By: Dale Madison
Canadian-born R&B singer/ songwriter and actress Deborah Cox left rehearsals for the national tour of “Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical,” and flew from Manhattan to Fort Lauderdale last week as the special guest of the Break the Silence Campaign. The non-profit organization, founded by Logan Voxx’s Positive Young People (PYP) Foundation, hosted a cocktail event at the waterfront home of Ben Lap, raising nearly $10,000 for PYP.
The organization has earmarked the money for a grant to the Pride Center at Equality Park of South Florida, and its new pilot program providing comprehensive services to women with HIV in Broward County. Cox, who celebrated her 38th birthday at the event, pledged to make herself available at any city visited during her upcoming 26-week pre-Broadway tour with “Jekyll & Hyde,” to help publicize Break the Silence, an organization dedicated to refocusing awareness on the continuing HIV pandemic.
“As I travel from city to city, you will have whatever time you need,” she told the assembled group of 85 donors attending the “Cocktails for a Cause” event. “You already have my heart.” The PYP Foundation’s new executive director, Irwin Drucker, who introduced Cox, presented the grant to Kristofer Fegenbush, the Pride Center’s Deputy Director. The Pride Center was also represented at the function by Board President Richard Stoll, and board members Jim Walker and Chris Caputo.
Also in attendance: Lois Frankel and Patrick Murphy, candidates for the newly redrawn Florida 22nd and 18th Districts, respectively, in the upcoming Democratic Congressional primaries; Michael Kennedy, executive director of the not-for-profit group Florida Together; Keith Blackburn, CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; Lee Rubin, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force board member; David Guzman and Justin Hill, of Wells Fargo Bank; Edi Mulyanato, owner of Dapur Asian Tapas, which supplied food for the event; Christopher Dunham, owner of PYP Corporate Sponsor Dunham Insurance Services; and Peter Jackson, owner of Push Fitness.
The PYP Foundation was founded several years ago by 24-year-old Logan Voxx to change the way America thinks and talks about the HIV pandemic. It is a grassroots social movement centered on creating public service announcements in a multi-media platform marketing and outreach effort. Donations may be made through the Break the Silence website at www.breakthesilencecampaign.org. Any donations made before August 16, 2012 will be earmarked for The Pride Center at Equality Park of South Florida. The Break the Silence Advisory Board consists of Nikki Haskell, Great HealthWorks spokesperson and socialite; public relations guru Gabriel Serrato-Buelna; non-profit financial development executive Steve Wozencraft; Hollywood writer Wes Ferguson; and HIV and Breast Cancer activist Gary Fowler, in addition to Voxx. For more information visit pypfoundation.org.