Big Tigger has vowed to give supporters a “bigger, bolder and better” version of his Annual Celebrity Classic this year.
With the nearly week-long community awareness event now in its seventh year, the BET and syndicated radio host and his Street Corner Foundation will bring together a list of sports and entertainment luminaries.
Tigger will return to the metro Washington, D.C. area June 4-7 with a series of activities geared towards educating youth in the DC area, and the general public at large about the continuing dangers of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Those activities, including a Town Hall Meeting and Celebrity Panel Discussion, a comedy showcase, several HIV/AIDS testing initiatives, and the highly anticipated All-Star Basketball Game, will also serve to raise money in support of the Street Corner Foundation and it’s continued fight to eradicate the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Sponsored by Volkswagen USA, The CW Network, Brand Jordan, and Premiere Radio Networks, confirmed celebrity participants in Big Tigger’s 7th Annual Celebrity Classic include Kenyon Martin, Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens, Gary Payton, Santana Moss and Washington players Caron Butler and Clinton Portis.
Also confirmed are actress Tamala Jones, singer Ginuwine, DJ Clue, Winky Wright, Flavor of Love 2 winner Deelishis, and Tigger’s former BET Black Carpet co-host, Melyssa Ford.
In addition to creating educational initiatives about HIV, the Street Corner Foundation aims to address the needs, care and well-being of people who are living with the illness in the Nation’s capital.
While Washington, D.C. did not make the Center for Disease Control’s list of top ten States/Dependent Areas based on reported cases, the city now boasts the highest rate of new AIDS cases per 100, 000 population and an average 10 times higher than the national average of new AIDS cases among women.
In 2005, three years after launching the Street Corner Foundation, Big Tigger was presented with the National Black Caucus of State Legislator’s Visionary Award for his “inimitable presence in the HIV/AIDS arena” as an ambassador of good health.
He has also been formally recognized by the CDC as a top African-American leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
