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We Are Family Foundation®
honors
Sting & Trudie Styler
with humanitarian award
Concert Featuring
Sting, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Sam Moore and Russell Peters
The We Are Family Foundation® (WAFF), a not-for-profit organization founded by legendary songwriter and producer, Nile Rodgers, honored Sting and Trudie Styler with the Humanitarian Award at its inaugural We Are Family HONORS event on Thursday, April 11, 2013, at Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom in New York City. The evening included a concert featuring performances by Sting, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Sam Moore and Russell Peters, as well as remarks by We Are Family Foundation Founder & Chairman Nile Rodgers, We Are Family Foundation President Nancy Hunt, Africa Rising Foundation Co-Founder & Co-Chairman Ndaba Mandela, filmmakerSlater Jewell-Kemker and U.S. Fund for UNICEF President & CEO Caryl Stern.Artists and activists Sting and Trudie Styler received the Humanitarian Award, which honors those in the public eye who have made tremendous efforts and inroads in helping to improve the human condition throughout the world. Previous recipients of the Humanitarian Award include musical legends Jackson Browne, Peter Gabriel, Sir Elton John, and television and radio host Larry King.
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| Ndaba Mandela and Sam Moore... |
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| Sam Moore, Niles Rodgers, Comedian Russel Peters, Ndaba Mandela |
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| Niles---and Singers |
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| Denise Richards and Rosie Perez |
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| Keb Mo' , Niles Rodgers, and Musician Pal (we saw at Crossroads Festival the next night!) |
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| The Face Winner Devyn Abdullah |
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| Trudie and Sting Styler |
Following the reception/Red Carpet, Nile Rodgers and Nancy Hunt - took the stage to welcome the evening’s guests, thanking everyone for their support and applauding honorees Sting and Trudie Styler for their commitment to helping make a difference for children around the world and protecting the environment. Hunt emphasized the significance of investing in the world’s youth through WAFF’s mission and existing programs such as Three Dot Dash, WAFF’s signature program, which identifies, supports and mentors Global Teen Leaders actively working on programs that address basic human needs and promoting a more peaceful world, before introducing 2012 Global Teen Leader Slater Jewell-Kemker.
Slater Jewell-Kemker is a young filmmaker with a passion for the environment. Her forthcoming film, “An Inconvenient Youth,” is a documentary featuring kids living on the front lines of climate change and the global youth climate movement, which is creating a green and sustainable future. After sharing the trailer for her documentary with the audience, Jewell-Kemker spoke about how activists like Sting & Trudie Styler set an example for generations to come.
“Because of leaders like Sting and Trudie, my generation will rise to challenges like climate change,” said Jewell-Kemker. Note---she is not of legal drinking age yet. Very Impressive!
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| Nile Rodgers, Trudie and Sting, Sam Moore |
Nancy Hunt then returned to the stage to introduce Ndaba Mandela, Co-Founder & Co-Chairman Africa Rising Foundation. Mandela spoke about Sting and Trudie Styler’s Rainforest Fund, an organization devoted to protecting rainforests and their indigenous peoples. To date they have raised more than $30 million for the cause and have expanded to a network of interconnected organizations in more than 20 countries. Mandela also recounted an exciting moment from his youth, when Sting made a personal stop on his tour to hold a concert in honor of his grandfather,Nelson Mandela. Sting’s support for human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Live Aid mirrors his art in its universal outreach.
“We each have the capacity to work together, and in doing so, to make a more connected world,” said Mandela.
We Are Family Foundation Board Member and U.S. Fund for UNICEF President & CEO Caryl Stern was next to take the stage. Stern spoke about Trudie Styler’s dedication and accomplishments in the fight for human rights. From raising funds and awareness for the UNICEF End Child Exploitation and United Against AIDS campaigns to visiting tsunami-affected Sri Lanka in solidarity with those affected by the devastating disaster, Trudie Styler has been a leading voice on behalf of some of the poorest and most vulnerable children on earth.
Stern was then joined on stage by Rodgers, Hunt, Jewell-Kemker and Mandela, who together presented Sting and Trudie Styler with the Humanitarian Award.
“We’re all born into this world. Some are placed gently, others thrust into it, and still others abandoned,” Styler said upon receiving the award. “But whatever the unequal circumstances of our birth, we share the same basic human needs of survival: water, food, shelter and warmth. There is another equally essential basic human need if we are to survive, and that is love. Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘Where there is love, there is life.’ Well perhaps tonight we can change that to say ‘Where there is love, there is family.’”
Following Trudie Styler’s remarks, Legendary Soul Man™ Sam Moore kicked off the concert portion of the evening with his timeless hits, “Soul Man” and “Something is Wrong with My Baby.” Sting was next to take the stage, first singing “Englishman in New York,” “Brand New Day” and an acoustic version of “Fields of Gold,” before inviting Moore back on stage for “Every Breath You Take.” Sting and Moore closed their performance with their own rendition of Bill Withers’ classic, “Just the Two of Us,” and were joined on stage by their wives, Trudie Styler and Joyce Moore.
Nile Rodgers & CHIC brought the crowd once again to their feet, with hit songs “Le Freak” and “Good Times,” before inviting all of the evening’s performers and speakers to the stage to close the evening with a show-stopping performance of “We Are Family.”
“The We Are Family Foundation was born as a result of the 9/11 tragedy, after which I asked the question, ‘Can we organize for peace half as effectively as others do for hate?’” said Nile Rodgers, Founder & Chairman of the We Are Family Foundation. “My song, ‘We Are Family,’ was the inspiration to bring people together, celebrate our differences and share ideas across borders in order to solve some of the bigger problems facing our world. We are inspired by Sting and Trudie and their dedication to making the world a better place.”
The funds raised will support WAFF’s mission and existing programs including WAFF’s signature program, Three Dot Dash, which identifies, supports and mentors Global Teen Leaders actively working on programs that address basic human needs and promoting a more peaceful world; and TEDxTeen, a global educational platform for extraordinary teenagers to share their stories and inspire millions.
The evening’s sponsors included Gibson Foundation and We-Care.com. Wine was provided gratis by Ramona Pinot Grigio.
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| (Mark Von Holden) |
About We Are Family Foundation
The We Are Family Foundation® (WAFF) is a New York City based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the vision of a global family by creating and supporting programs that inspire and educate the next generation about respect, understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity – while striving to solve some of our biggest global problems at the same time. Since its inception in 2002, WAFF, founded by legendary songwriter/musician/producer Nile Rodgers, has created Three Dot Dash, a Global Teen Leader initiative that has empowered exceptional teens from 36 countries on six continents working together to alleviate issues related to basic human needs; created worldwide curricula that is currently used on six continents; produced TEDxTeen, an annual conference that gives extraordinary teens (and a few cool adults) an educational platform to share their work, tell their stories and inspire others; built a global coalition of more than 75 organizations; created and distributed the award-winning PSA and early childhood educational DVD program, “We Are Family: A Musical Message for All,” to more than 60,000 schools and youth programs internationally; built 17 new schools, providing an education to more than 3,500 boys and girls in Mali and Malawi, Africa, Nepal and Nicaragua. To date, WAFF has made a positive impact on 15 million+ people worldwide.