Michelle Obama To Donate More Than $500K Of ‘Becoming’ Merchandise Sales To Girls Opportunity Alliance
Michelle Obama announced on Giving Tuesday (Dec. 3) that she will be donating half a million dollars to the Girls Opportunity Alliance.
According to a press release sent to BET, the former first lady vowed to donate more than $500,000 to the program of the Obama Foundation that works to support the education of young girls across the world.
The proceeds are derived from merchandise sales from Obama’s memoir, Becoming, which sold more than 11.7 million copies across all formats worldwide since its publication.
“This duty of giving back is what my parents and grandparents taught me, and it’s a value I’ve tried to live by my entire life—because it’s not enough just to make your way through life, thinking only of yourself,” Obama stated in the press release.
Obama has continuously advocated for girls education in the past with her Let Girls Learn initiative, which she launched in 2015 while at the White House.
According to the press release, Obama says making a contribution is her “responsibility.”
“Over the past year I’ve been incredibly blessed and humbled by the response to my book, and I’m proud to channel that enthusiasm toward girls around the world,” Obama continued. “My hope is that this donation will help more bold and brilliant girls reach their fullest potential, continuing upward on their path toward becoming the women they are meant to be.”
The donation will fund current and future projects supported by the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund, including a new series of projects supported by the Fund in Vietnam, according to the statement.
