At the TEDxWomen Salma Hayek Pinault announced CHIME FOR CHANGE, founded by Gucci, a new global campaign to raise funds and awareness for girls’ and women’s empowerment. Co-founders are Frida Giannini, Creative Director of Gucci since 2006, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, founding member of the internationally successful group Destiny’s Child.
CHIME FOR CHANGE serves to convene, unite and strengthen voices speaking out for girls and women around the world and will focus on three key pillars: Education, Health and Justice. The campaign comes at a historic and pivotal moment for girls and women globally as the world’s attention is drawn to international stories ranging from Malala’s personal fight for education in Pakistan to headlines of violence against women in all corners of the world, including India, Ireland, South Africa and the United States.
More than just raising awareness, CHIME FOR CHANGE, through its partner Catapult, encourages people throughout the world to support girls’ and women’s projects in a personalized, individual way. Catapult enables citizen philanthropy and is the first crowd-funding platform dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and women. Catapult connects CHIME FOR CHANGE community members directly to organizations and projects focused on the causes that matter most to them, and currently represents over 50 organizations in 38 countries.
“This is the emergency and the opportunity of today,” said Gucci Creative Director and CHIME FOR CHANGE co-founder Frida Giannini. “We have reached a significant moment in the history of girls’ and women’s empowerment and now is the time for change. I think it is essential for girls and women to see and celebrate what is possible. I hope that through CHIME we can help the voices calling for change to become so loud that they cannot be ignored.”
Gucci has a long history of engagement with girls’ and women’s issues, including a seven-year relationship with UNICEF in support of girls’ education. In addition, the company founded two women’s film awards, the Spotlighting Women Documentary Award with the Tribeca Film Institute and the Gucci Award for Women in Cinema with the Venice Film Festival. Gucci also actively supports the PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity and Rights; both Frida Giannini and Salma Hayek Pinault are members of the Board.
