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GO Campaign

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GO Campaign is a national nonprofit organization based in Santa Monica, California, that raises awareness and funds to help orphans and vulnerable children in the USA and throughout the world. Founded in 2006 by Scott Fifer, the organization supports projects at the grassroots level that bring direct relief to children in need of education & vocational training, medical care, enrichment programs, and basic human rights. The grants are executed by partnering with local leaders on the ground who are delivering local solutions. These are often projects that would otherwise fall through the cracks that have not been able to garner the attention of larger grant-making organizations and where small grants can have great impact. Thanks to a private gift covering operating and fundraising expenses, 100% of all public donations to GO Campaign go to programming costs, and donors are allowed to choose the project they want to support.

Actors Robert Pattinson, Lily Collins and Ewan McGregor are the organizations official ambassadors.

Background

Former attorney and successful Hollywood screenwriter Scott Fifer founded the organization in 2006 after taking a volunteer vacation in Tanzania. Originally established to help Tanzania's orphans and vulnerable children secure a better future, support for the nonprofit quickly outpaced its initial goals. In 2008, the organization officially changed its name to GO Campaign and expanded its reach throughout the developing world. Fifer is a contributing blogger to the Huffington Post. GO's Board of Directors includes Fifer, GO Campaign Co-Founders Victoria Strauss Kennedy, and Daryl Offer, and directors Rami Ghandour, Tony Horton, Dr. Kenneth Kim, Robert Scott, Julie Milligan, Alex Vorbeck, and Jonathan and Jamie Ward.

GO has funded children's programs in over 34 countries ranging from Haiti and Peru to Cambodia and Vietnam to Kenya and South Africa, impacting over 126,000 children. GO also funds programs for youth in the United States as well, in rural Mississippi, Chicago, Colorado, New York City, Native American reservations, and over a dozen projects in Los Angeles.

In 2010, Malawi's William Kamkwamba, author of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, was one of four winners of GO Campaign's inaugural GO Ingenuity Award, a financial grant that allows inventors and artists to share ingenuity and invention with youth in developing nations.

In 2013, GO Campaign became the first US nonprofit to directly partner with the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, subject of the documentary Landfill Harmonic.

In 2014, one of GO Campaign's local heroes from India, Kailash Satyarthi, won the Nobel Peace Prize, while other GO Campaign Local Heroes have been named as CNN Heroes.

GO projects around the world have been featured in Vogue (magazine),[1] People (magazine) and 60 Minutes.[2]

To celebrate its 10 year anniversary in 2016, GO's Board of Directors decided to amplify the work of one of their Tanzanian Local Heroes by committing to building a state-of-the-art centre for autistic and intellectually-challenged children in Kilimanjaro. The new Gabriella Rehabilitation Centre opened its doors at the end of 2018 and has its official grand opening in 2019, welcoming children and young adults and their families from all over Africa.

Events

The GO GO Gala is GO's annual Hollywood fundraiser. Sponsored by Beachbody and other corporate sponsors, the event brings together celebrities, project partners from the field, social activists, supporters and top rate entertainment. On occasion, GO Campaign presents an honoree with the Giving Opportunity Award at the Gala in recognition of their work for children throughout the developing world. Past recipients have included Cameron Sinclair, founder of Architecture for Humanity, Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS Shoes Lauren Bush-Lauren and Ellen Gustafson, founders of FEED Projects, UN Human Rights Advocate Chris Mburu from the HBO documentary "A Small Act", and anti-trafficking activist Ruchira Gupta. The 2011 gala hosted by Ewan McGregor included an online auction including a set visit to the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn movie set and meeting with the film's star Robert Pattinson which sold for $80,000.[3] In 2011, Sumner Redstone donated $100,000 to GO Campaign for the building of two new schools in Cambodia. At the 2012 GO GO Gala co-hosted by Mike White, the grandchildren of Robert F. Kennedy presented Redstone with a special gift from Cambodia in recognition of his generosity. To date, Redstone has donated $350,000 to GO Campaign's efforts to help children around the world.[4] The 2013 Gala was hosted by Adam Shankman and featured performances by Melissa Etheridge, Beth Behrs, and Dermot Mulroney, and guests included Robert Pattinson who was the high bidder on a cello made from recycled trash in Paraguay.[5] Pattinson made a repeat appearance at the 2014 Gala,[6] which was hosted by Ewan McGregor. Guests at the event included Katy Perry, Vin Diesel, Kate Hudson and Julia Ormond. The 2016 Gala featured a performance by Jackson Browne. 2017 Gala guests included Gal Gadot and Lily Collins. 2018's Gala speakers included Fifer, Pattinson, Collins, and Evangeline Lilly. The 2019 Gala was hosted by Robert Pattinson with a musical performance by Aloe Blacc and with guests John David Washington, Armie Hammer, Rami Malek, Paris Hilton, and Emily Ratajkowski attending.

Smaller events have included GO Rocks at the Roxy, where youth bands take the stage along with accomplished artists such as Glenn Frey, Ziggy Marley, Don Was and Dennis Quaid; Cars & Casino hosted at TLC/ICON 4x4 (attended by Phoebe Dahl and then fiancee Ruby Rose in 2014 and hosted by Joel McHale in 2015; and hosted events at Soho House West Hollywood. In 2014, Ewan McGregor and his wife hosted an event for GO Campaign at FIKA NYC in Manhattan to celebrate his Broadway debut in The Real Thing.[7] In 2015, artist Shepard Fairey, who frequently deejays at the GO GO Gala, created a GO Campaign t-shirt for his company OBEY with profits from the shirts being donated to GO Campaign.

In 2015, McGregor and Pattinson became official ambassadors of GO Campaign. They were joined by Lily Collins in 2018, making her the first female ambassador of the organization.

In 2017, Facebook and Oculus announced that GO Campaign was selected by as one of only ten international charities to be championed in the 'VR for Good Creators Lab', with GO Campaign's work to be featured in an upcoming virtual film.

In 2018, Lupita Nyong'o posted on social media that GO Campaign was "near and dear to my heart". Included among GO Campaign's many projects is the SOM Chess Academy in Uganda, the subject of the Disney film Queen of Katwe.

References

  1. ^ "Press". Faircloth Supply. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  2. ^ http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/the-recyclers-from-trash-comes-triumph/
  3. ^ "Robert Pattinson Sells for a Record-Breaking $80,000". Etonline.com. 2010-12-08. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  4. ^ https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sumner-m-redstone-donates-100-150000203.html;_ylt=A2KJjaj43bhQEnEAakjQtDMD
  5. ^ Khatchatourian, Maane; Khatchatourian, Maane (2013-11-15). "Robert Pattinson Toasted, Bids $5,600 on Recycled Cello at GO GO Gala". Variety. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  6. ^ "Robert Pattinson FINALLY reveals his drastic shaved hairdo". Mail Online. 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  7. ^ "Ewan McGregor holds wife Eve in loving embrace at charity event". Mail Online. 2014-10-27. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
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