The 21st of December will mark Jane Fonda’s 85th birthday, but the actress hasn’t changed her focus; she’s still dedicated to helping young people and making the world a better place.
The recipient of an Academy Award discussed her life and legacy with the publication PEOPLE as she prepared to mark a significant birthday on Thursday by hosting a party for the benefit of the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential (GCAPP), an organization dedicated to improving the health of adolescents that she established in 1995.
“I have had a happy and successful life. My life has been purposeful and fruitful from start to finish. And while I was aware that I would not be able to make it any longer than it already was, I was confident that I could make it wider and deeper “according to the celebrity, who was given a diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma back in September. “And I have accomplished that. I have the impression that I am accomplishing that.”
“I hope that I may be an example to young people so that they won’t be terrified of getting older,” Fonda continues.
Since the inception of GCAPP, Fonda has contributed to the dissemination of age-appropriate and comprehensive sex education to children all over the state of Georgia. In addition, Fonda has helped to disseminate information to parents about how to have a conversation with their children about sexuality.
“Back then, it was really challenging in Georgia because the majority of schools taught students to “Just Say No.” Don’t indulge in sex until you’re married,’ “Fonda recalls. “Children are getting married at later and later ages, and this does not assist them to grasp what they are supposed to do with the hormones, the sentiments, and the passion that emerges in them at this age,” said one researcher.
She visited the hospital bedside of a 14-year-old girl who was giving birth to her second child in 1994 when she was traveling throughout the state just before the debut of GCAPP. She remembers the experience vividly.
Fonda relates that she was “so helpless and sad for her” and that she “remembers looking into her face and not knowing what I could say to her.” Fonda recalls that she felt “so helpless and sad for her.”
“I understood that whatever we do, whatever the work, we have to offer young people a sense that they will have a future,” Fonda adds. “This is something that we have to do.” “And that it was imperative that they steer clear of any conflicts that might put that future in jeopardy.”
The Georgia Comprehensive Adolescent and Parent Program (GCAPP) has set a target date of 2025 to reach a total of 360,000 adolescents and 200,000 parents across 80 counties in the state of Georgia, with the ultimate goal of expanding its reach to any and every county in Georgia.
In the same way that she did when she turned 80 and 75, Fonda will use the celebration that will take place on Thursday to bring attention to the work that GCAPP is doing. Gladys Knight will put on a performance at the event, which will be hosted by comedian Heather McMahan, and a number of notable people, including Lily Tomlin, Tyler Perry, Ludacris, Glennon Doyle, and Abby Wambach, are expected to be present.
In addition to her work with GCAPP, Fonda will be traveling to Washington, D.C. on December 2 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic to participate in a physical Fire Drill Fridays rally.
The star of Grace and Frankie believes that the issue of climate change is “moving in the wrong direction” around the globe and that it “is going to get much, much worse.” She goes on to say that people should “pay very close attention” to the toll that issues of this nature take on psychological health and financial uncertainty, particularly for young people who will inherit the problem in the future.
As Jane Fonda approaches the midpoint of her ninth decade, she attributes her motivation to continue working to her family, saying, “I just want my young grandchildren to know that grandma did her best.” Fonda is currently in the middle of her ninth decade.
“It’s going to be tough for young people, and I just want my kids and my grandkids to know that I did my best,” Fonda says further. “It’s going to be a challenge for the next generation.”
The party to celebrate Jane Fonda becoming 85 years old will take place on Thursday in Atlanta. Tickets can be purchased online, and donations will be gratefully accepted.
