Maggie Baird, Finneas, Billie Eilish in Los Angeles on Oct. 24, 2023.Photo:Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Support + Feed
Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Support + Feed
It was a family affair forBillie Eilishand her brotherFinneasTuesday night as they stepped out together in Los Angeles to support their motherMaggie BairdandSupport+Feed, the climate change and food security organization she launched three years ago.
Eilish, 21, and Finneas, 26, ended the nonprofit’s first annual fundraiser with a sweet pair of speeches dedicated to Baird, who earlier in the night presented actress and singerJanelle Monáewith a special inspiration award for her Wondalunch initiative, which provides plant-based meals and pantry items to families across L.A.
Finneas, meanwhile, joked that theorganization’s origin storywas simply that he and Eilish “made a bunch of music in our bedroom.”
“We paid off our mom’s mortgage, and she turned around and started a nonprofit immediately,” he said, drawing laughs from the intimate crowd at Niku Nashi. “Our mom, in many ways, is our North Star and moral compass across the board in our lives. And this is no exception.”
Maggie Baird and Billie Eilish in Los Angeles on Oct. 24, 2023.Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Support + Feed
The Grammy winner continued, recalling a hike he took with Baird early in the pandemic in which she revealed her hopes to help keep vegan restaurants in Los Angeles open amid COVID-related strains, and to send hospital workers and patients food.
“Watching it become a whole enterprise and watching all these people take time out of their busy lives and donate whatever they can, whether that’s time or money or skill, has been deeply moving,” he said. “And contributing financially has felt like a deep cheat code compared to how much other people have contributed to this. So I’m very humbled.”
Maggie Baird and Janelle Monáe in Los Angeles on Oct. 24, 2023.Michael Kovac / Getty Images for Support & Feed
Michael Kovac / Getty Images for Support & Feed
Baird also had kind words for her singer-songwriter kids, telling the pair that they “made this happen.”
“Whether you admit to or not, you have funded us, you have talked about us, you have given us a platform,” she said. “As you said, you’ve inspired other artists to join us. I know you don’t like to feel good about yourself, but just for one single day, please try.”
The atmosphere at the event in Los Angeles on Oct. 24, 2023.Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Support + Feed
The event was thrown in partnership with The Darkroom, Interscope Records, Live Nation, Main Street Advisors, Wasserman Foundation and WhatIF Foods, and also recognized environmental educator and activist Isaias Hernandez and L.A. city coordinator Julie Schmid in addition to Monáe.
Since launching in 2020, Support+Feed has distributed nearly 400,000 plant-based meals and pantry items in 41 different cities around the world. The nonprofit’s call to action encourages people to eat at least one plant-based meal a day for 30 days.
source: people.com
