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HOLLYWOOD FILM-MAKER TYLER PERRY, OPRAH WINFREY, VERIZON WIRELESS, AMERICAN AIRLINES, PROMISE KEEPERS AND OTHERS HELP CECE WINANS MOBILZE VISION FOR YOUNG GIRLS
CeCe Winans
"Los Angeles, CA (BlackNews.com) - It's count down time for the 2nd Annual Always Sisters Girl's Conference and the anticipation of this year's event is building. All roads lead to Belmont University's Curb Event Center in Nashville, TN, where this year's line-up meets August 4th & 5th. Gospel singer, CeCe Winans, is taking a stand for today's youth. Her vision is to offer our young girls a promising future, by providing a platform for them to be heard and encouraged.
Winans, determined to see the conference launched, set out last year with no financial backing. "I didn't fully realize how many of our youth we were losing to suicide and AIDS, I just couldn't wait any longer," says Winans. This year, she called upon friends in the entertainment industry to join her significant mission. Film-maker/author/playwright, Tyler Perry; The Oprah Winfrey Foundation; Mercy Ministries (transitional home for young women); American Airlines; Promise Keepers and Verizon Wireless to name a few, have given generous donations. Verizon is inviting this year's Always Sisters attendees to bring their used wireless cell phones to the Nashville conference and donate them to the company's Hope-Line phone recycling program. All proceeds from the sale of recycled phones will help purchase wireless phones for domestic violence survivors (visit
www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline ). Once Winans put the word out that she needed help to make this event happen, the donations came.
HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, problems resulting from absent fathers and teen suicide are just a few of the challenges our young girls are facing daily. According to information published by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, African-America women account for 36 percent of diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases and 14 percent of white women. Single mothers head 54% of America's households and 85% of children raised without fathers exhibit behavioral disorders. Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is estimated that more than 1,000 suicides occur on college campuses every year.
"For years, I've had a strong burden for the girls who are struggling with these issues. Over 800 girls and women attended the 2005 Always Sisters Girls Conference . We received incredible feed-back from life changing seminars including, Daughter's From A Father's Point of View ,Sister's From A Brother's Point of View , and The Queen In You ," says Winans. Other topics addressed were self-esteem, dating, AIDS and more.
Joining Winans this year, author/conference host and daughter of Billy Graham, Ruth Graham; Joy Enriquez (wife of producer/writer Rodney Jerkins); Word recording artist, Nicole C. Mullen; EMI Gospel recording artist, KiKi Sheard; The Katinas; author of Preaching With Aids , Carolyn Pineda; and Mother of the Winans Family, Delores Winans; author and pastor, Kimberly Daniels; Pastors Horace and Kitty Hockett; Pastor RA Vernon; Integrity recording artist, Lisa McClendon; Alvin Love; Ingrid Rosario and more. There will be a special session for mothers, a teen fashion show and Winans will climax the two day event with a concert. Registration still available on-site. Log on to
www.alwayssisters.com for more details.
There's no break in sight for Winans, she heads to South African after the conference, and hits the road for a fall multi-city tour with gospel crooner, Donnie McClurkin. Once 2006 is under her belt, Winans will begin working on her next solo project, which will be a hymns record, set for a 2007 release."
-END-
***Above info Found on BlackNews.com***
Posted By: Jane L. Wilson
Thursday, July 27th 2006 at 3:16PM
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