Philanthropy
"There are so many things you could reel off as negatives – your private life is exposed, every move is scrutinised — at the same time, you can think: 'Wow, I'm in a position to shine a light into these areas.' That's a powerful tool because, actually, it's quite a selfish job. It's a moral responsibility, I guess, I think I have."
—Dixon, when asked whether celebrities have a responsibility to do good works.Dixon has described herself and other celebrities as having a "moral responsibility" to do good works, when asked by The Observer's Elizabeth Day. Speaking in August 2010 to Blues & Soul Dixon said: "Being in the entertainment industry I do feel I have a responsibility that comes with my fame".
In 2009 Alesha climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania for Comic Relief. Joining her on the climb were Girls Aloud members Cheryl Cole and Kimberley Walsh, Ben Shephard, Ronan Keating, Fearne Cotton, Denise Van Outen, Chris Moyles and Gary Barlow, who had spearheaded the project. Together they raised over £3,500,000 towards helping combat malaria in Tanzania. Upon their return, the entire team met Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street. In June 2009 Dixon became an official ambassador for the charity Help a London Child, stating that she felt "very honoured" to be asked.
Dixon is a patron of the African-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) which is a voluntary charity, whose main aim is to increase the number of Black and Mixed Parentage people on the UK Bone Marrow Register. The members of the ACLT freely volunteer their time in attempting to raise awareness in the Black community; enabling potential donors to come forward and be involved in the process of offering hope and a healthy future to someone whose disorder may otherwise prove fatal. Dixon has also backed Nickelodeon's See Something, Say Something campaign, a UK anti-bullying initiative. Alesha said: "Nickelodeon's See Something, Say Something campaign is extremely close to my heart, so I felt compelled to show my support. I was bullied as a child and know how important it is to tell someone about it". Dixon is Vice President of the League Against Cruel Sports, a charity which works to end cruelty to animals in the name of sport and featured in a charity appeal due to concerns that the Hunting Act 2004 could be repealed.
In addition to Dixon's commercial role as a model and representative for the cosmetics company Avon, she has specifically worked with the company in the field of domestic violence. On International Women's Day 2012, Dixon launched the company's Pass It On campaign to highlight domestic abuse issues in the UK by encouraging the purchase of a necklace, described by her as "a symbol of women's empowerment, and infinite possibilities for women". All the proceeds from Avon's necklace campaign were donated to Refuge and Women's Aid.
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Famous quotes containing the word philanthropy:
“... 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)
“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)