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On Thursday,
April 23, 2015, the We
Are Family Foundation® (WAFF),
a not-for-profit organization founded by legendary
GRAMMY® Award winning musician, Nile
Rodgers, honored U.S. Fund for
UNICEF’s President & CEO, Caryl
M. Stern, SAP’s
CEO, Bill
McDermott and
multiple GRAMMY® Award winning music icon Chaka
Khan, at
Manhattan Center’s Hammerstein Ballroom in New York
City. The evening was hosted by Fox 5 News
anchors Rosanna
Scotto and Greg
Kelly, and included a concert featuring Nile
Rodgers & CHIC, performing
with Chaka
Khan for
the first time on stage together.
The highly-anticipated event celebrated three
extraordinary global citizens: President and CEO of
the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Caryl
M. Stern received
the Mattie
J.T. Stepanek Peacemaker Award which
honors any person who has made a significant
contribution toward promoting a peaceful society.
Since joining the U.S Fund for UNICEF in 2006, Stern
has traveled to more than 30 countries in support of
UNICEF’s work to save and protect the world’s most
vulnerable children, and spearheaded the
organization’s efforts to aid children affected by
disasters. Previous recipients of this award
include, Dr. Maya Angelou, Paul Simon, Archbishop
Desmond Tutu, Quincy Jones, Dr. Jeni Stepanek and
Deepak Chopra.
Bill McDermott,
Chief Executive Officer of SAP, the world’s business
software market leader, received the Visionary
Award, which recognizes
a corporation or a person in the corporate world
whose philanthropic efforts have made a meaningful
difference in our world. McDermott leads SAP’s
74,400 employees and 2+million person ecosystem in
executing SAP’s vision and strategy to help the
world run better and improve people’s lives.
Previous recipients of this award include, Susan and
David Rockefeller, Jr., Tommy Hilfiger and Nicole
and Matthew Mellon.
International music icon and ten-time GRAMMY® Award
winner, Chaka
Khan,
received the Humanitarian
Award, which honors
a person in the public eye who has made tremendous
efforts and inroads into making the human condition
better throughout the world. Since she burst onto
the music scene in the 1970s as the 18-year-lead
singer of the
multiracial band Rufus, Chaka Khan has since
released 22 albums, racked up ten #1 Billboard
Magazine charted songs, developed a vast
international fan base and performed on six
continents, during an illustrious career spanning 40
years to date. In 1999, she established the Chaka
Khan Foundation, a project of Community Partners,
which includes a variety of programs and initiatives
that assist women and children at risk. Previous recipients
of the Humanitarian Award have included Sting &
Trudie Styler, Sir Elton John, Steven Van Zandt,
Nile Rodgers and Jackson Browne.
“We are inspired by each of our 2015 honorees who
show passion to their individual mission and
continuous dedication to solving some of the biggest
global issues facing our world,” said Nile Rodgers,
Founder & Chairman of the We Are Family Foundation.
“My song, ‘We Are Family,’ embodies the spirit of
our honorees and the We Are Family Foundation, which
brings people together to celebrate our differences
and share important ideas across borders to make a
difference and inspire peace.”
The funds raised will support WAFF’s mission and
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.
About We Are Family Foundation
We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) is a non-profit
organization that's dedicated to the vision of a
global family by creating and supporting programs
that promote cultural diversity while nurturing the
vision, talents, and ideas of young people who are
positively changing the world.
Through global initiatives like Three Dot Dash and
TEDxTeen, WAFF has mentored and empowered
extraordinary teens from more than 60 countries on
six continents by giving them platforms to share
their messages, tell their stories, inspire others,
amplify their work and foster respect and
understanding across cultures.
www.wearefamilyfoundation.org |