LONG ISLAND, NY – On Thursday March 26, 2015 Bailey Houses Gala and Auction was held at Pier 60 of Chelsea Piers. The Gala honored the heroism of individuals and organizations that assists the Bailey House’s mission of transforming the lives of people with or at risk of HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses through housing, health services and community.
During the event I was happy to interview the cast of B.O.R.N. To Style. Cast members Brandon Hood and Devin Stokes spoke to me about their meaningful contribution towards the Bailey House.
Bailey House, Cognac poses with the cast of B.O.R.N. To Style, Thursday March 26, 2015 at Pier 60 of Chelsea Piers.
Welcome back darlings, I am Cognac Wellerlane and we are here at the Bailey House Auction and this is a fabulous event with so many items being auctioned off and all for a very good cause. I am here with two big supporters who are auctioning off something very important and they are celebs and they are going to talk about who they are and what they are auctioning off. Introduce yourselves to the camera.
Devin: Well my name is Devin Stokes of B.O.R.N. To Style.
Brandon: And I am Brandon Hood from B.O.R.N. to Style
B.O.R.N. to Style, Tell my audience what that is all about.
Devin: B.O.R.N. to Style is a makeover show
A makeover TV show
Devin: Yes. It’s a TV show on FYI. B.O.R.N. stands for Borrowed, Old, Refurbished and New. We are just giving women the drama of the past into today. We give them a whole lifestyle makeover.
Brandon: It’s about Jonathan and his fabulous store in Harlem. He has a vintage boutique. He specializes in vintage. We makeover women. We uplift them. It’s retail therapy. It’s a dysfunctional family fashion wise.
Devin: It’s more than just a makeover series. I feel it is a lifestyle makeover series. A lot of the women we deal with are going through changes in their life and we are trying to incorporate that change into their everyday life.
Both Devin and Brandon spoke about their store’s contribution to the Bailey House Auction and Gala.
I understand that you have a very significant item that you are auctioning off tonight right here at the Bailey House. Tell my audience what that is all about.
Brandon: We are auctioning off a $250 gift certificate for the B.O.R.N. Boutique at 57 East 125 Street between Madison and Park. Also what comes with that is a style makeover by yours truly, Jonathan, Kristen, Jay, Devin and myself so that is going to be like bananas within itself.
Why do you love the Bailey House so much? Tell my audience what is so spectacular about this organization.
Devin: Well as a young gay man, Bailey House really caters to those who are effected by HIV and being part of that stereotype, it’s very helpful to know that people are helping those as opposed to criticizing them and that is a cause that I can stand up to.
Brandon: Absolutely, this is something that is in the community and what stops us is the un-education of what is going on with HIV and AIDS. So I appreciate the Bailey House to support and donate the items to be auctioned.
To find out more about B.O.R.N To Style TV show please visit http://www.fyi.tv/shows.
The gala was hosted by Ted Allen host of Food Network’s “Chopped” and spokesperson for Dining Out For Life
I am here with Ted Allen who is a big supporter of the Bailey House. We are standing right here in the dining room after this wonderful event. Tell my audience why our are a big supporter of the Bailey House.
Ted: Well, I think Bailey House has been doing an amazing job for people with HIV and AIDS. All the way back to 1983 by the way which was the first year the New York Times published the acriment “GRID” Gay Related Immunization Deficiency before we ever had the word AIDS and today thirty something years later Bailey House is still here evolving changing with the different population that are now more impacted by HIV then the original group. So HIV is even more of an issue now for women of color but there is also a whole new generation of young gay men that don’t realize, that weren’t around the first time this epidemic hit us.
And it still is dangerous. It still is. They need to get checked out.
Ted: You are absolutely right. That it is still totally dangerous. There are treatments. It is no longer the death sentence, automatic death sentence that it was.
I know in the 1980’s I lived through it. Thank God!
Ted: Thank God!
But people have to remember it is still deadly if you don’t treat it and that is why we are here today and you are here to tell my audience to bring awareness that this is such a very valuable organization that provides information about HIV.
Ted: Information, housing, art programs, to get children involved, helping people get off the streets living productive lives and people who just got out of prison for example. There are so many layers. I think Bailey House is doing an incredible job and I am thrilled to have the chance to join.
I also spoke to Jane Pauley, a respected television anchor and journalist who is a longtime supporter of Bailey House and a powerful advocate in the field of mental health.
I am here with the star herself, Ms. Jane Pauley and she is a tremendous supporter of the Bailey House. Why is this organization so important? Tell my audience why you are a big supporter.
Jane: Well, I think its terribly important that we see the whole community we live in and sometimes there are important people who are on the margins of the community who don’t get included. The Bailey House, this is a fun party, but the point is that we see the people who are neighbors who we don’t always see and that is what the Bailey House has done. I am honored to be here. I am honored to be a small part of it.
Tell my audience where we can go to support, contribute and donate, what is the website.
Jane: http://baileyhouse.org
Today Bailey House serves hundreds of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS in neighborhoods throughout New York City. They provide housing and services that help clients address homelessness, poverty, hunger, substance use, mental illness and other critical issues that make survival hard, if not impossible. They look forward to expanding their services and providing home, hope and community to thousands more men, women and children living with poverty and HIV/AIDS here and around the country.
