LookToTheStars.org’s Celebrity Ambassador, Rachel Zeskind, caught up with Forest and Keisha Whitaker at the premiere of the documentary film Kassim the Dream, an event hosted by Hope North, CITI, and GQ Magazines The Gentlemen's Fund. Due to poor sound quality, a transcript of the interview follows below:
Ltts: {What are the] organizations & Issues that are closest to your heart?
Forest: One of them we are a part of… for… 3 years is a Refugee Camp in Uganda. I’ll tell you about the refuge camp… It takes refugees, shelters the homeless, from the War. There are about 2 million people who are displaced, there. And it’s created a village… (too low to hear).
Keisha: Through the arts, it teaches them to work through the issues they have & traumas they have gone through, by teaching them to express themselves through music.
Keisha: And I think for me, you know, I’m a Mother…and so that might be why this what I have chosen. Whenever there anything in particular that I can do to help children – We’re so blessed in our every day life, especially here in the United States, but I mean just you know, in general, that it is good to be able to give back, even you know, maybe not in a huge way. But I think most importantly…..If you want to share in that, you can give back in a small way. $25, it goes a long way.
Ltts: What other causes are close to your heart?
Forest: We’re working with LA's BEST.
Keisha: Yeah, we work with LA’s Best which raises funds and) awareness to help after school programs – which we need for schools you know, where children who are a little more at risk to engage in violence. So we have worked with LA’s Best for little over a year, and it’s just been fantastic. We also work with Artists for a New South Africa, which raises funds & awareness to benefit HIV care, which is probably on a smaller level than AIDSs… Battered children. So I think you know, in small ways, we try to like put our hands in different things & projects which are worth it. We really do try to stay involved as much as possible. We are working with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and we’re trying to plan a Nelson Mandela Day; that’s something I’m really excited about.
Ltts: If you can ask people to do just one thing, what would it be about?
Forest: To choose… dedicate a certain amount of hours of time; if they can dedicate money – fine.. time…
Hosted by Rachel Zeskind
Transcripted by Sol Goldwag
