Kelendria Trene Rowland was born on February 11, 1981, in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the daughter of Doris Rowland Garrison (December 6, 1947 - December 2, 2014) and Christopher Lovett. Kelly has an older brother named Orlando. When she was six, her mother took her and left her father, who was an abusive alcoholic.

Rowland and the Knowles family founded the Survivor Foundation, a charitable entity set up to provide transitional housing for 2005 Hurricane Katrina victims and storm evacuees in the Houston, Texas area. The Survivor Foundation extended the philanthropic mission of the Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth, a multi-purpose community outreach facility in downtown Houston. Also in 2005, Rowland and Knowles lent their voices to a collaboration with Kitten K. Sera, entitled "All That I'm Lookin for." The song appeared on The Katrina CD album, whose proceeds went to the Recording Artists for Hope organization.  In 2006, Rowland joined other artists such as Pink and Avril Lavigne in ads for so-called empowerment tags for the ALDO Fights AIDS campaign, which went on sale exclusively at ALDO stores and benefited the YouthAIDS initiative. In 2007, Rowland, along with stars such as Jessica Simpson and the cast of Grey's Anatomy autographed pink Goody Ouchless brushes that were made available for auction on eBay, with all proceeds going to Breast Cancer Awareness. In addition, the singer teamed up with Kanye West, Nelly Furtado and Snoop Dogg to design a Nike sneaker for another eBay auction. All proceeds went to AIDS Awareness.  In 2008, Rowland officially became ambassador for MTV's Staying Alive Foundation, which aims to reduce discrimination against HIV and AIDS victims. She has since visited projects in Tanzania and Kenya to promote the charity, and underwent a HIV and AIDS test in Africa to raise awareness of the deadly diseases. In March 2009, she spearheaded a bone marrow drive. As reported, Rowland also is readying a new charity called I Heart My Girlfriends, which will serve as an interactive support system for teenage girls.  In 2009, Rowland connected with Serve.MTV.com, MTV's platform to connect young people with local volunteerism opportunities, for a series of on-air PSAs. From battling homelessness to beautifying impoverished neighborhoods to saving whales, Rowland was joined by the likes of Cameron Diaz, will.i.am, and Sean Kingston as they discuss causes they volunteer to support, and urge young people to join with their friends in making civil service a part of their lifestyle. Also in 2009, Rowland along with fellow singers Alesha Dixon and Pixie Lott created T-shirts for River Island in aid of the Prince's Trust, profits from which help change young lives. In March 2010 Rowland launched her brand new charity, I Heart My Girlfriends. According to Rowland's official website, the charity focuses on self-esteem, date violence prevention, community service, abstinence, sports, drug and alcohol and smoking avoidance, obesity, disabilities, education and more. On April 26, 2010, she was at Grand Ballroom's "City of Hope - Spirit of Life Awards" for a charity event.

what was Philanthropy?
charitable entity