Variety held it's annual Power of Women event over the past weekend. This year's honorees are Vera Wang, Lupita Nyong'o, Julianne Moore, Megyn Kelly, and Misty Copeland, "who are using their clout to bring attention to worthy causes." Each was honored with a Variety cover & story.
Vera Wang
- Established the New York-Presbyterian Youth Anxiety Center along with psychiatrist David Shaffer (Anna Wintour's ex-husband) in collaboration with Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons
- The center focuses on anxiety disorders in people aged 16 to 28, specifically as they transition into adulthood, with a three-fold approach to addressing the problem: treatment, research and education.
- “We treat the anxiety,” says John Walkup, co-program director. “We also create programs to help these kids learn how to live again, how to cope and make up for the difficulties that they’ve accumulated since childhood.”
I can't find a video of Vera's speech :(
Lupita Nyong'o
- Backs Mother Health Intl. for African Relief
- The organization is dedicated to providing relief to women and children in Uganda and other impoverished or war-torn regions, in large part by creating locally engaged birthing centers.
- “What these women are going through in northern Uganda is very much what we witness happening in the story I’m telling right now in ‘Eclipsed.’ It’s a tragedy that women’s bodies are used as tools of war. When that happens, the trauma of war affects birthing. Mortality rates of children are so high and mothers die at such a high rate in these areas. It’s so important to change that.”
- Her sister introduced her to MHI executive director Rachel Zaslow.
Watch Lupita's speech here
Julianne Moore
- After Sandy Hook shooting, became involved with Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest U.S. organization for gun violence prevention, which launched in 2014 through a combination of the groups Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
- Advocates for initiatives that would create stricter background checks and supports laws that keep guns away from domestic abusers and strengthen safety programs.
- Moore points out that the group’s efforts are “not an anti-gun movement or a partisan movement — this is about safety.”
Watch Julianne's speech here
Megyn Kelly
- Disgusted by the statistics on child abuse in the United States. After receiving a 2009 award from the nonprofit Childhelp for covering these issues as an anchor on Fox News, she continued to stay involved by donating her time and appearing at fundraisers.
- Childhelp is the nation’s largest nonprofit for abused youth, providing housing and counseling to victims, as well as a hotline with therapists available around the clock.
- “Every 10 seconds in the country, someone calls up to report a child-abuse crime in progress."
Watch Megyn's speech here
Misty Copeland
- “I took my first ballet class on a basketball court at the Boys & Girls Club.” Misty, the first black woman to be promoted to principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, supports Project Plie, the diversity initiative for which ABT has partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of America.
- Project Plie aims to create an infrastructure of training and support for underrepresented communities in the classical ballet world.
- “It’s so much a part of my upbringing and my experience as a professional dancer,” she says. “I was the only African-American woman at ABT for a decade, and so much of what I do now is mentoring young minority dancers and trying to be a support system for them. It feeds me as an artist and as a person, and I learn more and more about myself and what’s lacking and what needs to be done in the professional ballet world.”
Watch Misty's speech here
Mariska Hargitay received the Karma Award for her philanthropic work as founder and president of the Joyful Heart Foundation, which helps survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse heal and reclaim joy in their lives through the programs they provide.
Go here to watch Mariska's speech
At the luncheon, Andre Leon Talley gave his two cents about Donald Trump:
"I wish him well. I wish him every success. I think he is a very important entertainer, and he is doing a great job running for president... Well, I think perhaps, I can’t say he has done a “great job.” I think he has done what he thinks is right. He feels it distinctively. It is an organic, fluid campaign, and he is the head of his own campaign and it is phenomenal what he has created, although I do think it is quite divisive. There are some things he’s said I certainly don’t agree with, but I admire him for doing what he has done."
sources:
Vera
Lupita
Julianne
Megyn
Misty
Mariska: insta | src
Andre