Latest news with #GlobalEmpowermentMission
CBS News
07-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
South Florida nonprofit sends "family necessity kits" to those impacted by Central Texas flooding
Relief efforts are underway in South Florida for those impacted by the catastrophic flooding in Central Texas. At the Global Empowerment Mission warehouse in Doral, the team has been hard at work loading trucks with supplies. Each truck has 26 pallets packed with family necessity kits that include hygiene items, food and water. One truck left late Monday morning, the second is expected to begin the journey in the early afternoon. GEM is hoping the kits will help 500 to 1,000 families. They also have crews on the ground handing out cash cards to try and help families get back on their feet. "People lose everything, they lose their homes, they lose family members, so we're just there to help, give a little bit of aid to them so they can get by," Jeff Popovich, CEO of GEM, said. Both of GEM's trucks are expected to arrive in Central Texas by noon on Tuesday. They will then begin the distribution of the kits. GEM is looking for volunteers to help pack boxes on Tuesday so they can have more ready if needed. Donations to help with Texas relief efforts can be made here.
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
King Charles's goddaughter India Hicks dons military gear as she joins sons on humanitarian visit to war-torn Ukraine
King Charles 's goddaughter, India Hicks, has shared an Instagram update from her recent trip to Ukraine with two of her sons. The British businesswoman, now based in the Bahamas, travelled to the war-torn country with Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), a non-profit organisation providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief. The 57-year-old, who is the daughter of Lady Pamela and David Hicks, helped to provide aid to the country with her sons, Conrad, 22, and Amory, 26, Flint Wood. India explained that Amory chose to spend his birthday in Ukraine, working alongside GEM, which encouraged her younger son Conrad to also travel to the area. In the first Instagram image, India stood with her sons, each dressed in protective gear, against the backdrop of a damaged building. 'When Conrad heard that his brother Amory would be spending his birthday in Ukraine, he wanted to be there with him,' India wrote, adding, 'Love you both so much.' In the second post, India shared a clip of Conrad standing in a location with battered buildings, which he had previously visited in January. She wrote, 'Conrad, standing where he stood in January, 'It keeps getting worse.' She went on to share a selection of images and clips from the trip, including her meeting an elderly local woman. 'She tells me everyone is exhausted by this war,' India recalled. Elsewhere, she also shared a clip of a man 'teaching school children how to load weapons,' she wrote, adding that it's a 'horrific reality'. India added that the GEM boxes providing relief for Ukrainians are a 'lifeline,' writing, 'The GEM boxes are a lifeline. They are also a sign of hope.' In another post, India, who also visited the country's first underground school, encouraged her followers to donate to GEM via a link in her bio, writing, 'Social media can be astonishingly powerful in support of humanitarian work. 'Its greatest strength is speed, information shared in real-time allows individual stories to spark immediate responses. Shares become donations, likes become awareness, and DMs become lifelines. 'Social media can do more than just entertain; it can inform, inspire, and ignite curiosity. A single post, a shared story, or an image from the field that clearly catches someone's eye and lingers in their mind might prompt them to want to know more. 'This week, many people have reached out to ask how they might donate to's incredible and varied work around the world.' It comes after India, who was a bridesmaid at Charles and Diana's wedding, recalled a 'nerve-wracking' encounter in her younger years. Photographer India remembered the occasion that her 'thoughtful' godfather tasked her with taking the family Christmas card photo - despite being 'young and inexperienced' at the time. The 57-year-old was invited by Charles to photograph himself alongside his former wife, Princess Diana, and their sons William and Harry. She revealed in an interview with Hello! magazine: 'So, I went to Highgrove and photographed him and Diana and the boys, which was quite nerve-wracking.' At the time, India had recently finished photography school and was 'quite young and inexperienced', but her 'thoughtful' godfather entrusted her with the job anyway. She said that Charles had taken a big 'risk' when employing her as photographer since she 'could have been a complete idiot with a camera'. The fashion designer called the King 'a very considerate godfather', and spoke affectionately of his dutiful habit of always remembering to write Christmas and birthday cards. She also praised the monarch's vision for the future, as well as his long-standing commitment to combating climate