Jane Fonda, Bill Nye to Be Honored at Captain Planet Foundation Gala

Jane Fonda, Bill Nye and Jerome Foster II will be recognized for their environmental activism at Captain Planet Foundation’s 30th anniversary gala, the nonprofit said Monday.

Set to be held March 19 in Atlanta, the charitable evening will both honor the trio’s individual sustainability efforts and raise funds for the foundation’s programming and grant-making. Previous award recipients at Captain Planet Foundation galas have included Mark Ruffalo, Dr. Jane Goodall, President Jimmy Carter, Sir Richard Branson, Ludacris, Dr. Sanjay Guptay, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez and Prince Charles.

Fonda will be presented with the Exemplar Award, Nye with the Superhero for the Earth Award and Foster II — the youngest White House adviser in U.S. history with a spot on President Biden’s White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council — with the Young Hero for the Earth Award.

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“Our gala provides us with the privilege of acknowledging and celebrating individuals and organizations who are true exemplars of our mission,” Leesa Carter-Jones, president and CEO of Captain Planet Foundation, said in a statement. “We know it will be an inspirational and fun evening, but most importantly, the funds raised will transform the lives of young people around the world by helping them become the change-makers our planet needs.”

Longtime activist Fonda has dedicated herself in recent years to fighting the climate crisis with her Firedrill Friday events, held in partnership with Greenpeace. And Nye, after years educating viewers about science, serves as CEO of The Planetary Society, the world’s largest and most influential non-governmental space organization.

Captain Planet, co-founded in 1991 by media mogul (and Fonda’s ex-husband) Ted Turner and producer Barbara Pyle as a corporate foundation of TBS, has funded more than 3,300 hands-on environmental education projects with schools and nonprofits across 35 countries in its 30 years. More than 1.6 million children have directly participated in and benefited from these educational projects.

The 2022 gala will be hosted by news anchor Christi Paul and sustainability advocate Hannah Testa. The in-person event will also be accompanied by a virtual presentation.