Actress Holly Robinson Peete and her husband, former NFL football player Rodney Peete, hosted the HollyRod Foundation’s 11th Annual DesignCare Fundraiser at a private residence Saturday (Jul 25) in Beverly Hills, CA. Holly recently spoke out about the treatment of autism, calling it “expensive.” She and Rodney have a son with the disorder and have been trying to raise funds for his treatment through their HollyRod Foundation.

“We started the HollyRod Foundation years ago to help people with Parkinson’s disease – my dad had Parkinson’s and then about five years into the foundation, my son was diagnosed with autism… Much like Parkinson’s, autism is very expensive to treat so we started raising money for the quality of life for people suffering from both because of our personal experiences,” she revealed at the 11th annual DesignCare event in Hollywood.

“You can’t even know how expensive it is to treat a child with autism, especially families who don’t have insurance – it’s next to impossible. It destroys families.”
Holly added: “We raise money through these fundraisers and we beg people to use their gorgeous homes, we beg all of our friends to get dressed up and play with us.”

Other celebrities who showed up to support the cause were Ciara, Sanaa Lathan, Gabrielle Union and more. Continue reading for all of the pics!

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

Here is the last batch of photos from this weekend’s 2009 Essence Music Festival, sponsored by Coca Cola and held in New Orleans, Louisiana at he Louisiana Superdome. The ladies of En Vogue reunited on the main stage Sunday night (Jul 5) at the Superdome, which also hosted a performance from legendary soul/gospel singer Al Green. R&B soul singer Raphael Saadiq performed on one of the smaller stages that evening. Continue reading for more photos!

PHOTOS: WIRE IMAGE

The original four ladies of En Vogue reunited on stage at B.B. King’s Blues Club & Grill Sunday night in New York. The iconic female group held the special show in honor of Mother’s Day and are reportedly going on tour this summer.

The “Funky Soul Divas” performed hits from their repertoire of chart-toppers, which include “Hold On,” “Free Your Mind,” “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” and more. Continue reading for more pics from the show.

UPDATED: Video of the ladies performing “Don’t Let Go” after the break!

Via: Grown Folks Music

PHOTOS: WIRE IMAGE