change and backing for green energy. She said he was 'ahead' of the curve' in his progressive beliefs. India was one of five bridesmaids at Charles and Diana's wedding in 1981 and was aged 12 at the time. Her mother was a lady-in-waiting to the late Queen Elizabeth II and cousin of Prince Philip. The mother-of-five caused a stir recently after sharing domestic tips - drawing parallels with Meghan Markle 's Netflix cooking show. The business mogul took to Instagram where she shared her tips for hosting, declaring even 'an unskilled culinary idiot' can do the job. In the clip, she shared how she recently prepared to host guests, supermodels Jerry Hall and Helen Christensen. It drew parallels with Meghan's performance in Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, in which the former actress shared her own vision of domestic bliss, including how to arrange aesthetically pleasing fruit boards. 'It seems that trays and platters laden with edible displays are on-trend for a reason,' India said. 'First, even an unskilled culinary idiot like me can gather together some inventive ingredients and lay them out temptingly.' India's account of hosting drinks at her Bahamian island home is refreshingly 'unpolished', self-deprecating and chaotic. 'It's hard to say what creates the perfect drinks hour,' India said. 'In reality, who has the time to make it perfect, especially since most of us haven't slept since 1997.' Revealing her tips, she said: 'Jerry Hall and Helena Christensen came over for last minute drinks. 'I ran around like a headless chicken lighting candles, putting on music and setting up our plastic folding table, and spreading out my newest Pomegranate tablecloth, which didn't quite fit. 'I worried, only briefly, about them seeing our dining table also laid up for a family supper in our courtyard, would they think they have been included for dinner as well as drinks? 'Unbreakable plastic plates (also from Pomegranate) and good fake palm leaves were rushed out onto the drinks table and lots of stinky cheese, which David says, doesn't go off, it just changes it's name. Intimate, unpolished, and slightly haphazard, this is how I entertain.' India, who moved to the Bahamas to embrace an 'unconventional' life, married David Flint Wood in 2021, having already had five children together. She had long insisted there were no plans to marry the former advertising executive, even after five children together. 'Having lived a fairly unconventional life together on a small island in the Bahamas for more than two decades, we decided that our wedding should, in contrast, be very conventional,' India wrote in an article for Vogue. Speaking to the Daily Mail before the big day, she said: 'He very much asked me to marry him. I said: 'I love you dearly, but no. I don't want to be a wife.' I didn't. 'I wanted to be this fiercely independent woman. I wanted children, and I wanted them to have his name, but I didn't want to be married.' She later admitted: 'I didn't really expect being married to feel any different than not being married. We had been locked in a loving relationship for 26 years already. 'But it took my breath away to find how spiritual it felt to walk into the church on the arm of my eldest son and to say those vows to David in front of all our friends and family, in the church where I had been christened and where my father lay buried just outside. It felt intensely intimate.'
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Farm Share teams up with Global Empowerment Mission to prep Florida for hurricane season
Florida's largest independent food bank, Farm Share, partners with Disaster Relief Nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) to distribute hurricane preparedness supplies throughout the state. The statewide event begins on Saturday, June 7, at 9 a.m. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< The American Red Cross will sponsor the event alongside Neighbors 4 Neighbors to distribute hurricane supply kits to 6,500 families. 'We know the fear and uncertainty that hurricane season brings for so many Florida families,' said Stephen Shelley, CEO of Farm Share. 'That's why we're committed to showing up, before, during, and after the storm, to make sure our neighbors have the support and supplies they need to stay safe and recover.' [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] The locations include: Tallahassee Fairgrounds – 441 Paul Russell Rd.., Tallahassee, FL 32301 Sumpter Park – 165 SW 3rd Ave, Madison, FL 32340 Fair Ground Youth Fair – 10901 SW 24th St, Miami, FL 33165 Pompano North Lauderdale Park – 4001 NW 62nd St, North Lauderdale, FL 33068 Hand Park – 500 W Canal St S, Belle Glade, FL 33430 West Palm Beach - IBEW Local #728 Building Corp – 4620 Summit Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33415 Celebration Church – 9555 R G Skinner Pkwy, Jacksonville, FL 32256 Next Level Church – 12400 Plantation Road, Fort Myers, FL 33966 Raymond James Stadium – 4201 N Himes Ave Lot 14, Tampa, FL 33607 [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] 'Our collective goal is to work hand-in-hand with corporate, government, religious, nonprofit, and individual partners to minimize the impact of major disasters, said Michael Capponi, Founder of GEM. 'We believe that smart partnerships are the key to building a stronger, more resilient response framework.' Farm Share and GEM delivered more than 13 million pounds of emergency supplies, including food and water, last year. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Associated Press
