SEATTLE — Pop singer and humanitarian activist Lady Gaga brings hope to disadvantaged groups with her work for charitable organizations over the years including Oxfam, MAC AIDS Fund’s VIVA Glam campaign and Born This Way Foundation.
Gaga stressed the importance of kindness at the 2016 U.S. Conference of Mayors’ annual meeting in downtown Indianapolis with the Dalai Lama and a large number of the nation’s city mayors. On divisive issues such as race, nationality, sexual orientation and class, Gaga spoke out saying, “None of this can matter anymore.”
In 2015, Gaga joined some of the world’s most influential female celebrities, including Beyoncé, Meryl Streep and 33 other women in signing a petition containing a very important message about global education for women. Made out to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the petition demanded action to lift every girl and woman out of poverty by 2030. The letter details, “For the girl who can’t go to a decent primary or secondary school or access healthcare… for the mothers threatened with death when they give life and who aren’t allowed to decide when to have their next child… for the women and girls who can’t take those who are violent toward them to court nor access justice – let’s make sure they all count.”
In response to the devastating Haiti earthquake in 2010, Gaga held a charity concert and also donated all of her proceeds from one of her Monster Ball tour shows to relief efforts and victims, totaling more than $500,000. “I donated all of the proceeds from one show worth of ticket sales as well as all the of the merchandise from that show and for 24 hours we had a ‘Gaga for Haiti’ day where everything that was bought on the website… every dollar went to Haiti,” Gaga said.
The star also partook in MAC AIDS Fund’s VIVA Glam Campaign, which raised more than $160 million to fight against HIV/AIDS and raise awareness about its impact on women around the world. All of the proceeds of VIVA Glam lip products went directly toward the fund to aid those infected with the disease. Another one of the many charities Gaga has supported is Oxfam, a global movement of people working together to end the injustice of poverty. With 70 years of experience in more than 90 countries, Oxfam works to create lasting solutions to poverty, hunger and social injustice by tackling the issues that keep people poor: inequality, discrimination and unequal access to basic resources.
Gaga brings hope to disadvantaged groups through her own Born This Way Foundation, which aims to inspire youth and build better communities throughout the country and around the world. The organization’s impact includes partnerships with more than 50 nonprofits and direct interactions with more than 100,000 young people. Donations to Born This Way Foundation give young people the resources and skills they need to build a kinder and braver world by helping fund research on the crisis of mental health, solutions for youth issues, partnerships with other nonprofits and institutions and digital programming that will help on-the-ground work scale to a global audience.
With her long record of charitable acts, it is notable how Lady Gaga brings hope to disadvantaged groups, particularly women and young people. Her work fights against global issues like poverty, unequal access to education and injustices that continue to pose a threat to millions, and shows that there are still individuals willing to help and serve as a light in dark and difficult times.
– Mikaela Frigillana
Photo: Flickr