Now Playing
John Shearer/Getty Images via ABCJussie Smollett is giving back to his community in a major way.
In an effort to create awareness and help forward the fight for HIV/AIDS, Smollette doubled his own $20,000 donation to the Black AIDS institute by finding companies to match his donation.
Currently, Jussie serves on the Institute’s board of directors, and his younger sister Jurnee is an HIV/AIDS ambassador.
Both have been inducted into the Black AIDS Institute’s “Heroes in the Struggle” Hall of Fame and have made financial contributions toward the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Phill Wilson, the Black AIDS institute President and CEO, said Jussie stepped up when the institute had a recent budget shortfall.
“In the end, we turned Jussie’s $20,000 contribution into $40,000,” Wilson explained. “Those donations not only helped close our budget gap. They also helped us launch a testing campaign where we developed a monthly support group for 30 to 40 men.”
Smollett’s next project for the Black AIDS Institute will be to chair the 2017 “Heroes in the Struggle Gala” in September, where he says the new inductees will be women.
“I know from my personal experience, women have been so important to this fight,” Smollett said in a statement.
“While I’m not going to give away all of our secrets, I can tell you one of this year’s honorees will be none other than my TV mom, Taraji P. Henson…The other ‘sheroes’ are as equally beautiful, talented and fierce as Cookie Lyon.”
For more information on the Black AIDS Institute got to www.BlackAIDS.org.
Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
against black communities fight HIV/AIDS jussie raises Smollett
