Participants at the CGI U Meeting Make Innovative Philanthropic Pledges
President Bill Clinton is keeping to his rigorous schedule and is hosting the third Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) meeting this weekend at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. Building on the success of the Clinton Global Initiative, CGI U engages university students, organizations and administrators to make commitments that address global issues with practical, innovative solutions.
President Clinton will bring together over 1,000 students, nearly 100 college presidents, youth organizations, athletes, and celebrity-activists including: Paul Farmer, Co-Founder of Partners in Health; Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General; John Podesta, former White House Chief of Staff and President CEO of the Center for American Progress; Donna E. Shalala, University of Miami President and Former Secretary of Health and Human Services; Kalpen Modi, Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement; Mayor Bob Dixson, Greenburg, KS; Michele Norris, NPR; Usher Raymond, Grammy-winning artist and Founder, Usher's New Look; Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder of United Farm Workers of America; Joey Cheek, Olympic speed skater; Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders cornerback; Alonzo Mourning, Founder, Alonzo Mourning Charities and NBA player; Mandy Moore, Actress and activist; Kenna Zemedkun, Grammy-nominated artist and Executive Director of Summit on the Summit; and Heather Graham, Actress.
All CGI U Meeting attendees make a Commitment to Action -- a comprehensive, formal plan of action to address a specific problem on their campus, in their community, or around the world. Since the inaugural meeting in March 2008 at Tulane University, nearly 2,000 commitments have been made by students and universities worldwide.
"I am so proud of the young leaders who have come through the Clinton Global Initiative University," said President Clinton. "Since the first CGI U meeting in 2008, students from 53 countries have made more than 2,000 commitments that are positively affecting hundreds of thousands of lives around the world."
Some examples of the innovative CGI U Commitments include: Financial Literacy Workshops for Somali and Somali-Bantu Refugees in Maine, Bicycles Against Poverty: microloans so that Ugandan villagers could purchase bikes, which can be used for transportation and for income generation, Texting for Life: Mobile Phones Provide Freedom from the Ravages of Counterfeit Drugs in West Africa and a Street Soccer program for the homeless in Virginia.
Razin Mustafiz, the Bates College student behind the Somali financial workshops in Maine is anxious to launch his project this summer,
The workshops will cover all the basics of financial planning from opening a bank account to saving money for their children's education. The ultimate goal of this project is to empower members in the Somali and Somali-Bantu community with the skills necessary to operate in a modern financial environment.