17-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Global Empowerment Mission and BStrong Continue To Mobilize Rapid Response to Support Los Angeles Fire Victims
Global Empowerment Mission and Bethenny Frankel's BStrong Continue To Mobilize Rapid Response to Support Los Angeles Fire Victims From Eaton to Palisades 'We encourage everyone to join us in supporting the people of Los Angeles during this critical time. Every contribution, big or small, helps us make a difference.' — Michael Capponi, Founder and CEO of Global Empowerment Mission. LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, February 17, 2025 / / -- Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), a leading nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded by Michael Capponi dedicated to disaster response and humanitarian relief, launched an immediate and comprehensive relief effort to support communities devastated by the Los Angeles wildfires in partnership with Bethenny Frankel's BStrong on January 9, 2025, and remains a leading ground organization mobilized with support daily throughout the devastated communities. As damage and fallout from the fire devastation continues to ravage the region, with thousands of displaced residents, GEM BStrong is committed to providing urgent aid to those most affected, continued support through essential crisis kits, meals to those on the front lines and displaced, cash cards, and housing assistance services. Since the fires began, GEM BStrong was on the ground within 48 hours distributing cash cards, and had their warehouse lease signed within 72 hours, with trucks sent en route from their Chico and Miami warehouses with already pre-packaged essential boxes. They have secured over $20 million in commitment through goods and essentials for Los Angeles communities that they have already been actively distributing to Los Angeles County since January 9, 2025 and over $4 million has been raised for cash cards and housing relocation. GEM BStrong to date, for all missions globally, has provided over $400 million in crisis relief worldwide for disaster relief since 2017. As a global organization they have been supporting disaster relief with quick, swift on the ground support, from California to Hawaii, Ukraine, Haiti to Puerto Rico, North Carolina to Texas, within 24-48 hours. The main focus of relief in Los Angeles has primarily been on the Eaton Fire devastated areas, residents of Altadena and Pasadena, but support has also been sent to Palisades affected communities as well. This past weekend, January 8-10, 2025, efforts focused on a distribution at the Knox Presbyterian Church in Pasadena and God's Waiting Room Church in Altadena, supporting GEM BStrong, as over 800 individuals affected by the Los Angeles wildfires showed up to receive essential kits, hot meals, cash cards and housing service consultation services. Simultaneously, GEM BStrong also set up a distribution at Topanga Reach, among other vital locations, where another several hundred displaced residents received relief from GEM BStrong. During the third week of the fire devastation, while areas were still not contained, GEM BStrong donated $30,000.00 in state-of-the-art firefighting gear plus $39,000.00 in cash cards gifted to brave volunteer firefighters at Fillmore's Station 91 in California. This grant, made possible through Global Empowerment Mission and BStrong partners Royal Caribbean Group, and Stable Road Foundation, is a testament to GEM BStrong's ongoing commitment to supporting first responders who risk their lives to protect our communities. 'Our hearts go out to all the families impacted by these fires. At GEM, we understand the urgency of the situation and are dedicated to delivering aid quickly and effectively to those in need,' said Michael Capponi, Founder and CEO of Global Empowerment Mission. 'This area really hits home for me, as I lived in Palisades with my father, and have so many friends directly affected that lost homes. Our model has allowed us to act quickly and swiftly, to get relief in the hands of those that need it immediately. Since we have been instrumental in aid for Paradise Fire Victims, we had an infrastructure and model that could be quickly and seamlessly implemented. We have year-round aid available for any global disaster and trusted aid partners who spring into action when we say go. In this case, we secured a warehouse for a year minimum, which we will fill and keep replenishing it. In addition, we assembled 20,000 crisis kits to be distributed to individuals and families who have lost everything. The key to our model is dignity, and clarity in all of our charitable actions. Events