Celebrities, Authors, VIPs Graced This Weekend's Unstoppable Foundation Gala

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Mar 19, 2014, 02:27 ET

LOS ANGELES, March 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrities, authors and business leaders attended the 5^th Annual Unstoppable Gala Saturday night at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles, supporting The Unstoppable Foundation mission to ensure every child gets access to an education.

Unstoppable Foundation CEO and Founder Cynthia Kersey with Martin Sheen, on the red carpet at the 2014 Unstoppable Gala in Los Angeles. (PRNewsFoto/The Unstoppable Foundation) (PRNewsFoto/THE UNSTOPPABLE FOUNDATION)

Cynthia Kersey, founder and CEO of The Unstoppable Foundation, greeted Martin Sheen; Brandy; Malcolm-Jamal Warner; OWN TV's The Have and Have Nots stars John Schneider, Jaclyn Betham and Peter Parros; Tamala Jones, star of ABC TV's Castle; Natalia Reagan, host of Spike TV's Bigfoot Bounty; Marilyn McCoo; Billy Davis Jr.; Dyan Cannon; Leigh Steinberg, super-agent and inspiration for the movie Jerry McGuire; Chicken Soup for the Soul author Jack Canfield; Bob Proctor, legendary figure in personal development and the worldwide phenomenon The Secret; and Shiza Shahid, CEO of the Malala Fund. Paige Hemmis, television personality and former host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, was red carpet correspondent.

ABC7 News anchors David Ono and Ellen Leyva opened the festivities, featuring performances, lighthearted moments and dramatic deliveries by Martin Sheen, John Schneider, honorary co-chairs Brandy and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., Australian Tenors ARIA, and violinist Elizabeth Bacher. Malala Yousafzai, the brave Pakistani girl who stood up to the Taliban for the right of girls to attend school, was the 2014 Unstoppable Achievement Award honoree. The award was presented to Shiza Shahid.

The Unstoppable Gala was a huge success, raising more than $900,000. The Proctor Gallagher Institute started the evening by generously pledging to double their financial support totaling $520,000 to sustain and expand the work of The Unstoppable Foundation. Attendees donated $400,000, of which 100% will go directly towards bringing an education and a future to 1,500 children in the Maasai Mara, Kenya, with Unstoppable partner Free the Children.

Free the Children will implement the "Sponsor a Village" 5-pillar development model that not only funds schools, but provides the entire community with access to clean water and sanitation, food and nutrition, healthcare, and alternative income training for parents.

Founded by Cynthia Kersey in 2008, The Unstoppable Foundation has funded 56 schoolhouses, bringing an education and a warm nutritious meal to over 6,000 children every day. More than 17,000 people now have access to healthcare, clean water and sanitation, and 3,000 adults have received training to generate an income so that the project is self-sustaining. For more information visit www.unstoppablefoundation.org.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140319/CL86727

SOURCE The Unstoppable Foundation