Nominate an organization to receive a Kindness in Community Fund grant!
Last December, my daughter Lady Gaga made the difficult, brave decision to open up to the world about her experience with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As a mom, I was worried but also so very proud and hopeful about the message it would send.
Worried because I didn’t know how people would respond to this deeply personal admission about a topic that is still too often misunderstood. And proud because I knew the tremendous strength it took to share her story, driven by the desire to be honest about her own experiences and to help others understand that there is no shame in mental health.
The response was powerful. We heard from so many people who were grateful to hear her story and inspired to share their own. They were from every background and demographic – from high school students and veterans to suburban moms and high powered professionals, each with their own connection to mental health.
And among those who reached out was Prince William.
The Duke, along with the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, have launched Heads Together, a campaign to ensure that people feel comfortable with their everyday mental wellbeing and to combat the stigma that too often prevents people talking or getting the help they need. This mission is close to my daughter’s heart and is central to our goals at Born This Way Foundation.
So earlier this month, Prince William and my daughter decided to put their heads together and have a conversation about mental health, discussing the need to end the stigma that still shrouds the issue and the power of talking about it openly. The video, released today by Kensington Palace, is the latest in their #OkToSay series which showcases people from all walks to life discussing their mental health challenges.
My daughter and the entire Born this Way Foundation team are so honored to be able to support this amazing project. Please watch it here, share it with your friends and family, and remember – it’s #OkToSay.
My daughter and I started Born This Way Foundation with a simple mission: make the world a kinder and braver place. This goal has never been more important or more achievable – but only if we work together. So here at Born This Way Foundation, we’re declaring 2017 – our fifth year! – a Year of Kindness.
We have so much in the works to make this year our kindest ever, and to kick it off we’re starting with the biggest game of the year.
On Sunday, February 5th, my daughter Lady Gaga will take the stage in Houston, Texas for the Super Bowl LI halftime show. As she does each and every day, she’ll bring kindness with her. Our family is so excited and we are so proud of her – for the epic performances and especially, the kindness. We don’t just want you to tune in. We want you to help us start 2017 off right, that’s why we’re teaming up with Twitter and inviting you to organize a #KickOffForKindness Watch Party.
Whether you’re planning your annual game day bash or inviting everyone over to watch Lady Gaga rock the halftime show like only she can, you can offer your guests more than just great food – you can offer them ways to be kind! In addition to your world famous chicken wings or killer chili, set up stations with different Kindness Plays where your family and friends can participate in simple, important acts of kindness.
These activities may be small, but they can still have a big impact and we guarantee they will make game day even more meaningful for you and your guests. As a little extra incentive, my daughter Lady Gaga will have a special thank you for five #KickOffForKindness Watch Party hosts – tickets to an upcoming show!
Here’s how it works:
We’ll be picking five hosts to receive a special thank you from Lady Gaga herself – tickets to an upcoming show – so make sure to submit your party by midnight PST on Tuesday, February 7th.
Want to go bigger? Challenge a friend or family member to host their own #KickOffForKindness Watch Party and see who can collect the most Kindness Plays!
Let’s Kickoff for Kindness to make sure we kick off our Year of Kindness right!
Cynthia Germanotta
Born This Way Foundation President + Co-Founder
I and the rest of the Born This Way Foundation team passionately believe in the power and importance of kindness. We know that small acts of caring and compassion can send out ripples that reverberate in big ways.
This is true at any time, but is particularly vital to remember and put into practice during this season of celebration and community.
That’s why we’re so excited to announce that Born This Way Foundation has partnered with TODAY to launch the #ShareKindness Experience, opening today at 30 Rockefeller Center right across from the plaza’s iconic Christmas tree.
The pop-up activation invites visitors to participate in TODAY’s 2nd annual #ShareKindness campaign through a curated journey of kind acts, helping to reach our goal of inspiring one million acts of kindness throughout December.
The #ShareKindness Experience, which has been made possible with generous support from Citi, will be open through December 23. We hope all of you passing through New York this month will be able to stop by, see the space, and squeeze a little extra kindness into your day.
My daughter and I wanted to lead by example, so to help kick off #ShareKindness we visited the Ali Forney Center in New York City. The organization, which is one of the largest of its kind in the country, provides services and resources for homeless LGBTQ youth including shelter, HIV prevention, and life skills training. We went to donate essential items but more importantly we went to spend time with the young people the Center serves – we listened, we shared, we were present.
The visit was as meaningful to us as we hope it was to those we met that day. It was a tangible reminder that kindness doesn’t just benefit the recipient, it benefits the person acting kindly.
So we want to call on all of you to help us #ShareKindness this month – in person at the Experience or in your own homes and communities.
Participating is easy! All you need to do is tell us about your random acts of kindness on social media and use the hashtag #ShareKindness.
Together, we can make sure 2016 ends with an extra burst of kindness!
Four years ago this month, I stood hand in hand with my daughter on a stage in Boston to announce the launch of Born This Way Foundation. Our mission of building a kinder and braver world is still sound, and our strategy has evolved to focus on the wellness of young people by supporting research, relationships and real stories in our schools and communities. Our desire to empower and inspire young people and partner with them to build a kinder and braver world remains steadfast.
As I reflect on my time leading the foundation and the many young people I’ve had personal conversations with, I want to share what I’ve learned, the beliefs that shape our work each day and the conversations that my daughter, team and I are passionate about. Here’s what inspires us…
We believe in the power of young people, individually and collectively.
