Friday, November 17, 2017

Feel Good Friday - The Circle

Ever find yourself wondering what Annie Lennox has been up to post-Eurythmics and solo music career? Then this is the Feel Good Friday post for you!

In 2003, she performed at the inaugural concert for Nelson Mandela's HIV/AIDS Foundation - 46664. The next day several of the musicians visited hospitals, orphanages and townships to meet people affected by this health crisis, many of them women and children.

Motivated by what she saw, Annie Lennox created a non-governmental organization called The Circle. As she explains in her intro message on the website, "the concept of The Circle came from the notion of women supporting, connecting and inspiring each other to become advocates and change agents, through our passion, skills and ideas."

Because women around the world remain disproportionately affected by poverty, discrimination and exploitation, the vision of The Circle is "equality for women and girls in a fairer world."

They strive to meet this goal by connecting and advising women, amplifying their voices and funding their causes. The Circle has "raised over £1.86m which, working with partners, has been used to reach and make a difference to over 100,000 women and girls in more than 13 developing countries."

Current projects include youth empowerment workshops in Rwanda which teach up to 150 young people about gender equality, domestic violence, business skills and more. You can see a short video of the project here. There are also projects to run a women's shelter in South Africa, educate girls in India, prevent child trafficking in Nepal and train women to become rickshaw drivers in Pakistan! The complete list of current projects is here.

If you'd like to support the work of The Circle, you can join one of the member circles organized by region and profession, volunteer your time, donate your money and keep up in the social media circles by liking the Facebook page and following them on Twitter @TheCircleNGO.

Right now, if you donate through this Charity Stars link, you'll be entered in a contest to win a fight to London and join Annie Lennox for "An Evening of Music and Conversation" next spring! Sweet Feel Good Friday dreams ARE made of this.

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