The We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) is an American

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by musician

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

in the wake of the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

. 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.

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 Sister Sledge is an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. ...

) 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 The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

Special Selection in 2002. There is also an equivalent music video intended for elementary school children, featuring well-known, popular, children's characters including SpongeBob SquarePants from the show of the same name,

Barney Barney may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barney (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Barney (surname), a list of people Film and television * the title character of ''Barney & Friends'', an American live actio ...

from the show of the same name, Arthur, yet again from the show of the same name, Disney characters, and characters from '' Sesame Street'', along with many, many others.

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 Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek (July 17, 1990 – June 22, 2004), known as Mattie J.T. Stepanek, was an American poet (or, as he wanted to be remembered, "a poet, a peacemaker, and a philosopher who played") who published seven The New York Tim ...

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

, 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 Gibson Brands, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation) is an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was former ...

, CEO of Gibson Guitar * Susan and David Rockefeller Jr.

Humanitarian Award

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

Sir Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

* Larry King *

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

and Trudie Styler

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 Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...

* Quincy Jones *

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

Deepak Chopra Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthiest figures in alternati ...

* Archbishop

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

and

Leah Tutu Nomalizo Leah Tutu (; born 14 October 1933) is a South African activist and the widow of Desmond Tutu. Life Tutu was born Nomalizo Leah Shenxane on 14 October 1933 in Krugersdorp, South Africa. She married Desmond Tutu on 2 July 1955. They had ...

. * Jeni Stepanek (2014)

Notable Global Teen Leaders

Nadya Okamoto Nadya Teresa Okamoto (born February 11, 1998) is an American social entrepreneur who is the founder and former executive director of the non-profit organization Period Inc., which distributes menstrual hygiene products and advocates for ending ...

Mirus Ponon ''Mirus'' is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Eninae of the family Enidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Mirus Albers, 1850. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Specie ...

mirusponon.com

References

{{Authority control 2001 establishments in New York City Charities based in New York City Foundations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in New York City Organizations established in 2001 Peace organizations based in the United States