and fundraisers are great, but that is not our model. We believe in money and aid directly to the people with no red tape, no deviation in the purpose at hand. WIth disaster relief, acting fast and smart, smart being key, is essential to the organization of the efforts and yields the greatest impact, immediately.' - Bethenny Frankel, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, and Founder of BStrong Relief Efforts in Action GEM, in partnership with Bethenny Frankel's BStrong initiative, have been deploying critical resources to the hardest-hit areas, utilizing their new 11,000 sq foot warehouse on the east side of Los Angeles, where palettes are delivered on the daily with essential supplies, hygiene kits, non perishable food, beverages, baby and household essentials, and much more. The organization is working closely with local authorities, community leaders, and partner organizations to ensure aid reaches those in need. Talent such as Zoe Saldana, Cisely Saldana, Eva Longoria, Gina Torres, Becky G, Cat Cora, Georgie Flores, Maria Bello, Kayla Ewell and more have also joined the GEM BStrong efforts to volunteer at headquarters and distribution points, both packing boxes, organizing incoming deliveries and product sorting, and directly distributing to community residents at the give back locations. The headquarters In Los Angeles receive daily volunteer support in order to meet the demand of locals in need and continue the organized flow of distribution kits. GEM Bstrong has secured to date over $20 million in committed aid to the region through essential goods and products, delivered via over 75 trucks of goods, filled with essential supplies that continue to bring products to the warehouse. Additionally, the organization has already distributed over $540,000.00 in funds and raised over $4 million total to date in Los Angeles for use on cash cards, relief and logistics, so far having allocated $435,000.00 of the bStrong cash cards to provide direct financial assistance to impacted families and first responders. This includes so far approximately 12,000+ families and 35,000+ individuals. Distributions of emergency supplies will be happening this week at key locations across Los Angeles to ensure timely support for those affected. Relief initiatives of GEM BStrong include: - Emergency Supplies Distribution: Providing essential items such as food, water, hygiene kits, and medical supplies to displaced families. Family Necessity Kits, Water, Solar panels, Diapers, Star Links for internet access, Pet Kits, Air Purifiers, Blankets, Hygiene Kits, and much more. - Temporary Housing Solutions: Collaborating with local shelters and organizations to secure safe accommodations for those who have lost their homes. Recovery Assistance: Offering long-term recovery support, including debris removal and rebuilding assistance, to help families and communities recover and rebuild. - Cash Card Distribution: Cash cards to residents vetted as needing access to money to purchase their own personal necessities, pay rent, transportation, groceries, whatever truly they see fit. - Tool Program: Tools for tradesmen to empowerment get people back to work and or even be part of the rebuild in their communities. - Small Business Program: Helping small businesses get back on their feet with a incentive to restart their business Distributions of emergency supplies will continue weekly at key locations across Los Angeles to ensure timely support for those affected. You can track updates via GEM's website and social media channels. Community Collaboration GEM's efforts are made possible through partnerships with corporate sponsors, local businesses, and individual donors. The organization has established distribution centers in key locations to streamline the delivery of aid and maximize impact. 'This is a time for unity and action,' adds Capponi. 'We encourage everyone to join us in supporting the people of Los Angeles during this critical time. Every contribution, big or small, helps us make a difference.' How to Help Global Empowerment Mission invites individuals, organizations, and businesses to support its relief efforts. Donations can be made directly through GEM's website, where 100% of contributions will go toward supporting fire victims. Volunteer opportunities are also available for those looking to make a hands-on impact. About Global Empowerment Mission: Global Empowerment Mission is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing disaster relief and supporting long-term recovery efforts worldwide. Since its inception, GEM has responded to over 500 disasters globally, delivering aid to millions of people in need. They have provided over $400 million in vital crisis relief around the world, offering a lifeline in the darkest moments. As a global organization, GEM in partnership with Bethenny Frankel's BStrong Initiative, rushes to the scene typically within 24 to 48 hours, mobilizing ground teams to implement immediate relief efforts. Photos by Bobby Rachpoot, Charles McBryde and Getty Images X LinkedIn Instagram YouTube TikTok Other Legal Disclaimer:
