Shawn Mendes Philanthropic Efforts

This week, in my Philanthropy course at FIU Honors College, we focused on identifying and discussing social problems in different communities and exploring motives for giving and serving through stories of philanthropic leaders such as well-known celebrities Billie Eilish and Coldplay.?

Singer and songwriter Shawn Mendes, at his relatively young age,? has extensive experience in leading philanthropic efforts. Using his celebrity status platform, he has advanced the efforts of his own philanthropic organization, The Shawn Mendes Foundation, which he created in December 2020. His organization seeks to amplify, empower, and uplift youth changemakers, their organizations, and their work with a heavy focus on “youth-related causes” in areas such as mental health, education, healthcare, anti-bullying, human rights, and sustainability.?

Mendes’ Foundation offers Wonder Grants to uplift youth activists with large ideas. By granting these youth changemakers opportunities, they can start or continue their project/work of helping make the world a better place while also giving new opportunities to other younger people. In July 2020, the Foundation partnered with Global Citizen Year to launch an international virtual leadership program for high school graduates called Global Citizen Academy. Mendes’ Foundation provided $250,000 in need-based scholarships for students.??

Before Mendes started his Foundation, he was already engaged in many different areas of philanthropic work. He led an initiative with DoSomething, a global non-profit, to spread positively called #NotesFromShawn, where over 200,000 uplifting messages were left for strangers. He supported the March For Our Lives with his “Youth” music video. He also raised over $180,000 for the Red Cross of America for the Mexico Earthquake Relief Fund. Shawn wanted to get involved in helping others affected by this earthquake because, at the time of the quake, Shawn was in Mexico City performing on the Illuminate tour. After witnessing the destruction firsthand, he knew he wanted to get involved. Shawn also showed his support in Ghana, where he partnered with Pencils for Promise, a non-profit, to help fund the construction of a school with a quality learning environment for hundreds of young students.?

Throughout Shawn Mendes’ music, he has incorporated many areas that correlate to his Foundation’s focus, mental health, human rights, and more. His grammy-nominated song, “In My Blood,” references his struggle with anxiety, and another song of his, “Youth,” which he collaborated with singer Khalid, reflects violence. With the platform and voice that Shawn has, he uses to connect to his audience and fans by being vulnerable and sharing struggles that he has gone through and ones that others can go through.?

#fiuphilanthropy