Ass-kicking action hero Charlize Theron just celebrated 10 remarkable years of running her nonprofit organization, The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), which aims to help African youth combat the deadly spread of HIV/AIDS across the continent with a focus in her home country of South Africa.
Over the past decade, CTAOP has supported a number of local HIV prevention programs by providing financial donations and valuable resources. that ultimately help educate and empower people between the ages of 10 and 20.
To honor the massive milestone, Theron hosted a gala at the Georgie restaurant in the Montage Beverly Hills alongside her friend Geoffrey Zakarian, the restaurant's owner and my second-favorite Silver Fox, coming in close behind Anderson Cooper.
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According to People, a number of celebrities joined in on the fun, including Seth MacFarlane, Aisha Tyler, and Mary McCormack. They also dined on an exquisite-looking menu, which featured an autumn salad with "pickled hen of the woods," Mediterranean sea bass with "sunchoke bonbons," and a lemon chiboust brûlée. I don't even know what some of those items are, but my mouth is definitely watering.
During the event, Theron announced that she and two other major funders, Kimberly Steward/K Period Media and Chelsea Handler, had created The CTAOP Youth Leaders Scholarship Fund. According to a press release, the fund will help young leaders "become the next generation of change makers."
CTAOP isn't the only way Theron is making an impact on the world, either. The actress has been incredibly vocal over the years in her fight against ageism and unequal pay in Hollywood, and earlier this year she spoke with Refinery29 about the importance of diversity.
"It's something we have taken very seriously for the last 15 years at my production company," she said. "We have really fought the fought...We're going to have to wrap our heads around considering all races and genders for any role, because society is done with how it's been going. We all want to see a real reflection of ourselves."