Lending her voice: Shakira joins President Obama in launch of Early Childhood Education Campaign

By Fernie Ruano Jr.

In a Twitter Q&A on Wednesday, Shakira, a member of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Committee on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, answered a question on the most effective way of getting a high return on every $1 spent distributing funds to needy schools by writing “every $1 invested in early education for disadvantaged kids has a return of at least 10% and reduces social spending.”

“Numbers don’t lie!”

Now, the Colombian pop star is continuing her efforts to promote better programs for early childhood development and education by assisting in the start of a new national campaign, Invest in US, alongside other high-profile celebs, including John Legend, Julianne Moore and Jennifer Garner.

The campaign, organized by the First Five Years fund and its philosophical partners, launched earlier this week at the White House Summit on Early Education.

Shakira shared her educational tribulations  growing up in Barranquilla, how being a first-time mom has opened her eyes to the importance of reading and her desire to impact changes in the U.S. education system as reasons for joining the campaign – all of them which she outlined in the Twitter Q&A with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/12/10/what-you-missed-shakira-and-secretary-arne-duncan-answer-your-questions-early-educat)

Shakira, Legend, Moore and Garner have lent their voices for a series of PSAs that highlight individual programs already making a difference Chicago, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. Shakira’s has recorded a video about Max, an educator in Utah, in Spanish and English as part of the campaign.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCahIJsXKjo)

According to a statement, dozens of corporations, foundations and nonprofits have already pledged to raise awareness for Invest in US. Earlier this week, the White House announced over $1 billion in funding from the private and public sectors, which will mark the beginning of the campaign, and hopefully encourage others to invest as well.

“Babies have an innate thirst for knowledge and enjoy learning – making it fun through focused play is another way of bonding,” wrote Shakira to conclude her participation in the Twitter Q&A.

Do you want to know more about this 305-reeking, beach-bumming, Cuban food-obsessed dude? Well, then.. You can connect with Fernie @wordbyfernie (Twitter) and Fernie Ruano (Facebook). Who knows? If he really likes you, he might even give you his email.