We Are Family Foundation

The We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by musician Nile Rodgers in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Its mission is creating and supporting programs that inspire and educate people about mutual respect, understanding, and appreciation of cultural diversity while striving to solve global problems.^[1]

Early history

The foundation began on September 22, 2001, when Rodgers and Tommy Boy Music president Tom Silverman brought 200 musicians, celebrities, and personalities together in New York City and Los Angeles to re-record Rodgers' song "We Are Family" (best known in its 1979 hit version performed by Sister Sledge) to start the healing process after the events of September 11. Director Spike Lee filmed the "We Are Family" music video, and director Danny Schechter filmed a documentary entitled The Making and Meaning of We Are Family, which depicts the recording session. The documentary was chosen as a Sundance Film Festival Special Selection in 2002.^[2]

We Are Family children version

In October 2001, a children's version of the song "We Are Family" was recorded, featuring more than 100 beloved children's television characters, an unprecedented collaboration among seventeen competitive media corporations.

Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and PBS

A three-minute music video of the children's recording aired as a public service announcement on Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and PBS channels. In 2005, the music video was paired with educational lesson plans to create the "We Are Family: A Musical Message for All" educational DVD program designed for early childhood educators. The DVD was distributed free to more than 58,000 public elementary schools in the United States alone and National Head Start programs with the intent of promoting tolerance and diversity to America's children.

Cast

Live Action Characters

• Sesame Street characters such as Elmo, Hoots the Owl, Baby Bear, Zoe, Snuffy, Alice, Bert, Ernie, Oscar, Cookie Monster, Grover, The Count, Rosita, Telly, and Big Bird.
• Barney the Dinosaur
• Tigger, Piglet, Roo, and Pooh from The Book of Pooh
• Bear in the Big Blue House and his friends
• Kermit the Frog, Beaker, Bunsen Honeydew, Dr. Teeth, Floyd Pepper, and Miss Piggy
• The Between the Lions cast
• Rachel Redd, Caroline Botelho, and Kaleigh Cronin from Zoom
• Tony and Vivian from Out of the Box
• Whoopi Goldberg
• Blue from the Blue's Clues spinoff, Blue's Room.
• Steve Burns from Blue's Clues
• Bill Cosby
• Nile Rodgers

Cartoon Characters

• The cast of Clifford the Big Red Dog such as Clifford, Cleo, T-Bone, Emily Elizabeth, and Charley.
• Rolie Polie Olie
• The Higglytown Heroes
• The cast of Lazy Town
• Arthur Read and his friends
• The cast of Dragon Tales
• The Rugrats
• Penny Proud and her family and friends from The Proud Family
• The Koala Brothers
• Bob the Builder
• Dora, Diego, and Boots from Dora the Explorer
• Timmy, Cosmo, and Wanda from The Fairly OddParents
• Little Bill
• Blue and her friends from Blue's Clues
• Jimmy Neutron
• The Backyardigans
• Stanley
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Madeline
• Oswald
• Kim Possible and Rufus
• Lilo and Stitch
• The cast of PB&J Otter
• JoJo from JoJo's Circus
• Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat
• Ms. Frizzle, her class, and Liz from The Magic School Bus

Major Initiatives

Just Peace Summit

In 2008, the We Are Family Foundation hosted the first international Three Dot Dash "Just Peace Summit" based on the message Mattie Stepanek offered in his book Just Peace. Three Dot Dash is a global initiative of the We Are Family Foundation that supports Global Teen Leaders (GTLs) around the world who are leading projects that promote a more peaceful society by addressing one or more basic human need — food, water, health, shelter, safety, education and the environment. The name Three Dot Dash is a mash-up of Morse code, used by telegraphs, and the two-fingered "V" gesture that has come to be known as the peace sign. In Morse code, "V" is •••–

Three Dot Dash

Inspired by the late 13-year-old poet Mattie Stepanek, Three Dot Dash is a yearlong leadership and mentoring program that teaches teen leaders how to effectively "tell their stories" during the Just Peace Summit using various forms of media, current technology and distribution methods to gain media attention and public support for their causes. Three Dot Dash creates a sustainable worldwide network of individuals, corporations and nonprofit organizations to support GTLs and foster public participation around the globe. The Three Dot Dash Just Peace Summits have brought together GTLs from 30 countries on 6 continents. The 2013 Just Peace Summit took place in March 2013 in New York City.

Visionary Award

• Daniel Stern
• Tommy Hilfiger
• Henry Juszkiewicz, CEO of Gibson Guitar
• Susan and David Rockefeller, Jr.

Humanitarian Award

• Jackson Browne
• Peter Gabriel
• Sir Elton John
• Larry King
• Sting and Trudie Styler^[1]

Mattie J.T. Stepanek Peacemaker Award

The We Are Family Foundation annually presents the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Peacemaker Award to an individual who has used their talents and gifts to meet the basic needs of others and promote peace. Recipients include:

• Maya Angelou
• Quincy Jones
• Paul Simon
• Deepak Chopra
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Leah Tutu.^[1]
• Sting and Trudie Styler (2012)^[1]
• Jeni Stepanek(2014)^[3]

References