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Mark Zuckerberg’s Charitable Donations

Mark Zuckerberg Mark Zuckerberg is most commonly known as the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Facebook. He is also one of the wealthiest people in the world. Zuckerberg is an American technology entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is using his fame a fortune to help donate and raise awareness to put an end to global issues. With a net worth of $69.5 billion, Mark Zuckerberg’s charitable donations are a way in which this famous young man is using his own wealth in making the world a better place.

The Beginning of the Donations

Mark Zuckerberg’s charitable donations are based on his pledge to donate 99 percent of his wealth to charities over the course of his life. He vowed himself to this by signing the Giving Pledge. The Giving Pledge is a commitment by the world’s wealthiest individuals to dedicate the majority of their wealth into charities and for good causes. Within this pledge, Zuckerberg also wants to promote equality and advance the human potential for future generations.

In September 2016, Mark and his wife Priscilla Chan sold $95 million in Facebook stocks so that they could give the proceeds to charity. They plan to sell the stocks in the amount to at least $1 billion each year. So far, Zuckerberg has donated $45 billion to charitable purposes. He and his wife firstly pledged to give donations to charity by writing an open letter to their daughter who was born in late 2015. The birth of their daughter inspired them to change the world and environment and make it a better place for their daughter to live in.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Mark Zuckerberg’s charitable donations also include the joint work with his wife, Doctor Priscilla Chan, in creating and working in their own organization called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. This organization aims to create education reform, biomedical advancements, immigration reform and housing affordability. In addition, it focuses on improving the education system, global development, health and criminal justice systems policy.

All money that is donated and raised to this organization goes into helping these global issues. Zuckerberg’s goal through this initiative is to focus on areas of personal learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities. Through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Mark Zuckerberg and wife pledged to donate $3 billion over the course of 10 years.

Donations Toward Education

In 2010, Zuckerberg and his wife donated $100 million to improve the public schools in Newmark. Lack of education is one of the leading causes of poverty, and Zuckerberg and his wife’s donations in support of this issue help children get the right education they need to be successful in life. By getting a child the proper necessities they need in education overall gives them a better education. If a child is falling behind in first grade and then moves on to third grade and is still falling behind they will likely stay behind later on due to not having the right necessities for their work.

Donations in Africa and India

Mark Zuckerberg’s charitable donations also include donating $25 million towards a start-up that trains African developers as well as donating $50 million that creates an app designed to be a learning tool in India to help less fortunate gain access to education for a better future. Zuckerberg is a big advocate of learning and education.

With that being said, he has donated $30 million with his organization the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to help kids learn to read by technology. Zuckerberg uses technology to tailor the learning materials with kids’ interests, abilities and pace of work. Zuckerberg launched “Reach Every Reader”, a five-year initiative to build a web-based screening tool that is used to diagnose reading problems before kids can even read. This program is based at home as well as in schools to personalize literacy support or kids, teachers and parents.

Mark Zuckerberg uses his fame and fortune to help people in need all over the world. He has teamed up with his wife Doctor Priscilla Chan to create the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Mark Zuckerberg’s charitable donations’ overall goals are to focus on areas in all over the world to generate positive impacts in places of great need.

– Ariel Deahl
Photo: Flickr

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Help for the Future: The Social Good Summit

Help for the FutureOn September 23, 2018, the 9th annual Social Good Summit will take place in New York City. For years the U.N. has held this summit to help spread awareness of how technology and new media has caused us to rethink human progress. The world changes at a rapid pace and the Social Good Summit focuses on how we can use these improvements to benefit society in the future.

#2030NOW

Always held during the United Nations General assembly week, the Social Good Summit brings together an enthusiastic community of citizens from around the world as well as progressive leaders to focus on one or more themes. The most recent active theme is called #2030NOW.    

#2030NOW has been a theme of Social Good Summit for years. In 2015, the Social Good Summit launched what they call “Global Goals” that represent the objectives set forth to help create a better future. The intention of #2030NOW is to use the tools and technology the world possesses to create a more sustainable world and to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030.

