Never one to shy from speaking her mind, Rihanna aims to make the world a better place through everything she does. We’re looking at some ways she has created the change she wanted to see.
With her boundless career and trailblazing presence in society, Rihanna is a force to be reckoned with. Commemorating the light she shines on the world, she was recently honored in her home of Barbados as a national hero. Whether she is revolutionizing the beauty industry, or showing her support of social justice movements, Rihanna embodies the change that she wants to see in this world. Recently achieving billionaire status, she uses her achievements to pour right back into the community. Let’s look back on some of the ways she has been the change that she wants to see in the world.
The Believe Foundation
Rihanna has been working to support the community since the very beginning of her career. In 2006 she founded the Believe Foundation, which aimed at helping terminally ill children. A couple of years later, she would go on to host “A Girls Night Out,” a series of charity concerts aimed at raising funds for the foundation.
HIV/AIDS Activism
From her participation in World AIDS Day in Barbados alongside Prince Harry to her Fashion Against AIDS campaign with H&M, Rihanna has always been an advocate for raising awareness surrounding sexual health. We also couldn’t help but stan the friendship fostered between herself and the Duke of Sussex.
The Clara Lionel Foundation
Rihanna has always taken pride in her roots and where she came from, which is what makes the Clara Lionel Foundation so special. Named after her grandparents Clara and Lionel Braithwaite, the organization was founded in 2012, pouring resources into Bajan education and the Clara Braithwaite Center for Oncology and Nuclear Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The foundation is also supported by Rihanna’s annual Diamond Ball, a charity event featuring live performances, auctions, and awards. In 2015 alone the event raised over 3 million dollars in charitable donations.
COVID-19 Relief
As the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm last year, the singer and humanitarian did not hesitate to offer aid to those in need. She donated 5 million in COVID relief funds and made additional donations for personal protective supplies to New York and ventilators to Barbados. Putting her money where her mouth is, Rihanna also matched Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s 2.1 million dollar donation to provide support to people and children facing the harsh realities of domestic violence amid the pandemic.
Human Rights Activist
Rihanna is not one to shy away from speaking her mind, especially when it comes to topics surrounding social justice. From her participation in the 2017 Women’s March, her refusal to perform at the SuperBowl in support of Collin Kapernick, to expressing opposition to LGBTQ discrimination, Rihanna is an artist of the people. And if there is one thing she has shown us, it’s that no matter how far she goes, she will always take the people she cares about with her.
