iLEAD: Usher and Accenture team up, align with public schools to train 50,000 youth to be global leaders

Usher’s New Look, a non-profit organization founded by Usher Raymond IV, today announced their partnership with Accenture to help New Look reach its goal of training and certifying 50,000 youth as global leaders. The effort reflects Accenture’s Skills to Succeed corporate citizenship initiative.

Over two years, Accenture is supporting New Look with a more than $900,000 contribution, which includes a cash grant as well as pro bono support to develop iLEAD – an online, interactive, curriculum-based platform that will provide data management and tracking for students and parents as they move through New Look’s four leadership pillars – talent, education, career and service.

Through the iLEAD platform, New Look will be able to better track the progress of enrolled students. It will also support developing leaders in schools, raising graduation rates and preparing youth for college and career readiness.The platform will align with national public school, career training and development standards.

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Obamacare provision is spurring chains to develop healthier menus

One of the least-noticed elements of Obamacare is a federal rule requiring  chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus starting in 2013. Similar laws have been enacted already on a state or local basis in several jurisdictions, but it’s only now that the policy is going national that it really makes sense for companies to start building strategic decisions around it.

That corporate decision-making is the key to whether the new rule drives meaningful gains in public health. If chains continue to emphasize maximum fat at minimum cost, eating habits probably won’t change much. But if the labeling regulations really emphasize the dangers of high-fat foods and the benefits of fruits and vegetables, it could encourage healthier eating.

The giants that dominate the chain restaurant market are adjusting to menu labeling, too. McDonalds, smartly, decided to get ahead of the curve by launching menu labeling even before the election so the company could start the learning process before the competition. They’re also touting a “Favorites Under 400” list of low-calorie options. Tellingly, packaged-food giant Unilever promoted a Seductive Nutrition Challenge over the summer to encourage restaurateurs to try to reformulate existing menu favorites into lower-calorie versions.


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