I’ve written a series of popular articles about leaders, entrepreneurs, and artists and how they give back to their communities.
Today I wanted to focus on a singer who grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and was generous in her philanthropy. Sure, Selena Gomez is famous for her singing and acting, but maybe we should focus more on her charitable endeavors.
Let’s take a quick look.
Dallas-Fort Worth singer
Selena Gomez was born in 1992 in Grand Prairie and attended Danny Jones Middle School in Mansfield ISD before leaving the Dallas-Fort Worth area to pursue an acting career. However, Gomez remains proud of her school, which she visited last year to speak to students.
“This neighborhood has grown a lot, and I’m really proud of it, just because it’s given so many other kids the opportunity to have a good education. What I would say to them is that it’s is really hard, but worth it.” Selena Gomez
In December 2015, Gomez decided to return to her Texas roots and bought a house in Fort Worth, not far from her childhood home in Grand Prairie.
She has had several number one hits, was named Billboard’s Woman of the Year in 2017, broke 15 Guinness World Records, and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2020.
But perhaps even more important is his work for charity.
Philanthropy
Gomez began working as a UNICEF ambassador at age 17, the youngest at the time. Since becoming a UNICEF Ambassador, Gomez has supported numerous UNICEF initiatives, including Project Tap, UNICEF Snowflake Ball, and Project ELIMINATE. Additionally, in 2012, she raised $200,000 for UNICEF’s Global Education, Sanitation and Immunization Advocacy at one of her concerts.
In 2020, Gomez launched the Rare Impact Fund shortly before launching her Rare Beauty line of cosmetics to help support mental health. 1% of all sales help expand mental health services and youth education.
Gomez hopes to raise $100 million over the next ten years to help close the gaps in mental health services. So far, the fund has distributed $1.7 million to nearly a dozen and a half mental health organizations.
“Mental health is personal to me. Figuring out how to manage my mental health hasn’t always been easy, but it’s something I’m constantly working on, and I hope I can help others work on it too. Selena Gomez
Gomez has advocated for immigration reform, cancer treatment and AIDS awareness.
This month, the Ruderman Family Foundation honored Gomez with its annual Morton E. Ruderman Award for Inclusion for “drawing on his personal journey” to help others around the world gain access to advice and other services.
“Selena Gomez powerfully embodies our foundation’s mental health mission – a mission that continues to grow in importance amid today’s unprecedented mental health crisis for teens, young adults and the general population,” said Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation. .
Your thoughts
Readers, what do you think of Selena’s charitable efforts? What other organizations in Dallas County and Texas would you like to see his support?
Please leave a comment below with your thoughts and share this article with others so they can join the conversation.