Although best known for her on-screen work, Rosario Dawson has been an HIV and AIDS advocate for years, and she was honored for her efforts at the amfAR New York Gala held at Cipriani Wall Street on Wednesday, reports People magazine.

The high-profile benefit included such A-list attendees as including Heidi Klum, Brooke Shields, Naomi Campbell and Camila Alves McConaughey. The event raised more than $2 million for AIDS research.

Introduced by comedian and actor Chris Rock, Dawson took the stage with an emotional acceptance speech.

Dawson, 35, dedicated her honors to mother Isabel Celeste, adopted uncle Frank, and long-time transgender friend and activist Chloe Dzubilo. She shared both Frank and Dzubilo's stories of living with HIV.

Dawson explained that Frank was diagnosed HIV-positive in 1984. "And today, he stands before us: married, two homes, master's degree, and my hero, inspiring me to live my life to the fullest because we never know what's around the corner," she said.

HIV is no longer a death sentence, she pointed out, thanks to the work by organizations like amfAR.

Dzubilo's story demonstrated the stigma attached to HIV.

"When I was 6 years old when I first met Chloe, and I shared food with her. She stepped back because her immediate reaction was everyone else in her life pulled away from her," Dawson said. "I said, 'No, no, no -- I know. My mom told me. You have HIV, but you can't get it that way, so let's share.' And she cried because adults around her didn't even understand that."

Dawson is hopeful that one day HIV and AIDS will be eradicated.

"We're not treating this disease anymore like it's just a moral issue but understanding it's an epidemic and something that knows no boundaries -- not children, not women, not men," she said. "We need to act."

In closing, Dawson thanked her mother.

"I am so grateful for her, for introducing me to so many people," Dawson said on the verge of tears. "For giving me the space to be the person, never shielding me from the uglier world."