Philanthropy
Ireland has a sister, Cynthia, who has a child with Down syndrome. Ireland has become vocal in her support for the Down sydrome community, writing an article about her niece and the need for an increase in research. Other Ireland-supported causes include Big Brothers Big Sisters, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Alliance for Global Education, the Alliance for Christian Education and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Ireland is on the board of trustees for the Providence Educational Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit, which strives to improve educational opportunities for children worldwide. Providence Hall, the foundations pilot location, is an independent college preparatory high school that “exists to challenge young men and women to grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, to develop a passion for the pursuit of excellence and truth, and to love others as themselves through character, service, and leadership” according to the school’s mission statement.
Ireland is presented with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, presented in the spring of 2012, awarded by the The California State University, an honor first awarded to President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The California State University system says of Ireland that she "generously uses her power and influence to benefit others, supporting social causes including empowering women, supporting young girls through mentoring, and providing opportunities for girls and women at risk."
Ireland has lent her estates to charitable organizations such as Toys For Tots to generate funds for charity.
Read more about this topic: Kathy Ireland
Famous quotes containing the word philanthropy:
“I shall not be forward to think him mistaken in his method who quickest succeeds to liberate the slave. I speak for the slave when I say that I prefer the philanthropy of Captain Brown to that philanthropy which neither shoots me nor liberates me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“... the hey-day of a woman’s life is on the shady side of fifty, when the vital forces heretofore expended in other ways are garnered in the brain, when their thoughts and sentiments flow out in broader channels, when philanthropy takes the place of family selfishness, and when from the depths of poverty and suffering the wail of humanity grows as pathetic to their ears as once was the cry of their own children.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)
“Almost every man we meet requires some civility,—requires to be humored; he has some fame, some talent, some whim of religion or philanthropy in his head that is not to be questioned, and which spoils all conversation with him. But a friend is a sane man who exercises not my ingenuity, but me.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)