In a rare moment away from the usual glitz and glamor of the entertainment industry, Hollywood Reporter I celebrated some of the superstars who are using their platforms to give back to those in need at the Social Impact Summit.
Event, placed by THR and the Social Impact Fund, honoring John Mayer, Stephen and Ayesha Curry, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for their philanthropic efforts related to the magazine’s annual Philanthropy Issue. Gilead Sciences Inc. Awards and afternoon talks, with Delta Air Lines, Perlman + Perlman, Macy’s, Good360, Charitybuzz, CARE, Peroni and La Crema also participating as sponsors.
Craig Cichy, Executive Director of the Social Impact Fund, opened the event at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles, followed by a gala the house Star Sepideh Mowafy delivers the opening remarks and sets the tone for the day by telling her birth story.
Mowafi’s parents fled Iran and she was born in a refugee camp in Germany before the family immigrated to the United States. She recalled how her parents arrived in Germany on foot and found the doors of the refugee camp closed, with the people inside forming a human ladder to bring them in and keep them safe.
The actress compared this to today, when “the United States is receiving a record low number of people seeking asylum. Refugees and immigrants are being demonized. Families are being torn apart. Innocent people are being placed in detention centers instead of being given the opportunity to heal from persecution and displacement, and build new lives.” She added: “Compassion is not something we need to learn, it’s something we need to remember.”
Karamo Brown, NBA star Baron Davis, WalkGood LA founder Etienne Maurice, and Dr. David Malebranche, Executive Director of Global HIV Medical Affairs at Gilead, then participated in a conversation titled “Black Equality, Black Excellence: The Power of Purpose,” which revolved around the mental, physical, and financial health of Black men.
Strange eye The Brown alum stressed the need to take charge of one’s mental health, noting, “In order for us to run the infrastructure, we have to change ourselves, and I think that’s the most important thing for everyone to understand.” Morris also spoke about some of the challenges Black-led organizations face in not “getting the support we need,” as he said 91 percent of unrestricted funds are directed to white organizations.
The day’s first honor went to Mayer, who received the Philanthropist of the Year award for the work he does through the Heart and Shield Foundation, a nonprofit that funds research into PTSD and other health issues for veterans. He was presented with the award by Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jared Loomis and then joined Heart and Armor Executive Director Gerard Chocron on stage for a conversation, moderated by news anchor Jimmy Yukas, about 15 years of collaboration in supporting military service members.
Meyer recalls his first encounter with vets with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries (traumatic brain injuries) and realizing that the public portrayal of PTSD was “cartoonish, it’s crazy, and I was blown away by its accuracy. I could feel it. I could look into the eyes of these veterans and there wasn’t an ounce of compassion, but they’re there. It’s not the preset to seek help, it’s the preset to be self-reliant, and this is the preset to discover that, but you can only find that out with the tools that You have, and that’s when I realized there had to be a way to at least leave these tools for them to discover.
“I’ve never been published, and I’ll never be published, but I got it,” the musician added. “I understand how someone can be upset, or the smell of diesel fumes can bring something back. We all have that feeling we wish we didn’t have.”
The Currys, who appeared virtually after their trip was canceled due to storms on the East Coast, were also honored as Philanthropist of the Year for the Eat.Learn.Play initiative. The foundation, which has been run by Stephen and Ayesha Curry in Oakland since 2019. In that time, the nonprofit has invested more than $100 million in the Oakland community, provided 35 million meals to food-insecure children and families, allocated $20 million to literacy programs and rebuilt 24 school playgrounds.
However, in a conversation with moderator W. Kamau Bell, the NBA star admitted that hearing those numbers back, “It’s encouraging and a little frustrating at the same time, just knowing how much work there is to do. We need to tell the story of the work to make sure the urgency is expressed.”
Aisha emphasized that although they are proud of their organization’s work, “Honestly, I feel angry most days. I feel angry as a mother. I feel angry as a woman in this society. I feel angry as a person who used to be a child, knowing that children can suffer from this deficiency, here in 2026. Often times, we learn to deal with the anger that comes with having to convince people why they should join and help,” “It’s interesting that you have to rally people when we talk about children.” Bell, a Bay Area native, couldn’t resist asking Stephen to “blink three times if it’s LeBron.” [James] Coming to the Warriors,” as the athlete quickly placed his hands above the camera.
Laverne Cox then appeared to present Gilead Sciences with the Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Award, telling the chamber: “They have supported important local initiatives ranging from comprehensive youth HIV education to specialized mental health and wellness support for women living with HIV. Gilead recognizes what many still fail to understand: that ending the epidemic means treating the whole person. It means breaking down the systemic social and economic barriers that fuel the HIV epidemic every day.” Kelly Cain Witan, executive vice president and general counsel of Gilead, accepted the honor.
Motion Picture and Television Fund CEO Bob Beecher, Women in Film CEO Kirsten Schiffer, Los Angeles Metropolitan YMCA President Victor Dominguez, and Emakity Young, Managing Director of Global Brand Marketing and Sponsorships at Delta Air Lines, sat down for a second conversation, this one centered on “The Los Angeles Safety Net: Legacy Philanthropy and the Fundamentals of the Industry.”
Infrastructure.” Alisan Blood, co-president of global brand and music partnerships at UTA, moderated the panel that focused largely on how Los Angeles will bounce back from the blows of the pandemic, strikes, fires and entertainment industry struggles.
Beecher noted how in the past few years the MPTF has donated nearly $20 million to workers in need, but with Hollywood production declining dramatically, “we’re seeing members leaving the industry. They’ve given up.” He added: “We all hope that the industry will come back strong with tax incentives and all these things, and at some point we will find ourselves. Our biggest concern is [it will be] Without having enough trained and experienced people to do the work.
At the conclusion of the event, Harrison Ford paused to present the Charitable Organization of the Year award to the Michael J. Fox Foundation and its founders, Michael J. Fox and Deborah W. Brooks. The Foundation has become one of the most successful disease-focused nonprofit organizations of this century, funding more than $3 billion in research and shaping the current scientific landscape of Parkinson’s disease.
030]On the stand, Ford talked about how “35 years ago, Michael J. Fox received some very bad news. Most people handed something like this put up with it; Michael went straight to work. Paul Rhodes played on Shrink “It’s given me some understanding of what it’s like to live with Parkinson’s disease,” Ford’s character in the Apple TV comedy was diagnosed, “and it’s also given me Michael, as an actor, as a friend and the most stubborn optimist I know. Through him, I’ve seen what his foundation is doing, including being on track to raise $700 million in research this year alone.
Fox and Brooks then joined Shrink Creator Bill Lawrence for the chat, with the writer explaining that his father and grandfather had both been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and “what struck me was how paralyzed my family was when we heard those things, and how quickly Mike went from saying, ‘I’m retiring’ to suddenly working harder than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Fox remembers that after announcing his diagnosis, he would go to online chat rooms and see patients talking about how great his announcement was. “I thought: Why are they celebrating it?” And I thought it was because they had been without a voice for so long. It was considered a disease of the elderly – put your grandmother on the porch and let her shake until she stops swaying. In fact, it didn’t have to be that way. There are a lot of young people, they have a lot to offer politically, economically, and as athletes and activists.
These first patients “had this real sense of being seen — it was Michael in real life, shedding his ego and telling it like it is and living it as it is. And I feel like that combination was also very empowering,” Brooks said. Fox is also very optimistic about the future. He is certain that “we can do this” and “we can build a medicine that will save people’s lives.” Lawrence said he is confident “I will see the end of Parkinson’s in my lifetime” thanks to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
