John Legend caused stars like Karlie Kloss and Chiwetel Ejiofor to rise to their feet Wednesday night after the singer surprised guests with a special onstage performance. “If you were to say to me five years ago that John Legend will perform at a Pencils of Promise (PoP) Gala, I wouldn’t believe you,” says PoP founder Adam Braun, who sat Usher down for a 90-second virtual reality tour of the Toklokpo school in Ghana—Pencils of Promise’s latest build. But “most of the time, it is the very things that are deemed impossible that are worth fighting for,” he says.
Since 2008, the globally conscious organization has built 319 schools throughout Laos, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Ghana. Thanks to Wednesday night’s gala held at Cipriani Wall Street, seven more schools will go up, providing quality education for children around the world.
Take a look inside the star-studded evening.
