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ShareMumbai: That Elton John is a world-famous English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist is a known fact. And while nothing can question his commitment to music, also ranking top on his priority list is his charity. In fact, Elton has long been associated with AIDS charities after the deaths of his friends Ryan White and Freddie Mercury, raising large amounts of money and using his public profile to raise awareness of the disease.
The latest in his string of initiatives is one where his foundation has joined hands with Tamara Mellon's luxury label which will be donating 25 percent of the net sales from its limited edition collection of shoes and handbags.
"One of the things I am most proud about the AIDS foundation is that we don't just ask people for money; we try to build partnerships with people and companies that share our passion for this fight. That's why we've had a long-standing collaboration with Tamara, who has such an incredible spirit. So David (Furnish, his partner) and I were thrilled when she proposed working with us to raise money and awareness for the plight of so many women across Africa, particularly those in danger of contracting HIV through sexual violence," points out Elton, who founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992.
Speaking further, he says, "The foundation's mission is to empower people infected, affected and at risk of HIV/AIDS; to alleviate their physical, emotional and financial hardship, enabling them to improve their quality of life, live with dignity and exercise self-determination."
Not surprisingly, the foundation has worked extensively in Africa; so where does India figure in their plans? "I would love to work on raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and funding more programmes in India. My foundation is currently exploring a number of options to link the work we fund there and the supporters we already have both within India and internationally like Elizabeth (Hurley) and Arun, so that we can bring the issue to widespread public and media attention in India," he adds.
