Jayson Williams: Charity at Home

By Stephen M. Silverman

Tuesday September 01, 1998 12:00 AM EDT

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Michael J. Fox was among the guests this weekend at the lavish New Jersey spread of Nets center Jayson Williams, who hosted his second annual All-Star Barbecue to benefit his 5-year-old charitable foundation (which is particularly active in raising money to fight pediatric AIDS and other diseases). Members of the public paid $250 each to attend the event, which also brought out the state's Gov. Christie Todd Whitman, Laurence Fishburne and Lauren Hutton. More money was also raised during an auction whose items included a Michael Jordan autographed jersey and a Muhammed Ali autographed boxing glove. Williams, who sits on the board of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, presented Fox with a check for $50,000 (from proceeds of his book, "Loose Balls") and told PEOPLE about the need to give back to the community: "I think our service to others is the rent we pay here on earth. I feel I have made a lot of money, and God has been good to me."