
embarked in its mission by creating the High Jewellery "Green
Carpet Collection" which sources Fairmined gold from businesses
that are demonstrably committed to responsible, ethical, social and
environmental practices. The Journey started with Chopard forging a
philanthropic relationship with the influential South American
mining NGO, the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM). Working
alongside ARM, Chopard has begun to transform the lives of
artisanal gold miners in small, remote South American community
mines in Colombia, providing
social welfare, education and training while protecting the natural
resources and wildlife habitats they depend on. Chopard has become
the first watches and luxury jewellery company to support and
enable mining communities to reach Fairmined certification. This
certification will provide a stable route to market and a fair deal
for the miners and their communities when selling their gold.
Last but not least, Chopard is a faithful partner of the
Cannes International Film Festival
and legendary classic car events, such as the Mille Miglia in
Italy and the Grand Prix de Monaco
Historique. http://us.chopard.com
NEURO DRINKS – neuro is an award winning line of great
tasting drinks founded by Diana
Jenkins in 2009 to offer you better choices in the
beverage aisle and healthy, functional benefits with every
sip. Each neuro drink contains a carefully crafted
blend of naturally based ingredients designed to help you through
every part of your day. Using only the highest quality
elements from the world's finest sources, neuro's line includes
neuro SONIC, a delicious drink for energy and mental focus; neuro
BLISS, the scientifically proven drink to reduce stress and
recenter your mind; neuro SLEEP, for the great night's sleep you
deserve; and neuro DAILY, a powerful Vitamin D based drink to help
defend a healthy immune system. Each neuro drink has only 35
calories, contains no artificial flavors or colors, comes
in a fun, fully recyclable, colorful designer bottle, and is
widely available at top retailers nationwide. To find neuro in your
area or learn more, please visit: www.drinkneuro.com
WELLS FARGO – Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC)
is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services
company with $1.5 trillion in assets.
Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San
Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance,
investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through
more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, and the Internet
(wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to
support the bank's customers who conduct business in the global
economy. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves
one in three households in the United
States. Wells Fargo &
Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune's 2013 rankings of America's
largest corporations. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy all our
customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells
Fargo perspectives are also
available at blogs.wellsfargo.com
AMERICAN AIRLINES – American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL) is the
holding company for American Airlines and US Airways. Together with
wholly owned and third-party regional carriers operating as
American Eagle and US Airways Express, the airlines operate an
average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to 339 destinations in 54
countries from its hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort
Worth, Los Angeles,
Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. The American Airlines
AAdvantage and US Airways Dividend Miles programs allow members to
earn miles for travel, vacation packages, car rentals, hotel stays
and everyday purchases. Members of both programs can redeem miles
for tickets as well as upgrades to First Class and Business Class.
In addition, AAdvantage members can redeem miles for vacation
packages, car rentals, hotel stays and retail products. American is
a founding member of the oneworld alliance, whose members and
members-elect serve nearly 1,000 destinations with 14,250 daily
flights to 150 countries. Connect with American on Twitter
@AmericanAir and Facebook.com/AmericanAirlines and follow US
Airways on Twitter @USAirways
American Airlines is the official airline of the Elton John AIDS
Foundation.
Contact:
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Christina
Lee
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ROGERS &
COWAN
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310-854-8163
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chlee@rogersandcowan.com
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SOURCE Elton John AIDS Foundation