June 19, 2015
Organization ‘Proud to Have Such a Fierce Advocate for Children by Our Side’
(New York, NY) – Grammy Award-winning producer, recording artist and global entrepreneur Kasseem ‘Swizz Beatz’ Dean has joined the board of directors of national non-profit Children’s Rights (CR), the advocacy group announced today.
Dean’s commitment to CR began almost four years ago, when Board Chair Alan C. Myers introduced him to the organization’s advocacy on behalf of abused and neglected children. Immediately attracted to the CR mission, Dean has since used his profile to raise awareness about the plight of children in U.S. foster care, and in 2012 received the Children’s Rights Champion Award for his involvement with multiple organizations for at-risk kids.
“A decent childhood isn’t something kids should dream about—it’s their right,” Dean said. “There is incredible value in using the power of the courts to protect kids in foster care. Children’s Rights positively impacts not one or two, but thousands of young people at once. I’m proud to join the board of directors of an organization that refuses to turn its back on the children who need us most.”
Dean’s philanthropic work has long focused on children: he is the global ambassador for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation; he adopted the Bronx Charter School for the Arts; and he works closely with wife Alicia Keys’ Keep A Child Alive, which fights AIDS and poverty in Africa.
“Children’s Rights could not have a stronger or more dedicated ally than Swizz,” said Myers. “From the very beginning he ‘got’ our mission and started spreading the word through his networks and the press, raising the organization’s profile to a whole new level. With him on our board, we have a powerhouse whose passion for safeguarding the most vulnerable kids will be a tremendous asset. We are proud to have such a fierce advocate for children by our side.”
Children’s Rights is the only organization in the U.S. dedicated solely to transforming failing child welfare systems through legal advocacy. Since 1995, the non-profit has secured court orders to demand critical reforms in more than a dozen child welfare systems throughout the country, defending the civil rights of foster children, fixing ailing child welfare systems and helping thousands of children reunite with their families or join loving adoptive homes.