On Wednesday night, WhyHunger—a global nonprofit dedicated to advancing the human right to nutritious food and ending the injustice at the root of world hunger—celebrated its 50th anniversary at its annual Chapin Awards Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York, NY. In addition to raising over $600,000 toward WhyHunger’s efforts, the event honored Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artists and lifelong activists Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo with the ASCAP Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award and CNN’s Laura Coates with the inaugural Bill Ayres Social Justice Award, all recognizing those who have used their talent and global influence to inspire change and foster social justice.
Alongside performances by members of The Fab Faux with music director Will Lee and various others including Willie Nile, Will Calhoun, Tash Neal, Jen Chapin, and The Chapin Sisters, the gala saw supporters, co-founder Bill Ayres and his family, and the family of fellow co-founder, the late Harry Chapin, come together for a cocktail reception and live program in support of WhyHunger’s mission to end hunger and address its root causes.
“They say there are two great days in a person’s life: the day we are born and the day we discover why. For me, I know my why,” said CNN’s Laura Coates when accepting her recognition. “To not just speak truth to power, but to question it… To use my voice to challenge the very systems that create and further the divide between the haves and the have-nots. To disrupt the inertia of oppression. To pursue justice and insist we one day catch it.”
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, the husband-and-wife duo behind some of the most notable hits of the ’80s—including four straight wins in the Grammy Awards’ Best Female Rock Performance category from 1981–1984—were the guests of honor at the event. The Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award winners reflected on the core values behind WhyHunger (“What’s your why?” Giraldo recalled the late Chapin asking him, “My why is opening your heart.”) and the layered significance of food and food security (“Food is love, and love always wins,” Benatar added).
Previous recipients of the Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award include Barbra Streisand, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Grace Potter, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Harry Belafonte, Jackson Browne, Jason Mraz, John Mellencamp, Jon Batiste, Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, and Michael Franti.
Related: Harry Chapin Documentary Examines Singer-Songwriter’s Career, Humanitarian Legacy [Trailer]
After accepting the honor, Benatar and Giraldo treated the audience to a rare live cover of Harry Chapin’s “Shooting Star”, which she first performed during a tribute to the late singer-songwriter and activist in 1987 at Carnegie Hall, and one of their own signature hits, “Love is a Battlefield”.
The program eventually came to a close with Benatar, Lee, Jen Chapin, the Chapin Sisters, and more leading the crowd in a sing-along rendition of Harry Chapin’s “Circle”, an unofficial anthem of the annual gala: “All my life’s a circle; Sunrise and sundown; Moon rolls through the nighttime; ‘Til the daybreak comes around.”
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“What an incredible night! We were honored and humbled to receive the ASCAP Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award and celebrate the 50th anniversary of WhyHunger at the Chapin Awards Gala,” Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo shared after the event. “The evening was filled with love, hope and good humans dedicated to the service of others. We’re in this together and together we can make miracles happen.”
Founded in 1975 by the late Harry Chapin and radio DJ Bill Ayres, WhyHunger funds and supports community solutions to protect the human right to food. In nearly five decades of innovation and evolution, its programs and grassroots partners in 24 countries have expanded agricultural practices that are better for the planet, helped communities address the root causes of hunger, and ensured access to nutritious food for millions of people. WhyHunger prioritizes providing resources to support the rights of communities who have been historically excluded from defining and controlling their food systems, advocating for workers’ rights and championing agroecological food production that unites science and sustainability with Indigenous knowledge and wisdom.
In the last three years, WhyHunger has connected 3.3 million people to food and invested $5.1 million in community-led solutions globally. The Chapin Awards Gala raises critical funds to support WhyHunger’s work to end hunger and promote the human right to nutritious food. To learn more about WhyHunger and how you can support the movement to end hunger, visit the WhyHunger website, and follow on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.