24 February 2009

John Legend

John Legend's mostly known as a grammy winning, multi-platinum artist, but today it's his philanthropic work that's getting recognized. Listed below are the organizations Legend has founded or advocates for. Inspired to create songs about the tragedies in Africa, Legend took those words and decided words weren't enough. And now he encourages us to move beyond words toward action. Please check out this amazing organizations, and visit their sites to find out more information.

The Show Me Campaign - Launched in 2007, the organization works to improve the living situations and prospects of victims of extreme poverty in Mbola, Tanzania. The mission of the organization is, "to fight economic and spiritual poverty through fostering sustainable development (personal, social, education, economic) at the individual, family, and small community levels. The Show Me Campaign is grassroots movement that engages all of its participants as agents of transformative change from the bottom up."

The Campaign supports Mbola, a remote village in Tanzania, in an effort to permanently lift itself from extreme poverty. The Campaign works with Millennium Promise and the local Mbola community to implement practical solutions to advance its mission. I highly recommend visiting the Show Me Campaign's website to see an outline of the seven initiatives to help this village. They range from providing fertilizer to help farmers to education and internet. They  not only provide relief, but also offer sustainable solutions. These life-changing initiatives can be secured for just $60 per villager per year over 5 years. 

Millennium Promise - their mission "is to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals to halve extreme poverty in Africa by 2015. To that end, Millennium Promise works with impoverished communities, national and local governments, and partner organizations to implement high-impact programs aimed at transforming lives on the continent and engaging donor nations, corporations, an the general public in the effort. Our work is premised on the belief that, for the first time in history, our generation has the opportunity to end extreme poverty, hunger, and disease." They envision the end extreme worldwide poverty by 2025.

"Millennium Development Goals are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions-income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion- while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. They are also basic human rights- the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter, and security." 

These eight goals are:
  • Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty
  • Achieve Universal Primary Education
  • Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
  • Reduce Child Mortality
  • Improve Maternal Health
  • Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
  • Ensure Environmental Sustainability
  • Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) - a national nonprofit that develops African American, Hispanic and Native American young people for leadership positions in corporations, nonprofits, and entrepreneurial ventures where these minority groups are under-represented. The organization partners with MBA programs and blue-chip corporations to provide programming at critical career transition points: high school to college, college to early career, early career to MBA, and MBA to executive leadership. MLT provides high-potential minority talent with the skills needed to succeed. To date the organization has over 300 Career Prep alumni and 500 MBA Prep alumni.

The Gentlemen's Fund -  an initiative established in 2007 to commemorate GQ's 50th anniversary. The Fund has partnered with five charities and five celebrity ambassadors to support the five cornerstones essential to men: Opportunity, Health, Education, Environment, and Mentorship. As an ambassador, John Legend, raises support and awareness for organizations that embody these five principles.

For more information about these organizations, their work and how you can help please visit their websites.

1 comment:

  1. Great ideas and ways of working in Africa, its organizations that work with the local community that will make the biggest difference in Africa.

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