Lady Gaga to Launch Born This Way Nonprofit Foundation

Lady Gaga is one of the biggest and most influential stars in the world right now. She is known for her incredible talent, creativity and work ethic along with her unwavering support of the causes she holds dear. 

Lady Gaga image courtesy of msnentertainment

In 2011 she topped the Top Twenty Celebs Gone Good list and was bestowed this honour in part because of her anti-bullying message. Her hit song Born This Way from the album of the same name has become a touchstone to people. The song celebrates being who you are and has inspired and empowered people to be true to themselves rather than conforming to the expectations and comfort level of others. Last year Gaga announced that she was creating the Born This Way Foundation to be launched in 2012 and she is making good on that promise.

Lady Gaga is officially launching the Born This Way Foundation (BTWF) on February 29th, 2012 with the help of her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, who is the president of the foundation. The unveiling of Gaga’s Foundation will be held at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre. The one day event that will kick start the BTWF is being co-hosted by “the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and The California Endowment.” This event will take place in front of a group of notable people including nonprofit organizers, policy makers, the foundation’s leaders and youth committed to the cause.

The BTWF is a nonprofit organization that will tackle the issues that are relevant to youth today such as: “self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development and advocacy.” The foundation will focus on using digital mobilization, such as social media sites to help create the change they want to see. The ultimate goal of BTWF is to foster a society that will be more tolerant and to help people embrace who they are.

Gaga’s mother Cynthia Germanotta explained the pop star’s natural connection to the BTWF as, “she has experienced many of the struggles that our youth encounter today, and identifies with the lasting effects they can have without proper support.”

“Together, we look forward to creating a new movement that will engage and empower youth and accept them as valuable members of our society.”

Though the foundation hasn’t officially launched, the landing page on its website asks visitors to join the movement by providing their name and email address. Those who join the movement are then asked to share this information on their social networks. The BTWF Twitter account is active so feel free to follow @BTWFoundation for the latest news and updates on BTWF which already has over twenty-four thousand followers. You can also follow Lady Gaga via @ladygaga to stay informed but join the movement and encourage others in your network to do the same. By asking people to share that they have joined the movement, allows for it to grow in an organic way.

This foundation is a way for Gaga to give back to fans and use her celebrity status to generate support and awareness for a very worthy (and personal) cause she holds close to her heart. Leading up to BTWF, Gaga has worked with many organizations including being the face of MAC cosmetics Viva Glam campaign to help with AIDS awareness. She is also launching her own social network, Little Monsters, and currently you can submit your information to receive an invitation when launched but we’ll feature more on that in a future blog.

It is refreshing to see a young, confident female super star promoting individuality and self-acceptance. Hopefully BTWF and its supporters will make the world a better place for little monsters everywhere. It’s on the right track baby.

Lady Gaga – Born This Way (live from SNL)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E8MhqiyLTA[/youtube]