Among the Hollywood types here in San Francisco for the National Conference on Volunteering and Service is actress Kerry Washington, who could not talk more passionately about her work with L’Oreal Paris’ charitable arm and the inspiration the president and Michelle Obama have been to her. Washington, a petite beauty who talks a mile a minute, worked for the Obama campaign “doing anything they’d let me do,” and she ended up campaigning in 13 states. Here in San Francisco she is supporting the Obamas’ United We Serve summer of service campaign— she was one of the personalties who spoke on stage at the opening session Monday and I caught her for a few minutes back stage— but she’s also working for L’Oreal’s Women of Worth effort to help women make the most of their talents and support women making a difference in their communities.
Arianna Huffington, founder of the web site The Huffington Post, got off a few good lines at the big session Monday. Addressing the power of the web, she said, “The internet is making collaboration more powerful. It’s now collaborate or die.” And, she said, “The misery index is soaring, so the empathy index has to soar, too.”
Photo by Joe Brier
