The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation's Inaugural Global Champions of a Mother's Fight

To help bring about the end of the AIDS pandemic, Empire Entertainment partnered with The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation to serve as producer of their inaugural Global Champions of a Mother’s Fight Awards Dinner in New York.Originally scheduled in November 2012 but postponed because of Hurricane Sandy, the rescheduled event was held at New York's Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the Grand Ballroom. Over 500 guests were treated to spectacular views of Central Park and the midtown skyline while dining on a menu designed by celebrity chef Cat Cora.

Chair, President and Editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, Arianna Huffington, acted as the evening’s host and also led a rousing Q&A session with the event’s three honorees. Amy Towers, Founder of the Nduna Foundation, accepted the Humanitarian Award. Cookie Johnson, Board Member of the Magic Johnson Foundation received the Global Advocate Award, and Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson, accepted the Corporate Champion Award on behalf of Johnson & Johnson. Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo was on hand to present all three awards.

Speakers for the evening included Charles Lyons, President and CEO of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Willow Bay, Co-chair, and Jake Glaser, son of Elizabeth Glaser, along with Florence Ngobeni-Allen, Global Advocate.Two-time Grammy award-winning Canadian R&B recording artist, Melanie Fiona, performed twice during the evening, singing her new single, “Wrong Side of a Love Song” and “L.O.V.E.” to close out the night.

Empire served as the overall production company, managing all aspects of the event, as well as the creative partner working with Jason Wu and Karlie Kloss to design inspired tabletops and stage set decor. The stage set incorporated a photograph of a mother and child from world famous photographer Nigel Barker, and Jason Wu designed furniture from his collection for Canvas.

At the event, Johnson & Johnson announced that they will match all contributions to the Foundation up to $1 million between the event date and Mother’s Day. With Johnson & Johnson’s match, the foundation raised over $1.8 million.

Empire is a leading producer of high-stature fundraising events and has assisted in the fight against HIV / AIDS since our founding two decades ago.