SportsBall 2019, The 25th Annual Black Tie & Sneakers Gala benefiting Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health

WHAT: SportsBall 2019, the 25^th Annual Black Tie & Sneakers Gala benefiting Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health (AAIUH). Over 500 renowned guests representing sports, philanthropy, business, entertainment, and medicine will gather to celebrate the legacy of tennis champion and humanitarian Arthur Ashe.

WHERE: The Grand Hyatt, 109 East 42nd Street @ Grand Central, New York, NY 10017

WHEN: Wednesday, October 2^nd, 2019

·       Press Check In: 5:30 p.m.

·       Red Carpet: 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

·       Awards & Dinner: 7:00 p.m.

·       Dancing & Games: 9:00 p.m.

WHO: VIPS Confirmed to Attend:

·       Stan Smith – Tennis legend, winner of the U.S. Open in 1971 and Wimbledon in 1972, President of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and SportsBall 2019 honoree.

·       David Dinkins – Former Mayor of New York City and past SportsBall honoree.

·       Beverly Bond – Founder, Black Girls Rock!, women’s empowerment leader, entrepreneur, mentor, philanthropist, celebrity DJ, cultural curator, social innovator, author, and SportsBall 2018 honoree.

·       Mike Woods – Meteorologist and Reporter on FOX 5’s Good Day New York, People Magazine’s Sexiest Anchor Alive, and SportsBall 2018 honoree.

·       Yvonna Kopacz Wright – Actress, The Village, Blue Bloods, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Guiding Light, and many more television shows.

·       Steve Lacy, Anchor Fox 5 News at 5:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.

·       Tamsen Fadal – 12-time Emmy winning Anchor, PIX 11 News at 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 10:00 p.m. and host of Broadway Profiles.  

·       Ines Rosales – Morning Traffic Anchor on FOX 5 Good Day New York.

·       Javier Gomez – Artist & Designer, Maison&Objet Ambassador. Featured in BVLGARI, FENDI Casa, Roche-Bobois, People Magazine’s Sexiest Artist Alive.

·       Cheryl Wills – Emmy-winning anchor for Spectrum NY1 Live at Ten, host of In Focus with Cheryl Wills, and SportsBall 2019 honoree.

·       Les Trent – Senior Correspondent for Inside Edition and SportsBall 2019 co-host.

·       Ruschell Boone – Reporter and Anchor for Spectrum News NY1 and SportsBall 2019 co-host.

·       Loreen Arbus – President of The Loreen Arbus Foundation, The Goldenson-Arbus Foundation, and Loreen Arbus Productions, Inc., and past SportsBall honoree. First woman to head up programming for a major U.S. television network.

·       Dr. Marilyn A. Fraser – CEO of the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health.

·       Brett Wright – Founder/CEO Uptown Media Ventures, and Board Chairperson of the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health

·       Guy Vickers – President of the PVH Foundation and SportsBall 2019 honoree.

·       Sydney C. Butts, MD –Vice Chair, Department of Otolaryngology, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, and SportsBall 2019 honoree.

About the SportsBall:

SportsBall 2019 is a celebration with a purpose. Each year, the Institute honors individuals and organizations that are making significant contributions to urban communities in the areas of health, education, medical research, community service, and philanthropy. The funds raised at SportsBall support the Institute’s innovative community health education programs and research initiatives. Arthur Ashe founded the Institute in 1992, just two months before his death from AIDS, in response to the disproportionate amount of illness and death in urban communities from preventable diseases. Arthur knew that many of these diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, were the result of inadequate health care delivery systems, late detection, and insufficient health education.

About the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health

In 1992, Arthur Ashe established the Institute in partnership with SUNY Downstate, moved by the institution’s long history of serving immigrants and low-income Brooklyn residents, as well as its staff and faculty’s research. The Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, located in multi-ethnic Brooklyn, collaborates with community members to design and conduct neighborhood-based interventions that address health conditions that disproportionately affect minorities. Recognizing the complexity of the economic and social determinants of health, the Institute partners with a wide variety of grassroots and institutional organizations to provide after-school science enrichment, outreach initiatives in trusted venues, and research and advocacy. Community Health Empowerment guides and unifies all of the Institute’s work.

To cover the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health SportsBall 2019 RSVP is required. Please contact James Grant at: james@jamesgrantpr.com.