Participants of the Social Good Summit

The Social Good Summit 2018 has a distinguished list of speakers that all want to see #2030NOW goals become a reality. Along with presidents, CEOs and founders of activist organizations, several celebrities will attend the summit in 2018, such as:

  • Uzo Aduba: Emmy winning actress, advocate and ambassador to Africa for Heifer International
  • Sonita Alizadeh: rapper and advocate
  • Amber Heard: actress, human rights defender, and U.N. Human Rights activist
  • Padma Lakshmi: author, host and producer of “Top Chef” and an advocate for the U.N. Development Programme

Social Good Summit Themes

Over the years, the Social Good Summit has seen many different, yet equally important themes, such as the ones presented below:

  1. Equality for women and girls: The summit often features panels on gender equality and female empowerment. Several solutions have been offered at previous summits including getting men involved, offering more family planning services, putting a stop to child marriages, financial opportunities and increasing access to technology.
  2. Global community: The social-good conversation has taken place in more than 170 countries and in 45 languages. Through the social good community, people around the world can connect, exchange thoughts and ideas and keep the 2030 conversations going across the globe.  
  3. The human story: Geena Rocero, founder of Gender Proud, stated at the 2014 Social Good Summit, “We are talking about human dignity. And that should be done without borders.” A theme that has been repeated time and time again at the summit the importance of remembering the individuals behind the statistics and stories who need help for the future to live better and more sustainable lives.
  4. A better world is within our reach: If the world comes together and acts, a better future is within our grasp. Whether it be ending extreme global poverty or gender equality, political action can help individuals who cannot help themselves.

Once the Social Good Summit ends, there are plenty of ways for interested parties and people to stay involved and connected. One such way is to participate is Plus Social Good, a website created to extend the community of activist and advocates that sincerely want to help create a better world by 2030.

In addition, Social Good has hosted more than 400 events in 140 countries and works to bring together international communities to collaborate on ideas that could create benefits for the future.  

– Olivia Hodges
Photo: Flickr

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Harry Styles’ Reminder to “Treat People With Kindness”

Treat People With Kindness
Former One Direction band member Harry Styles, currently a solo singer, songwriter and actor, recently finished a nearly year-long tour for his debut album, “Harry Styles.” He toured across the globe, making nearly 90 stops including Paris, Bangkok, Buenos Aires and Mexico City. The tour took close to ten months to finish. At each of his concerts, Styles had a merchandise stand with products that bore his slogan “Treat People With Kindness.” All of the merchandise profits, as well as a portion of the ticket sales, went to various local charities from cities at his tour stops. His tour raised $1.2 million for 62 global charities. By supporting these global charities, Harry Styles sends a reminder to treat people with kindness. Here are several of the 62 global charities that Styles supported on his world tour:

The Munich Refugee Council: Munich, Germany

Styles’ concert in Munich supported the Munich Refugee Council, an organization that has been working for the rights of refugees in Munich and other cities. Their work includes sensitizing the public and politicians to the living situation of refugees and working with others for a more welcoming society. The council also operates a project called Infobus for Refugees, which provides native-language counseling on asylum procedures and prepares refugees for hearings before first admissions.

Help Refugees: London, England

Help Refugees is known as “one of the unsung heroes of the European refugee crisis.” By working with small but effective groups and organizations, Help Refugees responds where the need is greatest by providing food, clothing, shelter or funding. Some of the most needed items that the organization provides include socks, underwear, razors, blankets, kids shoes, rain ponchos and pants.  

The Melbourne City Mission: Melbourne, Australia

Styles also toured in multiple cities in Australia. One of the Australian charities he supported was the Melbourne City Mission, which offers many services to support those in need in Melbourne and Victoria. The mission is Victoria’s largest source of homelessness services for those under the age of 24.

The Hub: Hong Kong, China

The mission of Hong Kong’s The Hub is to “give children in our society who are experiencing difficult circumstances an equal opportunity to become valuable members of the community.” The Hub is a support center that provides educational support, extracurriculars, counseling and health services to those who are most in need. 

The Chile Fund Against Hunger and Poverty: Santiago, Chile

While touring in South America, Styles donated to a number of poverty charities, including The Chile Fund Against Hunger and Poverty in Santiago, Chile. This fund was established by the Government of Chile and the United Nations Development Program to combat hunger and poverty. 

Forgotten Harvest in Detroit, Michigan

Styles toured in nearly 20 cities in North America. While in Detroit, Styles supported Forgotten Harvest, an organization dedicated to relieving hunger in metro-Detroit while preventing food waste. In 2017, approximately 589,000 people faced food insecurity in metro-Detroit. Rather than have food wasted, Forgotten Harvest receives food donations from 800 businesses and 250 emergency food providers. In 2016, this added up to 45.8 million pounds of food donated to those in need instead of ending up in a landfill.

