John Legend at the piano after sharing his passion for education.

“As I sat on stage at my high school graduation, the crowd around me looked smaller than it had freshman year. Somewhere between freshman orientation and graduation, many of my peers had found a reason to give up on school and drop out. Whatever the cause, they took a path that would forever limit their life prospects just as I was entering a world of opportunity.”

So said John Legend at Mahaffey Theater in December. In town for a benefit for United Way of Tampa Bay, the man with the golden voice shared his passion for lifting people out of poverty through education. It’s a passion shared by United Way and our supporters.

John is well-known for his philanthropy and his Show Me Campaign, an organization that works to break the cycle of poverty through proven solutions. The Show Me Campaign works in Africa with people who live on less than a dollar a day, helping meet their basic needs. In America, Show Me took a different direction.

As the artist said, “I firmly believe that the single best way to help individuals break the cycle of poverty here in the U.S. is through education. And that’s why the Show Me Campaign fights for every child to have access to a quality education, regardless of race, income or what neighborhood they happened to be born into.”

He praised United Way for its efforts in preparing preschoolers for kindergarten, noting that the achievement gap starts at an early age; and for continuing to help youth through out-of-school and development programs. And after exhorting the audience to get involved, he sat down at the piano.
John and the piano. That’s all it took to get hearts thumping, bodies swaying and couples smiling. The diverse audience was on its feet and filling in for John’s back-up singers.

The evening wouldn’t have been possible without Valpak.com’s generous sponsorship. The Royal Theater Boys and Girls Club  was the perfect opening act. The talented boys and girls rocked the Mahaffey with the sounds of Motown and the St. Pete program boasts a 100% high school graduation rate.

If you were fortunate enough to be there, you know what I’m talking about. You’ll hear more about our specific efforts in education later this year. No one could have kicked off our enhanced efforts better than John Legend.
Sincerely,

 

 

 

Diana Baker, President and CEO

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