Lady Gaga Launches Anti-Bullying 'Born This Way' Foundation
Lady Gaga is teaming up with the MacArthur Foundation and Harvard University to launch the anti-bullying Born This Way Foundation in 2012.
-Lucia Peters, BettyConfidential.com
Lady Gaga was born this way, and you were too, and she thinks that's absolutely fine. In fact, she's even launching a foundation geared towards stopping people from getting kicked around just for being themselves. Talk about a good cause!
According to the Huffington Post, Gaga is teaming up with the MacArthur Foundation and Harvard University to create the Born This Way Foundation, a non-profit that will focus on youth empowerment. The foundation will help kids and teens boost their self-confidence and fight bullying, as well as mentor them and provide aid in career development.
The singer and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, will co-direct the foundation. "Together," Gaga said in a statement on her official site, "we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment."
Gaga has become increasingly well-known for her anti-bullying stance-she's even gone so far as to address the President himself about bullying issues and what he intends to do about them-so this is perhaps a natural next step. It's always good to see celebs using their status to help change the world in positive ways, rather than simply to bask in the spotlight. Furthermore, I find Gaga endlessly fascinating-not just because of her music, but purely because she's proof positive that you don't have to be like everyone else to succeed. Even as recently as 10 years ago, when the world was still in the thrall of Britney Spears-style cookie-cutter pop stars, it's unlikely that Gaga would have made it in the mainstream; and yet today, she has, and moreover, she's looked up to as a role model. That's a comforting thought.
The Huffington Post quoted Dr. Bob Ross, the CEO and president of the health foundation The California Endowment, as saying, "Lady Gaga will help empower and give voice to young people who find themselves overwhelmed, undersupported, disconnected, isolated, bullied, or struggling. This brand of leadership is sorely needed in today's world." And he's absolutely right. Gaga and her foundation may not fix the world in one fell swoop, but it's a start. The foundation will launch in 2012; in the meantime, you can keep an eye on its development on the Born This Way Foundation website. Every little bit helps!
Lucia Peters is BettyConfidential's associate editor.
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