Garcelle Beauvais may be a revered actress and media personality with a storied career, but those are just a few hats she wears. Beauvais is also a global humanitarian who uses her platform to shine a light on issues affecting various communities worldwide. Because of that, her latest partnership with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) for the Pockets of Hope campaign makes sense. This campaign seeks to illuminate the beauty of her home country, Haiti, by highlighting local initiatives, including economic opportunities, improving healthcare, and more. Last month, WKKF announced their support of Haiti by committing $30 million to the cause and $20 million from other commitments.
When it comes to this partnership, Beauvais is especially excited about the opportunity as she believes it’s helping to empower Haitian residents. The starlet feels it’s important to lean into allyship when lending her voice to the cause.
“It’s all about giving Haitians their power back, and that’s why I’m really excited about the W.K. Kellogg Foundation commitment too. It’s not about coming in and being the hero; it’s really empowering the Haitian communities and the initiatives that are already working, not only empowering them but also giving them their own power because they know what they need. And so for me, anything we can do to support Haiti, support children, support families is what it’s about.”
Not only is the entertainer excited about the opportunity to give back, but also the ability to connect with her home country. Beauvais was born in Haiti, and the opportunity to get involved with Pockets of Hope wasn’t a hard decision on her end.
“You can take the girl out of Haiti, but you can’t take Haiti out of the girl. Haiti will always be in my heart in so many ways, from my background to my resiliency and hope. All that is because it’s built-in when you’re born in Haiti. I have this amazing platform, and what a great way of using it for good and for communities and things that resonate with me. So when the W.K. Kellogg Foundation approached me, it made perfect sense because Haiti will always be in my heart. I’ve taken my kids to Haiti several times. It’s important that I don’t forget where I’m from because that’s what makes me me.”
The President and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, La June Montgomery Tabron, feels that the collaborative aspect of the campaign is integral. Tabron believes that partnering with community members, leaders, and Beauvais is of utmost importance in making a difference.
“For us, the reason why this partnership is so special is because while we’ve been working in Haiti for more than a decade and committed ourselves to Haiti for at least a generation, what we know is the work happens on the ground, with the people on the ground and the leaders of Haiti. And partnering with Garcelle, a Haitian, really allows us to solidify our own approach, which is we’re not doing this for people, we’re doing this with our Haitian brothers and sisters.”
It’s no secret that philanthropy in itself can be utilized to address complex social issues. Regarding the foundation’s work in Haiti, Tabron believes that their efforts can serve as a point of connection between funders and the work itself.
“Philanthropy involves taking risks. We are originators, and we can go in and fund new ideas, innovation, and best practices and then promote those bodies of work so that they can be replicated and scaled. And at this moment, we can speak to our work in Haiti. We’ve been there on the ground. We know these organizations are trusted partners in this work, and we can help bridge other funders to be able to work with the network.”
For those looking to help with this initiative, Beauvais assures that everyone can create change simply by getting involved and spreading the word.
“I think it’s getting involved, visiting the website and seeing where you can help spread the word, getting investors and other funders to join. Everyone can do something. Everything makes an impact, and I think it’s important for people to feel like they, too, can create change. It doesn’t always need to be a big company; It’s about spreading the word. It’s finding out where you can help and then just getting in there.”
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