John Legend may have an EGOT, but his latest honor is something he’s been striving towards since he decided he wanted to pursue music.
On Thursday afternoon, he was honored as the Philanthropist of the Year at The Hollywood Reporter and Social Impact Fund’s upcoming Social Impact Summit for his longtime work to advance equity and criminal justice reform.
Legend has worked with Susan Burton’s organization, A New Way of Life, which helps women reenter society after incarceration.
“We co-conspire to try and make our world and our country more just and to try and uplift people and change people’s lives,” Legend said about their working relationship.
Burton presented the “Love Me Now” singer with the award, which comes as he’s celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut album “Get Lifted.” He explained even back then, his eyes were on making a difference.
“As we were building, writing the songs for ‘Get Lifted,’ I wasn’t known yet. I was still trying to get a record deal, I was still trying to be signed and get my music out there to the world. But even well before that, when I was 15, I wrote an essay saying that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to build a career in the music business, but use that platform to try and make the world better,” he explained to KTLA 5’s digital content producer Christine Samra.
“As we were focusing on the music side and the business side, I always had my eye toward making an impact socially as well,” he continued. “I’m so happy we’ve been able to bring that to fruition.”
The West Hollywood event, sponsored by biopharmaceutical company Gilead, gathered changemakers, creatives, and leaders across industries to inspire accessible, impactful philanthropy by breaking down barriers to meaningful change.
Comedian and actor George Lopez served as the summit’s keynote speaker. He explained how events like this are important right now considering everything that’s going on in the country.
“Philanthropy has always been at the forefront of helping people who need help,” he explained. “Especially in a time when people are afraid to go out, afraid to get together. Families are being ripped apart and people are being separated. The people who can help those people, it’s time for us to come together and not be silent .”
Other honorees included actor Sean Penn and Ann Lee, they co-founded CORE, which stands for Community Organized Relief Effort. It’s “a nonprofit humanitarian organization that responds to disasters around the world. We deliver life-saving resources in the immediate aftermath – and empower communities to be self-reliant in the long run,” according to its website.
CORE received the honor of Philanthropic Organization of the Year.
Panels at the summit touched on women’s health and wellness, foster care, women’s and girls’ advocacy and LGBTQ+ rights. They included big names like Olympian Allyson Felix, NKO Club founder Kendall Toole, Elaine Welteroth and more.
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