In a rare moment away from the usual glitz and glam of the entertainment industry, The Hollywood Reporter celebrated some superstars who are using their platforms to give back to those in need at its Social Impact Summit.
The event, put on by THR and the Social Impact Fund, honored John Mayer, Stephen and Ayesha Curry and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for their charitable efforts, tied to the magazine’s annual Philanthropy issue. Gilead Sciences Inc. presented the afternoon of awards and conversation, with Delta Air Lines, Perlman + Perlman, Macy’s, Good360, Charitybuzz, CARE, Peroni and La Crema also serving as sponsors.
Craig Cichy, executive director of the Social Impact Fund, kicked off the event at Los Angeles’ DGA Theater, followed by The Pitt star Sepideh Moafi delivering opening remarks and setting the tone of the day by telling the story of her own birth.
Moafi’s parents fled Iran and she was born in a refugee camp in Germany before the family immigrated to the United States; she recalled how her parents arrived in Germany by foot and found the doors to the refugee camp closed, with the people inside forming a human ladder to bring them in and keep them safe.
Sepideh Moafi speaks onstage.
