{PICS} Usher Hosts New Look Foundation President’s Circle Luncheon in Atlanta!

Usher Raymond IV has gained a new fan, and not for his music, I’ve been a fan since age 12, but for his giving. I’ll admit, as I readied myself to attend the New Look Foundation I was excited to learn more about their mission, what they do and of course how they give back. I was overly amazed at how much this foundation has done in the last 14 years, training over 4,000 youth a year to be leaders, taking the program to several countries including Kenya and most recently a trip to Asia where student leaders had a chance to go to Hong Kong. I had a chance to speak with Usher at Wednesday’s event and my question to him, was how does it feel to be at a point where your foundation is celebrating fourteen years? His response, made me smile, “I could have invested my time and efforts into a lot of things, more music, you name it, but I wanted to invest my heart and soul into something that would live on far beyond me, the youth, ” said Usher. And the youth are destined to be leaders, we heard from several youth yesterday and I was all ears as these budding leaders spoke of seeing Usher as a male father figure, who several didn’t grow up with, or having a chance to go out of the country for the first time through this program, Usher has changed lives. He even gave his ambassadors a chance to shine, both the photographer and the DJ, are members of the New Look family.

Usher and the New Look Foundation recognized and honored four individuals at the 2013 President’s Circle Awards Luncheon, Honorees included: Actor and New Look Youth Ambassador Nadji Jeter; Collective Soul’s Ed Roland; Lisa Borders of the Coca-Cola Foundation; and Julie Miller, Accenture Managing Director. Additional guests in attendance included: Dean Roland, Will Turpin and Joel Kosche of Collective Soul; Matt Ryan, quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons; First Lady of Georgia Sandra Deal, and Michelle Chamuel, Usher’s runner-up contestant from “The Voice.” The New Look youth choir performed alongside Ed Roland, singing a rendition of his hit “The World I Know.