IN ATTENDANCE:
Sting
– We Are Family Humanitarian Honoree; Singer, Songwriter
Trudie Styler
– We Are Family Humanitarian Honoree; Artist
Nile Rodgers
– Founder & Chairman, WAFF; Producer, Musician and
Songwriter
Russell Peters
– Comedian & DJ
Sam Moore
– R&B/Soul Singer
Nancy Hunt
– President, WAFF
Ndaba Mandela
– Co-Founder & Co-Chairman, Africa Rising Foundation
Kweku Mandela
– Co-Founder & Co-Chairman, Africa Rising Foundation
Slater Jewell-Kemker
– Filmmaker
Caryl Stern
– President & CEO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF
Devyn Abdullah
– Winner, The Face
Grant Aleksander
– Actor, “Guiding Light”
Ann Dexter-Jones
– Jewelry Designer
Jean Doumanian
– Producer
Aviva Drescher
– Real Housewives of New York City
Judy Goss
– Founder & CEO, Over 40 Females
Nick Graham
– Founder, Joe Boxer
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
– Filmmaker & Portrait Photographer
Jen Groover
– Entrepreneur & Author
Eva Haller
– Philanthropist
Olivia Harrison
– Author & Producer
Iain Keith
– Senior Global Campaigner, AVAAZ.org
Beth Mercante
– COO, Over 40 Females
Keb' Mo'
– Blues Musician
Tom Murro
– Television Personality
Jeremy Osborn
– Co-Founder, 350.org
Rosie Perez
– Actress, Choreographer, Producer & Director
Seth Persons
– Composer, An Inconvenient Youth
Q-Tip
– Hip Hop Artist
Jennifer Redfearn
– Director/Producer, Sun Come Up
Denise Rich
– Philanthropist
David Rockefeller, Jr.
– Philanthropist
Susan Rockefeller
– Philanthropist & Jewelry Designer
Jean Shafiroff
– Philanthropist
Valerie Simpson
– Singer & Songwriter
Mario Singer
– Real Housewives of New York City
Ramona Singer
– Real Housewives of New York City
Daniel Stern
– Founder, Reservoir Capital Group
Gina Legnani
– Director Emeritus, WAFF; Producer
Jeffrey Hayzlett
– Bestselling Author, Running the Gauntlet & The Mirror
Test
Laurie Meadoff
– CEO, Cancer Schmancer
Susan Mufson
– Activist & Philanthropist
Michael Ostin
– Entertainment Industry Executive
Danny Schechter
– Producer, Filmmaker & News Dissector
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, filmmaker Slater 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.
The night began with a star-studded red carpet and reception
where guests mingled and congratulated global citizens
Sting and Trudie Styler. Other notable attendees
included
Africa Rising Foundation Co-Founder & Co-Chairman Kweku
Mandela, The Face Winner Devyn Abdullah,
Guiding Light Actor Grant Aleksander, Jewelry
Designer Ann Dexter-Jones, Producer Jean Doumanian,
Real Housewife Aviva Drescher, Over 40 Females
Founder & CEO Judy Goss, Joe Boxer Founder Nick
Graham, Filmmaker & Portrait Photographer Timothy
Greenfield-Sanders, Entrepreneur & Author Jen Groover,
Philanthropist Eva Haller, Author & Producer
Olivia Harrison, AVAAZ.org Senior Global Campaigner
Iain Keith, Over 40 Females COO Beth Mercante,
Blues Musician Keb' Mo', Television
Personality Tom Murro, 350.org Co-Founder
Jeremy Osborn, Actress, Choreographer, Producer &
Director Rosie Perez, Composer Seth Persons,
Hip Hop Artist Q-Tip, Director & Producer Jennifer
Redfearn, Philanthropist Denise Rich,
Philanthropist David Rockefeller, Jr., Philanthropist
& Jewelry Designer Susan Rockefeller, Philanthropist
Jean Shafiroff, Singer & Songwriter Valerie
Simpson, Real Housewives of New York City’s Mario
Singer and Ramona Singer, Reservoir Capital Group
Founder Daniel Stern, Producer Gina Legnani,
Bestselling Author Jeffrey Hayzlett, Cancer Schmancer
CEO Laurie Meadoff, Activist & Philanthropist
Susan Mufson, Entertainment Industry Executive
Michael Ostin and Producer, Filmmaker & News Dissector
Danny Schechter.
Following the reception, 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.
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.
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.