The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Harvard names Elton John top humanitarian
Part-time Atlantan Elton John has been honored by the Harvard Foundation with its Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award and will give a lecture on Nov. 6.
In a release, the foundation saluted John’s “humanitarian efforts to fund and raise awareness about the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS,” noting “he has long supported the rights of all people affected by the AIDS epidemic. In 1992, he established the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which to date has raised more than $385 million to support HIV/AIDS-related programs around the world. His philanthropic endeavors were recognized by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, who knighted him in 1998.”
John’s support of Atlanta organizations includes a very active role with Open Hand, a local nonprofit nutrition agency founded in 1988 to serve persons dealing with HIV/AIDS. Its mission has expanded to include area seniors in need.
In 2015, just prior to his performance at Music Midtown, John teamed up with Open Hand and personally delivered the agency’s 1 millionth meal. (We have a video of him making the special – surprise – delivery posted online at buzz.blog. ajc.com/2017/10/24/eltonjohn).
He’s also granted funds through the Elton John AIDS Foundation and personally contributed to
Open Hand’s capital expansion project.
Past Harvard Foundation honorees include Swedish physician and statistician Hans Rosling, actor James Earl Jones, chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee Thorbjørn Jagland, U.N. Secretaries General Ban KiMoon, Kofi Annan, Boutros Boutros-Ghaliand Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, gender rights advocate Malala Yousafzai, antichild-labor spokesman Kailash Satyarthi, singer Lionel Richie, actor Ruby Dee, athlete Arthur Ashe, musical artist Rihanna and farmworker rights advocate Dolores Huerta, the release said.
Fashionable philanthropy
Jennie Garlington and her sister Laura Turner Seydel hosted a fundraising
fashion show at Saks Fifth Avenue’s Phipps Plaza store last week to celebrate Becken, an equestrian themed fashion line. The event and a portion of sales afterward benefited the Captain Planet Foundation.
Becken, which debuted at Saks’ Atlanta store in August, features paddock jackets, separates and knits inspired by Kentucky horse country, where founder Angela Beck and her family live on a thoroughbred farm.
“I wanted to design fashions that were interesting, polished and inviting but never fussy,” Beck said. “It’s really exciting to partner with our colleagues at Saks as we make connections to everyday women in Atlanta who, like me, may be dashing from a board meeting to the carpool line to coffee with friends. Or even to the stable.”