Harry Styles’ merchandise mantra “Treat People With Kindness” has many meanings behind it. Making an extra effort each day to treat others with kindness can make a world of difference, especially for marginalized and impoverished people who rarely experience it. 

After his final tour stop in Los Angeles last month, Harry Styles posted a photo on his Instagram with the caption, “Thank you for coming out to see us, it has been a pleasure playing for you all…Treat people with kindness. Goodbye for now. I love you all. H.”

– Ariane Komyati
Photo: Google

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Four Examples of Anne Hathaway’s Humanitarian Work

Hathaway’s Humanitarian WorkActress Ann Hathaway once said, “A role model is somebody who does things because of what they believe in regardless of what other people think.” Hathaway couldn’t be truer to her own words. She is known for captivating audiences on stage and on the screen with one of her best-known roles being Fantine in Les Misérables. The part earned her an Oscar in 2013 for Best Supporting Actress.

However, Hathaway’s talents go beyond acting. She participates in 17 different charities and supports 24 various causes. Hathaway’s humanitarian work knows no boundaries. She supports several non-profit organizations and is fiercely dedicated to advocating for women’s rights.

Four Examples of Anne Hathaway’s Humanitarian Work

  1. One of the many organizations Hathaway has supported is The Lollipop Theater Network. This non-profit strives to show screenings of new movies to sick children who are unable to leave the hospital because of chronic illnesses. In 2008, she organized a screening of Get Smart and The Devil Wears Prada for hospitalized teenagers. In addition to The Lollipop Theater Network, Hathaway both supports and has donated to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a leading nonprofit organization in pediatric research and treatment for chronic illnesses affecting children.
  2. Hathaway’s humanitarian work extends further than advocating for children. She is continuously fighting for people’s voices to be heard. First, in 2007, Hathaway spoke at The Human Rights Campaign gala, which is known for being one of the largest LGBTQ support and political participation groups in the U.S. Hathaway also actively supports The Creative Coalition, this organization is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group based in the entertainment industry, the goal is to advocate on behalf of First Amendment rights and the importance of public education and the arts.
  3. Along with a diverse list of humanitarian work, Hathaway was chosen in 2016 to be a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador. She is known for being a renowned feminist and uses this platform to advocate for gender equality, especially in regards to motherhood. Disparities still exist between the roles that men and women are expected to take on after having a baby. Hathaway is promoting a more equal division of labor between parents, so that both may achieve a fulfilling home and work life.
  4. Her advocacy for women continued when she teamed up with World Bank-Nike foundation for “The Girl Effect.” In 2010, she spoke at The Adolescent Girls Initiative in Washington D.C. to disclose more information about the project. The program aims to help girls in Asia, Africa, and the Middle-East to achieve higher levels of education and develop skills that are useful in moving from school into the workforce. The program is currently active in seven countries but plans to spread to Haiti and Yemen. So far, the movement has raised $20 million.

Beauty transcends physicality when it comes to Hathaway’s humanitarian work. She continues to spread her influence across multiple different organizations, always striving to use her celebrity status to advocate and give a platform to those without a voice.

– Alyssa Hannam
Photo: Flickr

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Beyonce, Jay-Z To Headline Global Citizen Mandela 100 Festival

Mandela 100 FestivalSinger Beyonce and her spouse, rapper Jay-Z, will be among several major artists to perform at Global Citizen’s Mandela 100 Festival in December 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Other artists scheduled to perform are Ed Sheeran, Chris Martin, Pharrell Williams, D’banj, Femi Kuti, Sho Madjozi, Tiwa Savage and Wizkid. This latest concert campaign is said to be Global Citizen’s ”biggest campaign on the Global Goals to end extreme poverty ever.”

According to Global Citizen, the festival is to represent a celebration of Mandela’s legacy as an exemplary leader, his fight against apartheid, and his methods of non-violent protest that shaped the future of South Africa, setting an example worldwide. The Mandela 100 festival will be the first-ever musical event organized by Global Citizen in Africa

 A Global Initiative

As an organization that is composed of members worldwide, Global Citizen is a model example of a successful nongovernmental organization (NGO), a true grassroots movement. The organization has projected some major numbers for 2018: an estimated 2.25 billion people worldwide are expected to receive some form of poverty relief from Global Citizen, ranging from a year of free education for children to clean water for an entire community.

Global Citizen divides its goals into nine separate categories, each representing a broad set of issues that need to be resolved. They are:

  • Girls and Women
  • Health
  • Finance/Innovation
  • Education
  • Food and Hunger
  • Water and Sanitation
  • Environment
  • Citizenship

Global Citizen’s goal is to eliminate extreme poverty worldwide by 2030—just 12 years from now. And it seems that the organization may accomplish its goals, having secured a whopping $2.9 billion in funding from government organizations worldwide for 2018 alone.

How Everyone Can Help

But besides relying on funding from government bodies, Global Citizen asks that individuals take action as well, through twitter, email or petition. Global Citizen’s website offers a streamlined way for its constituents to influence representatives not only in their own country but in countries worldwide.

Some of the most recent and significant contributions to Global Citizen have come from the U.K., Norway and the E.U. These nations gave £225 million, Kr.2.07 billion and  €337.5 million to Global Citizen’s Global Partnership for Education project, respectively.

Mandela 100 Festival: A Festival For The People

The Mandela 100 Festival begins on December 2, 2018, and besides the proceeds going toward Global Citizen’s international fight against poverty, the other goal of the festival experience is to ignite a passion in young people to feel empowered to make changes in the world. Global Citizen wants to involve youth, on an international level, in the fight against extreme poverty.

Global Citizen’s website states it wishes to “galvanize young, passionate people across Africa to pressure their leaders to make important strides.” In fact, the motto for the festival is “Be The Generation.” Considering that Global Citizen is expecting to end abject poverty worldwide in little over a decade, millennials may just become the generation to tip the scales in the ongoing fight to elevate all members of our global community.

– Jason Crosby
Photo: Google

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Lin-Manuel Miranda Supports Full Recovery in Puerto Rico

full recovery in puerto ricoTwo months after category four Hurricane Maria made landfall on the U.S. territory island of Puerto Rico, bringing with it massive damages and a heavy reconstruction cost, recovery efforts are still under way. So, how is Puerto Rico doing now?

Director of research and analysis for the global medical nonprofit Direct Relief, Andrew Schroeder, indicates that a full recovery in Puerto Rico will take time. He states that the situation on the island, “remains quite serious and will require significant support for some time to come.”

In addition, PBS NewsHour reports that 44 percent of the island remains without power, and despite FEMA presence and efforts to up government funding for relief, the island remains in critical condition. As the efforts continue, some individuals and celebrities have taken up the cause to help bring about a full recovery in Puerto Rico.

Among those most notable for their advocacy and relief efforts for Puerto Rico is Tony, Emmy, Pulitzer and Grammy award winning composer and lyricist Lin Manuel Miranda. The Hamilton playwright and actor of Puerto Rican descent has been vocal in his support for aid to the island and joined thousands in a Unity March for the Puerto Rico in Washington D.C. Miranda has also taken to Twitter to urge the administration to keep up the recovery efforts, saying, “we still need your help” to President Trump.

Miranda took it a step further when he released a single, “Almost Like Praying,” borrowing its title from Leonard Bernstein’s musical West Side Story, which features Puerto Rican immigrants. This single brings together top musical names such as Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, Gloria Estefan and Jennifer Lopez, among others, who have banded together to perform this song written for and benefiting Hurricane Maria victims. The charity single debuted as a Top 40 song on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at number 20 in sales, and brought in 5.2 million streams in its first week alone.

A month later, Miranda announced that he will be reprising his role as Alexander Hamilton in his award winning musical for a two week performance at the University of Puerto Rico’s campus in San Juan. He has since stated that he had dreamed of bringing Hamilton to the U.S. island territory since it’s move off Broadway two years ago, but now hopes bringing Hamilton will help stimulate a full recovery in Puerto Rico’s economy after Hurricane Maria.

Lin Manuel Miranda joins many celebrities and artists not willing to give up their shot at helping rebuild Puerto Rico.

– Belén Loza

Photo: Flickr

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Christian Dior Supports Education in Kenya

Dior Love ChainPledging to donate up to $250,000, the French fashion brand, Christian Dior, supports education in Kenya behind ‘WE Charity’, a benevolent division of the Canadian association ‘WE Movement’ with the “Dior Love Chain”. Their movement is in support of work for WE Schools in Kenya.

Executing their advocacy with collaborative programs both globally and domestically, WE Charity is a global charity and educational partner based in Canada.

