Captain Planet Foundation Raises More than
$750,000 at
30th Anniversary Gala Honoring Jane Fonda and Bill Nye
Fonda, Nye, and Jerome Foster II recognized for their
environmental work on March 19, 2022 in Atlanta
ATLANTA, March 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Captain
Planet Foundation,
a global non-profit working to empower young people to be
problem solvers for the planet, celebrated 30 years of
impact at their annual Gala on Saturday, March 19 at
Flourish Atlanta. The event recognized the environmental
stewardship of the 2022 honorees Jane
Fonda, Bill
Nye,
and Jerome
Foster II and
raised more than $750,000 to support the Foundation’s
educational programming and grant-making initiatives.
Captain Planet Foundation highlighted the
extraordinary sustainability efforts of each of the three
honorees during the program. Two-time Academy Award-winning
actor Jane Fonda received the Exemplar award, Bill Nye, the
creator and host of the Emmy Award-winning television series
“Bill Nye the Science Guy,” was honored with the Superhero
for the Earth Award, and Jerome Foster II, the youngest
White House Advisor in history, accepted the Young Hero for
the Earth Award.
The Gala was also hosted by Christi Paul,
Weekend Morning Anchor at “CNN New Day” and HLN’s “The Daily
Share,” and Hannah Testa, a sustainability advocate, author,
international speaker, founder of Hannah4Change, CNN’s ‘Teen
Earth Day Hero’ honoree, and one of People Magazine's ‘10
Girls Changing the World’.
More than 500 guests were in
attendance to celebrate each of the honorees and Captain
Planet Foundation’s 30 years of impact around the globe.
Attendees represented across philanthropy, business, and
celebrity with notable guests Atlanta Mayor Andre
Dickens,
actor Grant
Show (“Dynasty,”
“Melrose Place”) and wife Katherine LaNasa (“Truth Be
Told”), “Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan” actors Dylan
Gilmer and Hero
Hunter, Former
Mayor Shirley
Franklin, and
Former Falcons Player Ovie
Mughelli. Many
attendees had unique takes on their “black tie” attire, with
some donning the famous “Bill Nye” tie. The event also
featured exciting live and silent auctions, dancing to the
sounds of DJ Princess Cut, and a Q&A presentation led by
Christi Paul with each of the honorees.
“This is such a great honor,”
said Jane
Fonda. “I
was privy to see all of this come together over the years
and watch the Captain Planet animated series educate so many
kids around the world. Captain Planet’s slogan is ‘The Power
is Yours’, but the one that I like the most is ‘By Your
Powers Combined’ because of the climate crisis. We have to
act together.”
In addition to the in-person event, there was
a virtual presentation of the Gala that viewers participated
in from around the globe. The spirit of Captain Planet was
reflected in the opening video played during the Gala, which
provided much nostalgia to the critically-acclaimed animated
series “Captain
Planet and the Planeteers,”
and showcased the tireless efforts of the Foundation to
transform the lives of young people around the world since
its inception. Additional videos throughout the evening
included surprise celebrity shout-outs saluting the honorees
and the Foundation including Fran
Drescher, Al
Roker, Rosario
Dawson, Robert
Picardo and Sophia
Bush.
“What a night! I am so grateful
to everyone who is investing in and supporting Captain
Planet Foundation and the Planeteer Alliance - which is
working with thousands of young activists around the world
to scale changemaking campaigns for a livable future,” said Leesa
Carter-Jones,
President and CEO of Captain Planet Foundation. “With the
most recent IPCC report [from two weeks ago] stating that
the choices and progress we make in the next ten years will
determine what kind of future exists for our children and
grandchildren, our work is more critical than ever.”
Over the past 30 years, Captain Planet
Foundation has funded 3,300+ hands-on environmental
education projects with schools and nonprofits. More than
1.6 million children have directly participated in and
benefited from these educational projects in all 50 U.S.
states and in 90 countries internationally; and subsequently
more than 10.5 million kids have been impacted. This year’s
Gala also coincides with the recent launch of the global Planeteer
Alliance which
builds on six years of work the Foundation has been doing
preparing young people to successfully campaign for climate
justice in 25+ countries around the world.
The Gala’s Visionary sponsor is Delta Air
Lines. Guardian sponsors are The Atlantan/Modern Luxury;
Davis, Pickren, Seydel, and Sneed; Eunjae Kim and Arturo
Peralto-Ramos Charitable Trust; LiveNation/Peter Conlon; and
WarnerMedia. Hero sponsors are Atlanta Falcons Youth
Foundation; The Coca-Cola Company; Cox Media; coolperx; Dole
Packaged Foods; Drummond; EJF Philanthropies; Genuine Parts
Company; Goshay Productions; Jane Smith Turner Foundation;
Kellogg Garden Products; National Society of High School
Scholars; Novelis; the Ray C. Anderson Foundation; Randy
Rudderman MD FACS Plastic Surgery; Squish Organics; Ted’s
Montana Grill; Ted Turner Enterprises; and Voya. Gala
co-chairs are Letty and Bill Ashworth; Ginair and George
McKerrow; and Jennifer and Randy Rudderman.
Previous award recipients at Captain Planet
Foundation Galas have included: Mark Ruffalo, Dr. Jane
Goodall, President Jimmy Carter, Sir Richard Branson,
Ludacris, Dr. Sanjay Guptay, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, and HRH
Prince Charles.
To learn more about Captain Planet
Foundation, please visit https://captainplanetfoundation.org/
ABOUT CAPTAIN PLANET FOUNDATION
Based on the critically-acclaimed animated series “Captain
Planet and the Planeteers,” CPF was co-founded in 1991
by media mogul Ted Turner and series executive producer
Barbara Pyle as a corporate foundation of TBS. In 2002,
Captain Planet Foundation separated from TBS and became a
501(c)3 public charity, with the mission to work
collaboratively to engage and empower young people to be
problem solvers for the planet. CPF executes its mission
both as a program operator and as a grantmaker.
Over the past 30 years, more than 1.6 million
children have directly participated in CPF’s programs, which
have funded 3,300+ projects, impacting 10.5 million young
people. CPF’s operating programs include: Project
Learning Garden which
has provided 530+ U.S. elementary schools with onsite
learning laboratories and healthy food access; Project
Hero which
is a nationwide, web-based learning platform for K-12
students to save locally threatened and endangered species &
ecosystems; Project
Giving Gardens which
puts school gardens and young urban gardeners to work in the
summer months to provide fresh, organically-managed produce
to food banks and food pantries; and the forthcoming Planeteer
Alliance,
a global network of young people who are putting their
passion and impatience for change into action for the
planet. |