Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson have joined forces in an attempt to “make a difference” for youth activists and drive change around issues such as climate change. Sir Richard’s non-profit foundation Virgin Unite will pledge more than a million dollars (£770,000) as it turns 20 this year, and partner with Rodgers’ We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) to support youth organisations. Speaking to the PA news agency at a launch event at Virgin Hotels in Shoreditch, east London, on Monday, which saw Chic perform, Rodgers said there are “so many problems that we have to deal with, and we can no longer be apathetic”.
The 72-year-old US musician told PA: “There are so many problems that we have to deal with, and we can no longer be apathetic. “It’s time that we deal with climate change as a very serious issue, it’s time that we deal with waste, it’s time that we deal with even little things that used to just be a nuisance when I was a kid, like bullyism now has become a really big thing. “I see kids taking advantage of kids all around the world, it just got crazy.
“It’s now become entertainment for people, I don’t get it. You have to forgive me, because I come from a very hippy, peace and love kind of world, I can’t help it. That’s just the generation I was born into.
” Both men were activists in their youth, with Rodgers being a member of the Harlem branch of the Black Panther Party, and Sir Richard establishing Student.