WE Charity partners with communities to implement WE Villages, a holistic, five-pillar international development model designed to achieve sustainable growth in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Presently providing services in Kenya, rural China, Sierra Leone, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Haiti and India, WE Villages is an advocate for community development in areas where there are excessive amounts of child labor, exploitation of children and a lack of opportunities for the girl child.

Within the five-pillar model they help provide education, installations of clean water sites and health clinics. WE Villages also provides food in school gardens, for families and in schools with help from founding partner PotashCor. Finally, it assists parents, especially moms, by innovating new economic opportunities through leadership sessions, financial literacy workshops and vocational training.

WE Charity’s goal is aimed at providing Kenyan girls with an education. Each post in the Dior Love Chain will offer the opportunity to donate one dollar to WE Charity by the Dior house, Parfums Christian Dior. The Dior Love Chain campaign is using all social media networks as the platform and is up to almost $40,000 worth of uploads.

With a commercial video posted to Twitter, Instagram and Weibo, Dior supports education in Kenya by inviting all social media users to upload their own artistic expression in answering, “And you? What would you do for love?” with a video or photo.

The commercial opens with dialogue exchange as the campaign called to their muses and house friends. Stars featured to advocate the initiative include Rihanna, Carine Roitfeld, Bella Hadid, Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron, Winnie Harlow and Jennifer Lawrence to name a few.

Each post uploaded to the listed platforms and “hashtagged” #DiorLoveChain will be considered for publishing to Dior.com by the campaign and will run up until December 31, 2017.

– Jalil Perry

Photo: Flickr

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David Oyelowo’s Humanitarian Work for Nigeria

David OyelowoThe Selma actor reached the heights of his career after receiving a 2015 Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama. However, David Oyelowo’s humanitarian work for Nigeria is his greater achievement.

On September 27, 2017, Oyelowo was an honoree at the GEANCO Foundation Benefit and previously in 2015, for the GEANCO Global Promise Award, for his humanitarian work for Nigeria. He has contributed to the foundation which rallies support for women and children in Nigeria. In the past two years, Oyelowo, a Britsh-Nigerian native himself, has been an advocate for women in Nigeria who suffer from human-trafficking, gender inequality and marginalization.

In an interview with CNN, the actor spoke about his motivation for establishing a leadership scholarship fund for Nigerian girls affected by terrorist acts. His motivation was the kidnapping of 300 schoolgirls by a Jihadist group in Chibok, Nigeria in 2014, which sparked the Bring Back Our Girls movement. The actor also attributes his inspiration to the women in his life and Oprah Winfrey, who started her own school to benefit girls in Africa.

“I really value the contribution women make to society,” said Oyelowo, concerning his inspiration for the scholarship fund.

David Oyelowo’s humanitarian work for Nigeria was also demonstrated in 2016 when he joined the Save the Children Global Campaign along with other celebrities. This campaign involved writing an open letter to Nigerian dignitaries and international charities warning them about the tens of thousands of children who would starve due to the Nigerian famine unless proper action was taken to prevent this at the humanitarian emergency donors meeting.

Additionally, David Oyelowo’s humanitarian work in Nigeria has involved advocating against human-trafficking. He was honored in June 2017 at the Diamond Empowerment Fund for using his platform to make a change. The actor spoke to Huffington Post about his objective to “extend his humanitarian efforts to combat the global epidemic of human trafficking.”

– Ashley Howard

Photo: Google

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Nathan Fillion Supports the Sawla Children’s Home

Nathan Fillion Supports the Sawla Children's HomeActor Nathan Fillion spent much of July 17 on Twitter personally thanking donors to the Sawla Children’s Home. In May, he announced the chance to “Win A Shiny Birthday Lunch” through a special Prizeo sweepstakes. Everyone who donated $10 or more was entered to win a ticket to Los Angeles and Facetime with Fillion on his birthday.

With true fundraising prowess, Fillion offered a slew of services to his donors, including thank you videos, voicemail messages, merchandise and personal tweets. Close to 1200 donors left comments on Prizeo thanking Fillion for supporting Sawla Children’s Home.

The International Assistance Program
The Sawla Children’s Home is one of the six main projects of the International Assistance Program, also known as iAssist. iAssist is a faith-based nonprofit which seeks to meet the needs of impoverished communities. In addition to the Children’s Home in Ghana, they sponsor a school for indigenous Guatemalans, a loan agency in Ethiopia, family services in Costa Rica and international sustainable water solutions.

