Sonja Martinez to host 32nd Annual Christmas Aids Benefit on Dec. 5 – City-sentinel

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – The 32nd Annual Sonja Martinez Christmas AIDS Benefit will take place on Monday, December 5, at The Boom Dinner Theatre, 2218 NW 39th Street, in Oklahoma City. Dinner will be served at 5:30p.m. with entertainment beginning at 7 p.m. This event is 21 and over.

All proceeds, including tips, will go to support The Winds House in Oklahoma City.

Appearing along with performance artist Sonja Martinez will be Roxie Hart, Rachael Leonhart, TeeKee LaRue, Mike Busby and Maria Isabel.

 “I am so excited about my 32nd Annual Christmas AIDS Benefit, supporting The Winds House,” Martinez said. “I have had the pleasure of having some of Oklahoma’s best entertainers with me throughout the years,” Martinez said. “They take time out of their busy holiday schedules to give the ‘Gift of Love’.”

Martinez began her own work to help support AIDS charities in 1991 after losing several close friends to AIDS.

When Jackie and Barbara Cooper were putting together Oklahoma City’s large Red Tie event after losing their son to AIDS, it prompted Martinez to start a smaller scale benefit for the gay community and hold it in a gay venue. ¨She began hosting small dinner shows at Oklahoma City’s Gushers Restaurant located in the Habana Inn and asked other local singers to perform with her.

Over the past 31 years, Sonja’s Christmas Benefit has raised over $245,167.50 for the AIDS cause.

During the first 17 years, the funds raised from Sonja’s events were donated to Loaves and Fishes, a Catholic Charities Meals on Wheels program. When Sister Gail Addis, who was active in that program, returned to Michigan, Martinez began donating to The Winds House in Oklahoma City.

“I choses the Winds House after much thought and several interviews 12 years ago. They are a dedicated group and the entire board are volunteers who keep the focus on the goal of helping the residents of their two houses/”

Winds House and The Winds Family House are owned and operated by the AIDS Support Program, Inc. (A.S.P.), a non-profit, privately funded organization founded in the 1980’s.

The two residences are part of a transitional program for individuals with HIV/AIDS who are homeless or who are faced with the imminent threat of becoming homeless. The Winds House program offers residents a chance to develop skills, find employment, seek educational possibilities, and help in applying for SSA Disability.

“The Winds House gave us the option to focus our money on food, medication and other specific needs,” Sonja added.

As a result of her many fundraisers and generosity toward the gay community, Martinez has been awarded numerous honors. She was given the Richard May Award established by the Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund in 2009, in 2012 she received the Cimarron Alliance Bill Rogers Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2017 she was honored as the OKC Pride Parade Grand Marshall. This year, Sonja was named an honoree of the AIDS Walk of OKC.

“I thank Lee Burrus, Nick Post and Reece Evans for hosting the benefit for 31 years. I thank Brett Young and John Gibbons for hosting the benefit this year. And I thank my wife, Dee, my family, my friends and all of you for supporting this very worthy cause.

“And of course, the amazing talent for this event who will help us all out that night… Roxie, Rachael, TeeKee, Mike and Maria,” Sonja added.

Tickets are $60 per person, which includes a $30 donation that goes to support the Winds House and $30 for the dinner. Reservations are recomebded. Purchase tickets at Ticketstorm.com.

“I hope you will join me along with my friends, Roxie Hart, Rachael Leonhart, TeeKee LaRue, Mike Busby and Maria Isabel in giving the ‘Gift of Love’ on Dec. 5.” Sonja said.

To purchase tickets, call 866-966-1777 or click here. To view the event online or to learn more about The Winds House, visit whokc.org.

Favorite