Imagine You Can. This is the moving manifesto of Many Hopes, one of the world’s most visionary non-profit organizations that rescues Kenyan children from poverty, corruption and abuse by instilling them with a vision for justice and the tools to achieve it. In honor of this prodigious organization, this year’s Discover Many Hopes Gala 2016 will be co-hosted by supermodel Karen Elson; actor, Zachary Levi and fitness and wellness entrepreneur, Tracy Anderson. The event takes place on May 23, 2016.

Many Hopes provides the necessary education to local Kenyan children in order to solve problems that charity alone cannot.The prestigious gala will bring together 500 influencers, raising funds to build a school for 900 boys and girls in Kenya – 100% of proceeds will go toward the construction.

Set to be one of the philanthropy highlights of the season, this year’s gala will be co-chaired by photographer, Patrick McMullan; film producer and director, Jeff Oppenheim and an executive producer of The Global Citizen festival, Jeffrey Zarnow. Previous celebrity supporters of the Many Hopes non-profit include Sofia Vergara, Jessica Stam, Leighton Meester and AnnaLynne McCord. 

Many Hopes was founded in 2007 by Kenyan journalist, Anthony Mulongo and Irish columnist, Thomas Keown. Moved by the brutality, abuse and exploitation of children in Kenya, Mulongo took in a 6-year-old girl named Gift, whose mother had just died of AIDS and 10-month-old brother had died on her back while she was begging for food on the streets of Mombasa. During a meeting with Mulongo in 2007, Keown wrote a newspaper article about their story, resulting in an outpour of letters from supporters, volunteers and donors. Many Hopes was founded shortly thereafter.

Many Hopes invests in sustainable community development to cultivate a nurturing family environment while instilling integrity, so children who have suffered exploitation can grow into a network of teachers, doctors, lawyers, mothers and businessmen in 20 years time. Currently in Kenya, 2.6 million children are homeless and live under $1 a day. Each day, they beg and steal to stay alive in the face of hunger, violence, disease, rape, forced prostitution or worse. Girls shave their heads and wear ill-fitting clothes to look like boys for protection and safety. In some cases, the government has also exploited the poor by keeping them illiterate and denying provision of ID cards, for which children are arrested for not having.

Many Hopes’ mission is to create an extraordinary future for those who survive the unimaginable every day.
For more information on the fundraiser, please visit: http://discover.manyhopes.org/.
The event takes place on May 23 from 7pm to 10pm at 180 Maiden Lane in New York.