Founded in 2004 by Brandy Sanders and her late husband, filmmaker Stanley Sanders, the Kierrah Foundation is a nonprofit organization established to help young women adversely affected by the foster care system, and to be a support system for these young women who often are estranged from family and must navigate the path to adulthood alone. The Foundation seeks to build self-esteem and offers women a unique opportunity to share valuable life experiences with upwardly mobile individuals who can encourage them to face the challenges ahead.
The Kierrah Foundation’s purpose is to provide material, intellectual and emotional support to former foster girls with their transition from state care into early adulthood, including providing a number of emergency services such as hotel vouchers, food vouchers, clothing vouchers, hygiene kits, bus passes/tokens and taxi vouchers and other resources and referrals.
Some of the most dynamic artists in the music industry have come together to donate their time and talent to this worthy cause, said Sanders. They are led by singer/songwriter Tim McAfee-Lewis. “The Gospel According to Tim McAfee-Lewis,” in a concert to benefit the Kierrah Foundation, which will be held Sunday, Feb. 19.
The event also will include a tribute to the late music icon Whitney Houston, featuring Sabrina Johnson, one of Houston’s background singers, who will sing “I Love the Lord” from the soundtrack from the film “The Preacher’s Wife,” backed by McAfee-Lewis and the Los Angeles Inner-City Mass Choir, a youth and young adult chorus. Also, 13-year-old Mimi Sledge will sing Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All.”
“We simply have to pay tribute to Whitney, one of our national treasures,” McAfee-Lewis said.
“She left an indelible imprint on the hearts and minds of so many, including the young women of the Kierrah Foundation. I have many, many relatives who have gone through the foster care system. I know their plight. So this program is very near and dear to my heart. It is a part of the solution for young women who no longer have support of any kind. I am excited that this concert and our live recording will benefit an organization as deserving as the Kierrah Foundation.”
“I am grateful to all these musicians who understand our need and have responded by giving their musical gifts to help our young women who leave the foster care system with virtually nothing. I am a great fan of the music and ministry of Tim McAfee-Lewis and am honored to have his concert benefit our organization,” said Kierrah Foundation Executive Director Sanders.
The concert will be held Feb. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at Agape International Spiritual Center, 5700 Buckingham Parkway, in Culver City, Calif. General admission is $20, V.I.P. tickets are $35, including red carpet and reception. Purchase tickets at www.kierrahfoundation.org or in the Quiet Mind Bookstore at Agape International Spiritual Center, or call (213) 309-9900. For more information on “The Gospel According to Tim McAfee-Lewis,” visit www.kierrahfoundation.org.
All concert proceeds benefit the foundation.
