SAN FRANCISCO, CA, November 27, 2023 – One Planet Group, a closely-held private equity firm headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, today announced the return of its annual fundraiser, Holidays with a Purpose. This year’s holiday event is designed to benefit two worthy causes, Lidè Haiti and Starfish International, two outstanding organizations dedicated to empowering girls through education in Haiti and The Gambia, respectively.
“At One Planet Group, we believe businesses can and should be elevated to serve humanity. We love the work of Starfish International and Lidé Haiti and are excited to partner with them. We are grateful to have the opportunity to play a small role in these organizations' significant impact on the communities they serve.” - Payam Zamani, Founder, One Planet Group
The event will take place on Tuesday, December 12th at 9AM PST via zoom. Rainn Wilson, star of the NBC hit series, The Office, and Lidè’s Co-Founder, and Mam-Yassin Sarr, the Director of Starfish International, will join the One Planet team and their partners to share their respective organizations’ missions, challenges, goals, and triumphs.
One Planet Group will match all donations up to $100,000, with the goal of $250,000, the total of which will be split between the two entities.
Starfish International works with Gambian girls and boys to support their education. Working with 150 students annually, Starfish International has been in service for twelve years, providing world-class education focused on serving humanity while also offering international service-learning opportunities for volunteers. This summer, One Planet Group sent five team members to their campus in Banjul, Gambia, as volunteers to lend a hand in their efforts. The values of Starfish International, nobility, independence, courtesy, knowledge, and service, are evident in every life they touch.
Lidé Haiti takes a whole-person approach to building capacity and resiliency among adolescent girls who have been denied equal access to education, currently serving over 1,200 girls in eight locations across Haiti. Lidé offers programs in the arts, education, and health. Their creative arts programs include photography, creative writing, dance, and theater, which enable girls to increase their creativity, resiliency, and self-confidence. Their academic support programs expand girls' educational attainment by offering over 1,100 primary and secondary school scholarships, along with academic tutoring and training in literacy, mathematics, and computer skills. Their health programming strengthens girls’ mental and physical health through daily nutritious meals, medical services, individualized counseling, family planning education, and psychosocial support services.
Over the years, Holidays with a Purpose has raised over $2 million. Previous beneficiaries have included Lidé Haiti, Starfish International, the Tahirih Justice Center, Feed Projects, and the MONA foundation.
One Planet Group wholeheartedly embraces the philosophy that service to humanity often benefits the giver more than the receiver. In line with this belief, they are grateful for the opportunity to support two extraordinary organizations working to make a positive impact through people-first initiatives.
About One Planet Group
One Planet Group is a closely held private equity firm that owns a suite of online technology and media businesses while also investing in early-stage companies. Owned and operated businesses span a variety of industries including ad tech, publishing, and media. One Planet Group’s mission is to support strong business ideas while building an ethos that helps improve society and give back to communities.
Infused with foundational values that promote diversity and inclusion, unity, service to humanity, and excellence in all things, One Planet Group strives to foster an environment that promotes equality, love, and empowerment.
The company’s investment portfolio includes over 45 startups representing a diverse group of innovative tech-enabled products and solutions. Investing primarily in high-growth early-stage entities, emphasizing companies that aspire to ‘Innovation + Intention.’ Specific areas of focus include the future of mobility, education technology, health technology, and environmental solutions.
One Planet Group’s operating businesses include Buyerlink, a leading online marketplace for performance-based marketing; Autoweb, a company that provides performance-based marketing solutions to the automotive industry; California.com, a curated guide to traveling and living in California; WestWind Pictures, a production company that creates and distributes film and television content, and many more. One Planet Group also operates BahaiTeachings.org, a non-profit platform that shares personal perspectives to promote the oneness of humanity.
One Planet Group recently announced its annual conference, focused on the idea for elevating business to serve humanity. The inaugural event, One Planet Summit, is scheduled for November 2023.
One Planet Group was founded by tech entrepreneur Payam Zamani in 2015. With offices and employees in over ten countries, its global headquarters is in Walnut Creek, California.
About Starfish International
Starfish International is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a well-rounded and
quality education for Gambian girls and boys. Working annually with 100 girls and 35 boys, Starfish International has been in service for 12 years, uplifting, educating, accompanying, and providing a safe haven for their students' growth, well-being, and development.
Starfish’s mission is to uplift Gambian girls by providing them with a world-class education that is focused on service to humanity while at the same time providing international service-learning opportunities for volunteers.
The values and the five qualities highlighted at Starfish International are nobility, independence, courtesy, knowledge, and service. As an organization, its major achievement is to have graduated and impacted over 900 students who are now doctors, teachers, lawyers, nurses, and many other professionals in their respective fields. Their three significant areas of impact are education, health, and agriculture, with a focus on mentorship, entrepreneurship, character development, scholarship opportunities, leadership training, career counseling, public speaking, and community service.
About Lidé Haiti
Lidé Haiti was co-founded in 2014 by actor Rainn Wilson, author Holiday Reinhorn, and psychologist Dr. Kathryn Adams, inspired by a successful short-term project they led to provide healing through the arts for adolescent girls who had survived the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Working towards a Haiti where every girl can play, create, learn, and lead, Lidé programs in the arts, education, and health reach girls ages 11 to 21 who are out of school or significantly behind in age-to-grade, live in rural underserved communities where the majority of the community is living in extreme poverty, have experienced trauma or abuse, live in situations of domestic labor, are experiencing food insecurity or the effects of malnutrition, and/or have a disability.
