This past Thursday, November 11, was an eventful night in Washington- on one end of town the men had their fun, while on the other, the women had theirs. The men’s-only Fight Night filled up the Washington Hilton, while the female-friendly Knock Out Abuse Against Women gala took over the Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.—and both rallied for their own causes.

With 2,000 men in tuxes dominating the hotel’s ballroom, the 17th annual Fight Night raised money for the education and health care nonprofit Fight for Children. But the program itself was for grown-ups only.

Grammy Award winning recording artist John Legend, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and Interim Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools Kaya Henderson hosted a TEACH town hall meeting at Howard University on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the future of education and the role of the next generation of teachers.

 “We have a tough economy now… Im convinced we have to educate our our way to a better economy. That’s the only way we’re going to get there,” said Secretary Duncan.

Over last weekend, the Susan G. Komen Foundation celebrated 30 years of research and education, including an A-list dinner for donors on Friday at the Kuwaiti Embassy.  The Kuwaiti dinner was the kickoff to a weekend full of activities sponsored by the Susan G. Komen Foundation, including the "Honoring the Promise" event at the Kennedy Center Saturday evening with Laura Bush.  The Kuwaiti Embassy holds a special place in my heart because I was honored at the Kuwaiti Embassy for my work as a youth ambassador to the Kuwait-American Foundation's "Do The Write Thing Campaign" which gives middle school students an opportunity to examine the impact of youth violence on their lives through classroom discussions and writings.