TACOMA, Washington — If you look up Annie Lennox, you’ll find a long list of well-known songs that she has either written, sung or both. Another long list associated with Lennox is the charities with which she has been involved. Lennox has supported 75 charities, many of which address the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In fact, she is a UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador as well as an HIV Ambassador for London. Lennox even started her own charity, the SING Campaign. Through various humanitarian efforts, Lennox helps global AIDS relief.
SING Campaign
It is clear that Annie Lennox helps global AIDS relief through numerous charities. In addition, she also created her own nonprofit called the SING Campaign. In 2003, Lennox heard Nelson Mandela speak about the AIDS pandemic in Africa at his 46664 Campaign fundraising concert. The singer was inspired to help in her own way. Four years later, in 2007, the SING Campaign was born.
Combining her music platform, celebrity connections and her newfound insight on the AIDS pandemic, Lennox recruited 23 of the most famous female artists at the time to record the song “Sing.” A few of the artists featured on the track were Madonna, Celine Dion and P!nk. The song was used to raise awareness and money for the AIDS pandemic in South Africa. In addition to selling copies of the song, the SING Campaign raises money through artist’s performances, such as Lennox herself, as well as public donations. By 2012, The SING Campaign had raised more than £1 million.
Over the years, Lennox has continued to raise awareness and money through her SING campaign. The campaign’s mission has focused on treatment and care for women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa as well as women empowerment.
mothers2mothers
Lennox is also a patron for the nonprofit organization mothers2mothers (m2m). This organization gives African women living with HIV jobs as community health workers called “Mentor Mothers.” These Mentor Mothers work in almost 500 locations, helping other women, mothers or expecting mothers living with HIV by providing support and education about AIDS. Founded in 2001, m2m’s approach to making a difference includes the following:
- Providing peers helping peers
- Ensuring clients stay in care
- Using an integrated approach
- Continuing with evidence-based decision making
- Referring to its track record of experience and impact
- Creating strong partnerships
Since its start, m2m has generated jobs for more than 11,000 women living with HIV and reached more than 11 million women and children in South Africa. As a patron, Lennox promotes m2m’s work around the world by raising awareness of the challenges women and families living with HIV face every day. SING even provided m2m “a three-year £200,000 grant” in 2010.
SING Around the World
SING also helps fight HIV/AIDS around the world. “SING awarded a three-year £300,000 grant to TAC in 2007 to support its HIV work in Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape.” TAC helps provide anti-retroviral treatment to those infected. SING also helped establish Network Alba, a women’s organization that reduces social isolation in Waverley Care, Scotland.
As evidenced by her humanitarian work around the world, Lennox has made a clear dedication to not only Africa but the entire planet. As Lennox helps global AIDS through her fundraising and advocacy efforts, she helps the world get one step closer to eliminating HIV/AIDS as a whole.
– Sage Ahrens-Nichols
Photo: Flickr