[August 26, 2025]….On Monday, September 15, 2025, Los Angeles Lakers legend Byron Scott will take to the greens as the host for the 7th Annual KiKi Shepard Celebrity Golf Classic. The tournament is the brainchild of Actress, TV Personality and Philanthropist, KiKi Shepard (Impact Network’s, “Highly Favored”, Bounce TV’s, “Mind Your Business,” and “Showtime at the Apollo”), who created the event to bring awareness to the Sickle Cell disease community through her 501©3 organization, The KIS Foundation. The tournament will take place at Porter Valley Country Club located at 19216 Singing Hills Drive in Northridge, CA. Tee-off is slated for 10AM, with red carpet arrivals at 8:30AM.This year’s event will bring in an array of athlete and celebrity participants. Joining Shepard and Scott in this year’s tournament are, Michael Cooper (former LA Laker), AC Green (former LA Laker), Norm Nixon (former LA Laker), Eric Metcalf (former Cleveland Brown), Willie Gault (former Chicago Bear), Chris Hale (former Buffalo Bill), Nikki Blades (TV Personality), James Pickens (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Amin Joseph (“Snowfall”), Mekhi Phifer (“Truth Be Told”), Brian Hooks (Actor/Comedian), Dondre Whitfield (“Queen Sugar”), Joe Torry (Actor/Comedian), Kathleen Bradley (“The Family Business”), among others.
Returning this year as top tier sponsors for the tournament are the Los Angeles Lakers, US Bank, Aids Healthcare Foundation, Mercedes Benz Beverly Hills, Brotherhood Crusade, James Pickens Foundation, The Commerce Casino & Hotel and Rocky Carroll. “We are very excited to welcome everyone back,” says KiKi Shepard, Executive Director/Founder of The KIS Foundation. “We realize the importance of bringing awareness to the sickle cell community, and to have such wonderful sponsors to continue to support such a worthy cause, we are appreciative.
The fundraising focus for this year is to provide scholarships for SCD Warriors to attend the Cayenne Wellness Foundation’s 17th Annual Sickle Cell Disease Educational Summit, September 17 – 20. 2025. The Summit allows attendees to learn about the changes in medications, new treatments, and resources.
For more information about the tournament or to learn more about The KIS Foundation, please visit the website at www.thekisfoundation.org. For talent and media submissions or interviews with KiKi Shepard and Byron Scott, contact, L Group PR, LaShirl Smith at lsmith@lgrouppr.com.
ABOUT THE KIS FOUNDATION:
The KIS Foundation, Inc. is dedicated to improving the social health and quality of life for patients and families living with Sickle Cell Disease. We are firm believers that individuals and groups should not simply wait for SCD to affect them personally for them to get involved and make a difference. It is this proactive outlook combined with a community service-based infrastructure that has made KIS Foundation a successful non-profit throughout the years.