*By Madison Alworth*
The actress Yara Shahidi, star of the ABC shows "Black-ish" and "Grown-ish," is taking up a new cause to help young people work toward the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Shahidi joined "Little x Little," a public awareness campaign to rally members of Generation Z to take actions that will make a difference ー recycling, saving water, pitching in to clean up communities.
"For me and my family we've been looking for new ways to invest in our community," said Shahidi. "And of course I have my [Eighteen x 18](https://www.eighteenx18.com/) initiative as well."
That initiative, in conjunction with the social news site [NowThis] (https://nowthisnews.com), aims to get 18 year-olds registered to vote before the midterm elections in November. Shahidi, who turned 18 in February, will take over the NowThis social accounts for an online voter awareness drive.
"It's about voter education," said Shahidi. "Often times, a child is viewed as the anomaly if they are engaged in politics. So what we wanted to do with Eighteen x 18 and in particular with our partnership with NowThis, was to make news digestible. To make the topics that we're already rallying for and calling our senators about digestible in a way that it translates to policy change."
Before the midterms elections, Shahidi will start her freshman year at Harvard.
"I'm really excited for the absurd small classes I get to take," she said.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/yara-shahidis-new-leading-role).
Student loan debt continues to be a major concern for tens of millions of Americans who collectively owe about $1.7 trillion. Black college students often take on larger amounts of student debt in order to pay for a higher education. In turn, they are more likely to struggle post-graduation with repaying their debt, creating a racial wealth gap divide. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution joined All Hands to help break down the black student debt crisis.
BTS’ hit single “Butter” tops the zeitgeist again, bumping back up to number one on Billboard’s Hot Trending Chart. The chart tracks what songs people are talking about rather than what they're listening to.
The American Red Cross has declared its first-ever "national blood crisis" in the United States. Since COVID hit the U.S. in March 2020, blood donations have declined by 10 percent. American Red Cross Medical Director, Dr. Baia Lasky joined Cheddar News to discuss the country facing the worst blood shortage in over a decade. Dr. Lasky noted that as much as 40 percent of Americans are eligible to donate blood but only about 4 percent do so. "This is going to be ongoing," she said. "This is not an acute shortage. We really do need the commitment of people to come out and donate and donate again." Appointments to donate can be made by using the Red Cross Donor App, at RedCrossBlood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
On this episode of ChedHER: Co-Founder of VC firm CaJE breaks down how she's creating a new era of venture capital and empowering Black women with 'soil' funding to start and grow their businesses; AYO Foods Co-Founder discusses how the brand is bringing West African cuisine to the frozen food industry and building a grocery aisle her daughters can be proud of; Chief Marketing & Customer Experience Officer at Chase Auto talks her experience being a woman of color in the auto industry, and why transportation is so important to financial freedom.
Renée Horne, chief marketing and customer experience officer at Chase Auto, joins ChedHER to discuss her experience being a woman of color in the auto industry and why transportation is so important to financial freedom.
Perteet Spencer, Co-Founder of AYO Foods, joins ChedHER to discuss how the brand is bringing West African cuisine to the frozen food industry and building a grocery aisle her daughters can be proud of.
Crystal Etienne, Founder and CEO of period apparel company Ruby Love and Co-Founder of VC firm CaJE, joins ChedHER to discuss her experience bootstrapping her company to $10 million, and how she's creating a new era of venture capital and empowering Black women with 'soil' funding to start and grow their businesses.
