UK HealthCare

Boyz II Men to Compete on 'Celebrity Family Feud' For UK's Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center

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photo of Boyz II Men and Amber Ruffin and family on Celebrity Family Feud
Photo of Boyz II Men on Celebrity Family Feud
Members of Boyz II Men at the annual Barnstable Brown Derby Eve Gala. Photo Provided by Barnstable Brown Family

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 29, 2022) — Grammy Award-winning Boyz II Men are hoping to win some money for UK HealthCare’s Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center. The group chose the “Diamond Derby Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center” as their charity of choice as they compete on an upcoming episode of "Celebrity Family Feud." The episode is set to air on 8 p.m. Sunday, July 31, on ABC. Team Boyz II Men will feature:

  • ​Wanya Morris; 
  • Shawn Stockman;
  • Jo Koy;
  • Joe Mulvihill; and
  • Joseph Herbert.

Members of the R&B a cappella group have been faithful attendees through the years of the star-studded Barnstable Brown Derby Eve Gala. 

"Celebrity Family Feud," hosted by comedian Steve Harvey, welcomes celebrity contestants to face off to win money for their charity of choice. Team Boyz II Men will take on comedian Amber Ruffin and her family in Sunday’s episode.

The Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center was established in 2008 by twin sisters Patricia Barnstable Brown and Priscilla Barnstable along with their mother, Wilma. Together, they pledged the initial funding to support the center in memory of Patricia Barnstable Brown’s husband, David, who passed away in 2003 from complications of diabetes.

“Through the years the Barnstable Brown family has generously supported diabetes research and the provision of outstanding clinical care for people with diabetes.  By means of the family’s tireless and unwavering support, the Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center at the University of Kentucky has developed a national reputation for truly innovate diabetes research and for providing their patients with exceptional, state-of-the-art diabetes care,” said Acting Director of the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center Simon Fisher, M.D., Ph.D.

Through fundraising events such as the family’s annual Derby Eve Gala, which attracts celebrities from around the world to the Barnstable Brown family home in Louisville, the family has donated more than $16 million to the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center at the University of Kentucky. The funding helps combat diabetes, a disease that disproportionally affects Kentuckians.

“Thanks to the generosity and vision of the Barnstable Brown family, patients with diabetes in Kentucky are receiving the highest level of patient care and benefiting from innovative research that impacts treatment and understanding of the disease,” UK President Eli Capilouto said at the clinic opening in October 2017.

The Derby Eve Gala returned as big as ever this past May after being called off in 2020 and 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

This isn’t the first time a celebrity has appeared on a game show to benefit the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center in recent months. In November of 2021, *NSYNC’S Joey Fatone spun his luck for the center on "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune." While he didn’t win, Fatone received $30,000 to donate to his chosen charity. Like Boyz II Men, he is a longtime attendee of the Derby eve party and supporter of Barnstable Brown.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.