*New York, NY – Nearly 300 guests gathered Thursday evening (11/16) at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City as DoSomething, the hub for youth-centered activism, celebrated its 30th Anniversary with a special edition of its annual gala – The Futures Ball. In addition to commemorating 30 years of youth-led impact, this year’s event ushered in a new, illustrious collective of changemakers – highlighting the next generations of young people who are transforming systems, creating change, and building a future on their terms.
The 2023 Futures Ball kicked off with a festive reception followed by the dinner and awards ceremony hosted by Emmy-nominated multi-platform storyteller, producer, futurist comedian, and cultural critic Baratunde Thurston (Host and Executive Producer, PBS’ American Outdoors and Creator and Host, How To Citizen Podcast).
In her opening remarks, DoSomething CEO DeNora Getachew highlighted the organization’s rich history and set the course for its new direction.
“Today, we are living through another generational shift. In 1993 we were engaging young Gen X’ers and Millennials. Now, our sweet spot is Gen Z. And Gen Alpha is right behind them with the oldest turning 13 this year – just old enough to be a DoSomething member,” said Getachew. “This moment calls for us to do our part to help young people find their civic identity and support them in their moving from civically curious to civically committed. We’re going beyond parallel activism in isolation, beyond raising awareness, we’re changing how we’re doing it because we know there’s more to do.”
The evening continued with a mix of storytelling and fellowship and included remarks from DoSomething co-founder Andrew Shue, an auction featuring the work of celebrated visual artist Wardell Milan as well as stirring performances by violinist Kersten Stevens and poet Fanta Ballo. The gala culminated with an epic set from hip-hop icon Doug E. Fresh in celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary.
Additionally, DoSomething honored the class of 2023 honorees who are leading substantive change locally, nationally, and globally with award presentations throughout the evening.
The 2023 Visionary Vanguard Award recipients were:
Marley Dias
Marley Dias (18) is the purpose-driven founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks and author of Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You! With the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign – which launched in November 2015 – Dias grew a database of works showcasing Black authors and female main characters as well as collected those books to donate to schools in need. Currently, a college student at Harvard, she is also the Host and Executive Producer of Netflix’s Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices. Dias has been recognized by TIME Magazine as one of the 25 most influential teens and was the youngest member of the Forbes 30 under 30 list to date as named in 2018. She has appeared on The Today Show, CBS This Morning, and The View, among other media appearances.
Aditi Mayer
Aditi Mayer (26) started her activism journey in 2010 and has gone on to become a prominent climate activist. As a DoSomething member, Aditi has now been featured in Vogue, Elle, and WWD as a fashion industry changemaker – and was named a National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellow in 2020 for documenting stories of social and environmental justice in India’s fashions system.
DoSomething also unveiled the winners of its Generation Future Award, which recognizes emerging changemakers who will shape the future of youth-led impact. Over 1,000 young people applied for the award and 10 finalists were voted on by their peers. The three winners were celebrated onstage and presented with a $5,000 grant to help them continue their mission and amplify their impact.
The 2023 Generation Future Award Winners were:
Maksim Batuyev
In 2020, Maksim Batuyev (25) was part of the team that launched Force of Nature, an organization leading workshops for 16-25-year-olds worldwide to help them step up in the face of the climate crisis. In response to the fact that over 70% of young people experience eco-anxiety, he began hosting Climate Cafes in Los Angeles – a grassroots community care practice to help people find comfort in shared experiences and learn from different perspectives. He brought the Climate Cafe initiative to major institutions like UCLA and local community spaces and tea shops. His work has been recognized by MTV Mental Health Action Day and has been invited to share this approach with the Los Angeles County Psychological Association. Additionally, Batuyev is a musician and centers his work on environmental loss, anxiety, and grief and continues sharing his insights as a Gen Z advisor of the Climate Mental Health Network.
Jasmine Lewis
A former DoSomething club leader while in high school, Jasmine Lewis (21) has been deeply committed to building a culture of civic engagement through storytelling from a young age. In holding a variety of leadership roles, she has honed her ability to approach this work from a diverse and intersectional perspective including serving as a Fellow of the South for When We All Vote, a Civic Season Design Fellow with Made by Us, a Freedom of Expression Fellow with PEN America, and a Fellow with Civics Unplugged. She has leveraged these learnings to launch TALMBAT, a multimedia storytelling platform that invites underrepresented changemakers to share their story as a tool for celebrating our shared humanity, building connections, and imagining new possibilities for impact and collective liberation.
Ananya Pinnamaneni
At the age of seven, Ananya Pinnamaneni (16) began her commitment to gender equity when she learned about the practice of female infanticide in India. To start sharing her learnings with the next generation, Pinnamaneni wrote the children’s book Feminism 101: A Guide to Gender Equality – which has been featured on popular regional radio channels and endorsed by politicians in India. She also gave a TEDx talk at her school entitled Feminism: The Past, The Present, and The Future to help dispel myths about feminism. To expand her efforts to a classroom setting, Pinnamaneni launched a registered 501(c)3 – Gender SHEquality – that focuses on sharing mini-lessons about gender equity. The lessons are already reaching nearly 1,000 students and her youth-led team of 70 is working to apply these lessons in multiple avenues including women in STEM and reproductive health.
Convening a host of notables, activists, and advocates across industries for an unforgettable night, special guests included: Tracy Garcia, Anna Molinari, Estella Struck, Savannah Vinson, Alexis Williams, and Sophie Boren.
Proceeds from the Futures Ball Gala benefit DoSomething’s ongoing work as the hub for youth activism that fuels young people to change the world.
The 2023 Futures Ball is presented by (Gap Inc.).
For more info, visit https://www.dosomething.org/us/about/futuresball
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ABOUT DoSOMETHING
DoSomething fuels young people to change the world. As the digital hub for youth-centered activism, DoSomething has activated more than 8 million young people representing every U.S. area code and over 130 countries. DoSomething has registered over 415,000 new voters since 2018 and awarded more than $1.8 million in scholarships to young people since 2010. When you join DoSomething.org, you are joining an inclusive collective of young people who are collaborating to develop and implement solutions to the most pressing issues facing society today.
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