Chicago non-profit organization the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights has received a $1 million donation from actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. The Young Center, 2245 S. Michigan Ave., is the only organization in the country the U.S. government taps to act as advocates for children being separated at the border from their parents. The couple also made a $1 million donation to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF).
A press release from the Young Center announced their donation will be used to create The Waymaker Fund:
The Waymaker Fund, created with this gift from Lively and Reynolds, will provide essential financial support to the Young Center’s Child Advocate program and ensure that attorneys, social workers, and volunteers defend the rights and best interests of immigrant children who migrate to the United States by themselves or have been forcibly taken from their parents. The Fund will also help to fight the administration’s continued attacks on immigrant children’s rights and advocate for an immigration system that recognizes children’s unique needs.
“We’re blown away by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the Young Center’s commitment to not only justice and democracy, but humanity,” said Lively and Reynolds. “Over the last few years, our perspective has grown and we’ve realized we have to do everything possible to foster more compassion and empathy in this world. History’s being written right now. We’re grateful to give back to organizations who give voice to so many.”
The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is a human rights organization that protects and advances the rights and best interests of immigrant children and advocates for an immigration system that treats children as children first. It is the only organization in the nation that provides independent child advocates to unaccompanied and separated immigrant children.
The immigration attorneys at Godoy Law Office in Chicago and Lombard are committed to protecting immigrants rights. If you need help with an immigration issue, please contact our office or call us at 855-554-3639.
