For The Theater
Ramy Brook will host an event Wednesday with LaChanze and Celia Rose Gooding to support nonprofit Black Theatre United. The event will be held at Ramy Brook’s Manhattan store at 980 Madison Avenue and virtually on its web site throughout the day. The company is offering 25 percent off for the day. Fifteen percent of sales from the event will be donated to Black Theatre United.
A highlight of the event will be a special performance from the mother-daughter duo LaChanze and Gooding. The performance will be livestreamed at 5 p.m. EST on Facebook and Instagram @ ramybrook.
Ramy Sharp, founder and creative director of Ramy
Brook, said, “LaChanze and I have been friends for over 10 years. She is a huge talent and an amazing human being. We were having dinner this summer and she told me about a group she was starting for the Black theater community called Black Theatre United. I knew I wanted to get involved — her passion is incredible and her message needs to be heard — so we came up with the event at the store.”
Tony Award winner LaChanze is known for her role as “Celie” in “The Color Purple” and “Diva Donna” in “Donna Summer: The Musical.” Last year, her daughter Gooding made her Broadway debut in the Alanis Morissette musical “Jagged Little Pill,” in which she stars as Frankie Healy.
In the past five months Black Theatre United has received the support of actors, directors, musicians and others, including Audra McDonald, Vanessa Williams, Billy Porter, Brian Stokes and Allyson Tucker. The group looks to develop new mentorship programs for aspiring young Black theater artists, encourage voting and greater participation in the Census, review theater industry practices, and assist Black theater artists.
— LISA LOCKWOOD chain and set a target to reduce by 85 percent, or around 7,800 tons annually, the single-use plastic passed to customers in shopping bags and product packaging across its global group of stores by the end of this year.
Today, Uniqlo is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its partnership with Charity: Water, which works to supply clean and drinkable water to developing countries.
One year ago, Uniqlo introduced a 10 cent or 10 euro cent charge to customers in the U.S. and in Europe for bags made from recycled paper, with proceeds being donated to charity. In Europe alone, Uniqlo has saved more than 250 tons of paper over the course of the last year as a result of this program, the company said. It did not specify how much money it raised and donated.
The partnership is funding four different clean water solutions: rainwater harvesting tankas in the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, India; bio-sand filters in homes and schools in Cambodia; large-scale, solar-powered piped systems in Madagascar and drilled wells with hand pumps in the Dowa District in the central region of Malawi.
According to Scott Harrison, founder and chief executive officer of Charity: Water, “The impact of this partnership is tangible, and we’re proud to share that, as always with donations to Charity: Water, 100 percent of the funds from Uniqlo went directly to the field to fund clean water for more than 10,000 people in Cambodia, India, Malawi and Madagascar. Importantly, these water projects will be fully sustainable over time through our partnerships with local organizations that provide and maintain long-lasting water and sanitation services.”
He said that providing clean water has become “all the more urgent amid COVID-19, with handwashing as the first line of defense. We look forward to continuing our work with Uniqlo to bring clean water to even more vulnerable communities around the world.”
Yukihiro Nitta, group senior vice president, sustainability for Fast Retailing, added: “As part of our global efforts to contribute to a better world, we are proud to confirm that our partnership with Charity: Water is making a positive difference to so many people by giving them access to clean and drinkable water. This is thanks to our customers who have accepted our new approach of charging for the paper shopping bag which is made of recyclable paper.”
According to Charity: Water, one in 10 people still lack access to clean water around the world. — JEAN E. PALMIERI