Poverty and lack of resources is overtaking our country. With the help of those most influential, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for our students. These 5 celebrities have made it their mission to end hardship and offer support through the organizations they have created.
Jennifer Hudson and her sister Julia founded Hatch Day through The Julian D. King Foundation. They started The Julian D. King Foundation in remembrance of Julia’s late son, Hudson’s nephew. Every year, Hatch Day gives away over 2,000 backpacks all including school supplies such as notebooks, pencils, pens. The past two years, due to COVID, they’ve started introducing masks, hand sanitizers, and tablets. This organization resides in their hometown of Chicago, IL. They are giving back to their community especially in its time of need through the pandemic. Since then, they have put together events like these and many more to bring support to our students. Since the pandemic, many schools have started reopening and students are going without the necessary supplies. Just like these women, anyone can lend support for their community
Gina Rodriguez is on the front line of ending what is referred to as “period poverty”. Young women are missing school due to the lack of sanitary napkins during their menstrual cycle. Often due to economic struggles. As a young girl, you rely on what your family can give you. If you have to go without something as necessary as needing sanitary pads, it’s common for a young girl to become embarrassed. It’s easier to skip school, but over time, you start to see how it affects the student. They are missing a week out of every month and falling behind when they return. Gina Rodriguez teams up with the Always brand to end period poverty through a campaign she calls #EndPeriodPoverty. This program’s mission is to provide schools across the world with 15 million period products. They started seeing the effects of the program when girls of all ages were returning to school. This program provides a necessity for young girls, but also empowerment in their confidence. Girls shouldn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed of the natural cycle of their period. With the right support and products, they should feel great about moving forward in life. It takes celebrities like Gina Rodriguez to have the right idea in a dire situation and make a difference.
Celebrities like Pharrel founded an organization called From One Hand To AnOther in hopes of making a difference in his community. It focuses on helping students receive the right tools they need to succeed. Pharrel started off as a young performer who later on joined forces with his friend to form something greater in music. Pharrel owes his success to finding a love in music and ultimately changing his life. It started off as a way to give back to his hometown community. School supply giveaways at local parks soon turned into something greater.
FOHTA turned into providing over 1,500 children with summer camps focused on S..T.E.A.M.M. programs. This program mainly applies to children coming from under privilege or low income households. With all of the success Pharell has accumulated over the years, it’s amazing to see how close he stays to home. Part of making a difference for students is reaching deep into oneself and remembering the struggles we once faced. Spending years in the limelight, one can sometimes forget where they started. It’s so heart-warming to know this is what’s happening today. I can only imagine what the future holds for the success of students as more people rise.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas started the organization, Girl Rising, because she wanted girls all around the world to have access to research proving education programs.. The organization aims to educate, empower, and help young girls reach their full potential across this planet. Priyanka is bringing awareness to the issue of young girls not having enough support to succeed in this country.
Girl Rising became a documentary in 2013. The stories of nine girls from rural countries, striving through obstacles to have a better chance at life and in their education. This organization is impacting many other celebrities as well to want to be a part of it. In the documentary, you’ll see some familiar faces such as Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Kerry Washington, Alicia Keys, and many more. These celebrities see the importance of this cause and as women and human beings, want to change the outcome of their lives. Women helping women is such a powerful movement today and around the world. Let’s pay it forward by helping to make a difference.
Beyonce and Jay-Z have been longtime supporters of student education. Beyonce’s BeyGOOD foundation prides itself in supporting health, education, housing, disaster relief, and many more. The Shawn Carter Foundation offers support to individuals facing economical struggles to further their education. Last year, they partnered with Tiffany & Co. through their BeyGOOD and Shawn Carter Foundation. A pledge was made of 2 million in funding towards their About Love Scholarship program, specifically for students applying to Historically Black College and Universities. The schools named for this scholarship are: Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, Norfolk State University in Virginia, Bennett College in North Carolina, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and Central State University in Ohio.
This scholarship is specially tailored to students in financial need. Open to new or current students of the universities pursuing a major in history, communications, visual arts, media, performance, or design. The About Love scholarship offers a variety of scholarship funding, The amount is based on the students needs and how much financial help they will need. Both Beyonce and Jay-Z chose to pursue this cause of the rate of young students opting out of college due to financial need. Tiffany & Co. is proud to have partnered with them in highlighting the historic influence in African American Culture throughout these Universities.
You too can be the reason a student’s life is changed. Start that change today!
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