Because we believe in the power of young people, individually and collectively, we created the Born This Way Youth Advisory Board. Our work is guided by the feedback, input and stories of young people in both formal and informal ways and we look forward to finding more opportunities to integrate youth voice in all aspects of our programming and partnerships in the coming year. Over the last few years, we connected with more than 150,000 young people – face to face – in communities across the country and millions more online.
We believe in the necessity of convening young people – online and offline – to address their most pressing challenges.
Because we believe in the necessity of convening young people – online and offline – to address their most pressing challenges, we launched the Emotion Revolution. This past October, we brought together 400 people, including 200 young people and 200 teachers, funders, policy makers and non-profit organizations, to discuss how students currently feel in their schools and how they hope to feel. Through the Emotion Revolution and the ongoing work of our partners, we’re supporting young people as they demand an education that allows them to thrive, holistically.
We believe in the need and desire to put youth voice in the center of important conversations. the culture of community.
Because we believe in the need and desire to put youth voice in the center of important conversations, online and offline, we launched the #HackHarassment campaign in partnership with Intel, Vox Media and Re/Code to ensure that across digital platforms and in online communities, the values of kindness and bravery are being promoted and protected. Young people are communicating in unprecedented ways and there is so much potential to harness technology. Let’s join forces and work together to align this potential with the positivity we know promotes the ability to develop and thrive.
We believe in the value of listening and being listened to.
Because we belief in the value of listening and being listened to, we continue to collect Share Your Story testimonials from young people across the world. Thousands of young people have shared the challenges they face and the inspiring ways in which they’ve overcome those challenges. In the coming year, we plan to highlight some of those stories across platforms to learn from one another, support one another and shine a light on the brave young people that serve as examples to us all.
We believe in the generosity of our partners, and their deep commitment to collaboration.
Because we believe in (and have benefitted tremendously) from the generosity of our partners and their deep commitment to collaboration, we’re excited to launch a multi-year partnership with Mattel and Monster High to explore, encourage, and reward a culture of kindness and bravery online and in our schools. Lady Gaga believes it’s cool to be kind and we know the Ghouls of Monster High agree. We hope you’ll join us in this interactive exploration and pledge to be kinder to yourself and each other this year.
We believe that it’s okay for young people (or any one of us) to need help, and they should have access to quality resources to get that help, whatever it may be.
Because we believe that all of us need help, and we should know where to go to get that help, we’re partnering with leaders in the field of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Mental Wellness in order to increase our investment in and awareness of online and offline help-seeking resources. Next month, we’ll launch the third iteration of our Born Brave Experiences Study and work to unearth research findings that move the field forward, provide resources to young people and strengthen our body of evidence to inform our future work.
And most importantly, my daughter and I want to share our strongest beliefs…
We believe that NOW more than ever is our moment to build a kinder and braver world.
We believe in YOU.
As a mother, I am reminded each day of the distance between the world we live in and the world that we want our children to live in. I have the painful privilege of hearing heart wrenching stories each day; the stories of families struggling with serious challenges, young people facing untold acts of meanness and cruelty on a daily basis, organizations that tackle urgent issues in our communities each day and do so with little to no resources or support. Fortunately, over the past four years, I’ve begun to see a change in these conversations and an impact from our collective work.
More and more, we’re hearing young people telling us that they’re overcoming their reluctance to seek mental health, due to exciting initiatives such as Mental Health First Aid and Crisis Text Line. A ground breaking group of school districts are collaborating and working with young people to build proactive, healthy communities to combat meanness and cruelty and promote social emotional learning with partners such as CASEL and Facebook’s newly launched InspirEd initiative. Innovative companies such as KIND and Mattel are launching campaigns that promote kindness and bravery by helping to support the work of like minded non-profits and individuals around the country and the world.
Born This Way Foundation wants to continue to be a part of the change that young people are leading; building a kinder and braver world and realizing the potential that lies within each of us. It is a privilege to do this work alongside you each day and on behalf of my daughter and the staff and partners of Born This Way Foundation, we thank you for a tremendous four years and for the promise of an even more exciting future.
All the best,
Cynthia
As we know from the young people we talk to each day, online harassment is a pervasive, and vicious, problem. In fact, 4 in 10 Internet users say they’ve experienced harassment of some kind. 84% of people believe there is a real-life risk and emotional impact from online harassment. And crucially, people between the ages of 18 to 29 are most at risk. Despite these disheartening numbers, I believe we can change the way people interact online and create a kinder and braver community, and luckily, I’m not alone.
When my daughter and I founded Born This Way Foundation, we did so with the understanding that making a kinder, braver world requires collaboration and real action. That’s why I’m excited to announce a new partnership that embodies both of those elements of our mission.
Intel, Vox Media, Re/code and Born This Way Foundation are coming together to launch Hack Harassment (#hackharassment), a new, collaborative initiative to fight online harassment and provide safer, more inclusive online experiences. The goal of this project is not just one of awareness but to also increase accountability, advance technology solutions, and affect positive change.
For the thousands of young people who have experienced some form of online harassment, the time for action is now. The issue has gone under reported, and unaddressed, for too long, and too often, with very real consequences.
We have the collective capability to #HackHarassment — now we just need you to join us to make the internet and kinder place for all.