Problems Facing Children’s Homes in Ghana
According to a report by the Department of Social Welfare, child care across Ghana suffers from institutional failures. Many children’s homes are unauthorized by the government, under-trained and use unreliable sources of income. They also have unreliable strategies for transitioning residents out of foster care. This is partly because Ghana lacks quality training programs and the government has an overall lack of political will to institute changes. As a result, the local communities are disinterested in supporting children’s homes. The DSW also reports cases of neglect within existing facilities.

Sawla Children’s Sustainable Practices
The Sawla Children’s Home began in 2007. Ten years later, they report well-fed, healthy residents who are excelling in school and impacting their local community. As a successful facility, the Sawla Children’s Home models unique strategies that help to overcome the institutional failures common in Ghana.

This success is largely due to its sustainability initiatives. Three main projects support the Children’s Home: farming, a tractor business and a van business.

  • Van business: The Sawla Children’s Home owns a 15-passenger van. The van becomes a sort of taxi for local points of interest. In particular, the van regularly takes tourists to the region’s national parks.
  • Tractor business: In addition to selling surplus crops at the local market, Sawla Children’s Home contributes to food security in the region by leasing their tractor. When it is not in use, the tractor travels to local farms as a method of generating revenue. The secondary consequence is that all farms in the region are able to produce more crops.
  • Farming: The Sawla Children’s Home uses a 20-acre farm to grow maize, yams, cashews and mangoes. They use these crops to feed residents and sell the surplus. This also teaches residences basic agricultural principles that can be used when they exit the program.

How Sustainability Overcomes Institutional Failures
These sustainable initiatives are an important tactic for overcoming institutional failures common throughout Ghana. First, they provide reliable sources of income. Second, they teach residents practical life skills like farming and business. Third, they foster respect for the local community.

In turn, this means that the Sawla Children’s Home can afford trained staff members. Access to quality nutrition gives students an advantage in school. That advantage, along with the skills they learn from these initiatives, aides in transitioning into the community. Finally, as residents leave the Children’s Home successfully, they will place a higher value on their experiences. This means that when they become community members, they are more likely to promote the interests of the foster care sector and overcome stigmas preventing the community from caring for its orphans.

– Brandon J. White

Photo: Flickr

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Demi Lovato Named Healing and Education Through the Arts Ambassador

Demi Lovato Named New Healing and Education Through the Arts AmbassadorOn September 23, Save the Children named pop sensation Demi Lovato as their new ambassador for Healing and Education Through the Arts (HEART). Teaming with Global Citizen, Lovato and Save the Children act as advocates for the mental health of thousands of children relocated to Iraq’s Kirkuk and Salah al-Din areas.

The HEART program endeavors to provide displaced children in Iraq with new hope and an opportunity for a brighter future after surviving unimaginable hardships.

In the first stage of their partnership, Demi Lovato and Global Citizen will help the world’s foremost child-focused philanthropic organization, Save the Children, by funding the expansion of the HEART program in Iraq. Last year, Save the Children touched the lives of more than 157 million children in 120 countries. Presently, the global HEART initiative assists more than 150,000 children in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Eastern Europe,

Since 2014, war and conflict have displaced more than three million people in Iraq. Many emigrant Yezidi women and girls who escaped ISIS and live in the Kurdistan region of Iraq do not have adequate access to mental health and psychosocial services. Many suffer from vivid “waking nightmares” or are too traumatized to speak. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq states that explosives, artillery and suicide bombings have killed at least 9,153 Iraqis since January 2016. A 2016 UNICEF report proclaimed Iraq to be one of the deadliest locations in the world for children.

According to a HEART spokesperson, the program encourages uprooted children scarred by brutality to process trauma using “drawing, painting, music and other art forms” to rebuild their self-confidence and trust in others

Lovato became a highly visible advocate for mental health issues after sharing her struggles with eating disorders, substance abuse and a bipolar diagnosis. The singer initially worked with Global Citizen in 2016 when she was one of several celebrities who appeared at the Global Citizen Festival in New York. More recently, she joined Global Citizen in Mumbai and Hamburg for the organization’s first festivals in India and Germany.

On her Instagram account, Lovato writes of her desire to “focus on vulnerable communities around the world.” With Global Citizen’s support, Demi hopes to reinforce her own wellness while promoting mental health care throughout the world.

– Heather Hopkins

Photo: Flickr

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