I2I's Heart-2-Heart on Celeb Philanthropy March Madness, Inspiring Climate Activists, Website Glow Up
Hey there,
Welcome to Intention 2 Impact (I2I’s) Heart 2 Heart (H2H) newsletter - where we share what’s on our minds, in our hearts, and up-our-sleeves. This is an archived newsletter from March 2024. Want to read the newsletter in real time? Click here to subscribe!
This month, we’re recapping I2I’s inaugural Celeb Philanthropist March Madness, Celebrating Earth Month with shout-outs to some inspiring Climate activists, and announcing I2I’s brand refresh!
On Our Minds
ICYMI: Last month, we hosted our first ever March Madness: Celebrity Philanthropy Edition!
We started with 16 celebrity philanthropists supporting causes ranging from climate change, to youth mental health, reproductive rights, criminal justice reform, and so much more.
430 of you played along on LinkedIn and Instagram to vote for your favorites, and Dolly Parton took home the ‘ship! 🏆 I2I was proud to donate $300 to Dolly’s Imagination Library, inspiring a love of reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five.
All month long, we had a blast learning about how different celebrities approach social impact.
About half of the celebs in our bracket, like Oprah, Beyoncé, Steph Curry, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Matthew McConaughey, started foundations that spearhead initiatives and give grants. Others, like Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys, and the MVP herself, Dolly Parton, started nonprofits serving communities directly. Celebs like John Legend, Emma Watson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda use their platform for advocacy and narrative change campaigns. Meanwhile, Ellen DeGeneres, Selena Gomez, and the newest giver on the block, Olivia Rodrigo, have started funds that raise money on behalf of organizations.
Comparing the impact of these orgs is like comparing 🍎 to 🍊. Some have global reach, while others have transformed local communities. Some have been around for decades, while some are energized to meet the moment.
Nonetheless, our research and YOUR votes show that celebrities can engage a variety of tactics to leverage their stardom, make an impact, and inspire the public. 🤩
Here are some of our favorite stats from March Madness:
In Our Hearts
April is Earth Month and an important call to action to raise awareness and cultivate consciousness about the climate crisis.
In this spirit, the I2I core team shared about environmental activists that are currently inspiring, informing, and giving us hope.
Kathleen: My best friend recently sent me this article about 31-year-old Nigerian activist Jennifer Uchendu who founded the NGO, SustyVibes. They are on a mission to make sustainability cool & relatable in Africa. The NGO recently launched the The Eco-Anxiety Africa Project (TEAP) to fill the gap in awareness about the intersection of climate and mental health in Africa. I was shook to learn that despite facing some of the harshest realities of climate change, there is a lack of words for climate change in several local languages. This quote got my Western-centric brain reeling: “When people start to talk about climate change, it can seem a bit elite because we are speaking in English rather than local languages.”
Nina: On the heels of I2I’s Celebrity Philanthropy March Madness, I am inspired by Billie Eilish, who helped launch and fund RVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project, which aims to ultimately eliminate carbon emissions created by the music industry. This blog by Roshan Paul explains more about how Eilish and other musical artists, like Coldplay, can use their platform and events to disrupt systems.
Sahiti: When it comes to environmentalism, I always go back to indigenous views and expertise. This is a great sample of the innumerous (only of a few of which are documented in mainstream modalities) works of art/poetry that grounds me!
Blake: Honestly I am not feeling very hopeful about things. We humans have a tendency to change only after calamity. It does give me hope that our client, Earthjustice, is doing what they can in the courtroom to litigate for major environmental wins on behalf of local communities.
Up Our Sleeves
Guess who’s back, back again?!
I2I’s back with a brand refresh and spankin’ new website. CHECK IT.
Our new brand reflects the next evolution of I2I (affectionately called I2I 3.0). In this era, we are embracing our 8 core values in bolder, clarified, and more generative ways. Same us, just elevated a notch (or two).
On the website we’re jammin’ to a new Spotify playlist, reppin’ our 2024 mood boards, and featuring archived copies of our newsletters & thought-pieces at The Intersection.
Big shout-out to Ayouni for providing the creative inspiration and design support to bring this refreshed brand & website to life over the course of the last few months.
Onward and upward, y’all!
You know, heart-2-hearts are supposed to be a 2-way street…
So comment below, what’s on your mind, in your heart, and up your sleeve? Hopefully a lil’ bit of good trouble. 😉
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Until next time,
Intention 2 Impact
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