YouthAIDS held a gala again last night at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner. My wife and I served as Honorary Chairs and it was great to mingle with so many of our close friends. Sheila Johnson and her husband Bill Newman and served as Co-Chairs of the event along with The Sants. Jack Davies, Mark Ein, Jim Kimsey and several of my close friends were there to lend their support and we raised $1.5 million, or enough money to help 150,000 children throughout the world in their fight against AIDS. I am proud to say that AOL continues to support this most worthy cause and was a major sponsor of the event as well.
Kate Roberts and Ashley Judd were there. They truly are angels and they are the wheels in which our work all spokes around. Nancy Pelosi was there as was George Soros. I had the great honor to spend some time with Bono. We talked about Live 8 follow-up and then – I am ashamed to say – I gave him a DVD of "Kicking It", a new film about homelessness and soccer. Susan Koch is directing it and I am serving as a producer. I think the film will be relevant to Bono as it deals with a major social issue, homelessness, and one of the major sets of characters in the film are from Ireland and are battling with addictions. I am hopeful Bono views the film and perhaps will work with us on getting this message of hope out to a wider audience. YouthAIDS is a great cause. National Geographic will be screening and then showing a major new documentary starring Ashley Judd in November. It focuses on the Faces of India. Make sure you watch it and get involved. Help save the world one child at a time.