Celeb Acts of Charity

[hedda_louella 1]

On the show, he told Winfrey that he “credits her” for teaching him to be a do-gooder.

 

Said Cowell, “I never knew that doing good could feel so good.”

Oh for fuck's sake - can that dreadful woman not leave ANYONE in peace? Jesus.

 

I love Simon just the way he is and I don't want the saggy, sanctimonious old cow polluting him with her batshit crazy ego problems. He's FINE. He just needs to stay away from loony bitches like Oprah.

 

(insert Chris Crocker's Britney video voice)

 

LEAVE SIMON ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!

[Hihomumio 168]

 

 

On the show, he told Winfrey that he “credits her” for teaching him to be a do-gooder.

 

Said Cowell, “I never knew that doing good could feel so good.”

Oh for fuck's sake - can that dreadful woman not leave ANYONE in peace? Jesus.

 

I love Simon just the way he is and I don't want the saggy, sanctimonious old cow polluting him with her batshit crazy ego problems. He's FINE. He just needs to stay away from loony bitches like Oprah.

 

(insert Chris Crocker's Britney video voice)

 

LEAVE SIMON ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!

 

 

LOL Hedda! She is a piece of work, isn't she? I wish she would retire and go away already.

[BobbyD 2]

Did Mills Really Give Away "Dancing" $$?

TMZ

 

Before Heather Mills toppled her way off "Dancing with the Stars," she had talked about donating money from the show to animal rights groups.

 

But, as FOX News points out, Mills actually gave less than half of her $220,000 fee to VIVA USA. Of course, that's still $100,000 – plenty of cash – but she had made it pretty clear that she was donating all of the dough to VIVA before the show.

 

The revelation was part of the scathing 56-page judgment that the judge in her divorce-settlement case made two days ago.

[ElleDriver 0]

Courteney Cox & friends raise funds

 

 

Courteney Cox and David Arquette have a challenge for their famous friends: help raise $1 million in two weeks for Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare skin condition that primarily affects children.

 

Joining Cox and Arquette in the awareness- and money-raising effort are Jennifer Aniston, Orlando Bloom, Kate Beckinsale, Rashida Jones, James Marsden and Eva Longoria Parker. All will lend their famous faces and financial support to the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation, where Cox, Arquette and Aniston serve on the honorary advisory board. (Brad Pitt, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale are also members.)

 

"EB is very personal to me so I'm happy to be a part of this $1 million challenge," Cox said in a statement to The Associated Press. "Now is such an important time to put the spotlight on EB and ensure that research can continue at a fast pace."

 

Epidermolysis Bullosa is a debilitating genetic disorder that causes the skin to blister and break at the slightest touch. Victims are often covered in burn-like sores that never heal and most don't live beyond age 30.

 

___

 

On the Net:

 

http://ebkids.org/

 

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press

[ElleDriver 0]

Justin Timberlake Donates $200,000 to His Hometown

PEOPLE

By Janet Murphy

 

Justin Timberlake doesn't just bring "SexyBack." The 27-year-old singer also knows how to give back – in a big way.

 

On Thursday, the Memphis native gave two separate donations of $100,000 to the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum and the Memphis Music Foundation.

 

"Music education and keeping the legacy of Memphis Music alive has always been important to me," says Timberlake, who is in his hometown filming the indie flick, The Open Road. "That is why I will always continue to support my home town the same way they have always supported me."

 

The organizations will use Timberlake's contributions to advance music education for local students and further achieve its mission of "telling the story of Memphis Music and perpetuating its legacy."

 

"Justin Timberlake has never deserted Memphis, Tennessee," Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Executive Director John Doyle said. "He has never stopped giving back to the community, to the local music industry, and to young people."

[BobbyD 2]

Hayden Panettiere Awarded For Trying to Save Dolphins

By Howard Breuer

 

Heroes star Hayden Panettiere cried Saturday night as the Humane Society gave her an activism award for protesting the annual dolphin slaughter in Southwestern Japan last year.

 

Hayden received the Gretchen Wyler Award, given annually at the Genesis Awards to a celebrity who brings attention to animal causes. Wyler, who founded the awards and was also an actress, died last May from breast cancer, two months after presenting the first award to Paul McCartney.

 

Hayden’s parents and her boyfriend – and Heroes costar – Milo Ventimiglia were in the audience and watched a video of the actress and others paddling out on surfboards and confronting fishermen, who trap and kill dolphins to protect their fish supply. They then gave a standing ovation as Hayden took the stage.

 

"As an actress, you always dream of getting awards like the Golden Globe award, but I never expected to get an award that is this special and important to me as this," Hayden said through tears. "There are people who dedicate their entire lives to preserving the environment and defending animals, they are so much more deserving of something like this."

 

After the brief speech, she went straight from the stage to the bathroom for several minutes to regain her composure, and then was escorted back to her seat by Ventimiglia.

 

Hayden skipped the afterparty, having to return in the morning to shooting the movie I Love You, Beth Cooper. Panettiere stars in the Chris Columbus comedy, being shot in Vancouver.

 

"She’s an inspiring example to her generation, using her compassion, courage and celebrity to help animals in a very effective way,” said Beverly Kaskey, Senior Director of the Humane Society’s Hollywood Office.

 

Other celebrity attendees included Emily Deschanel, Eric Roberts, Bill Maher and Anderson Cooper.

[sanlee 49]

Jessica Alba's Charity Shop

 

Jessica Alba took a young girl with a life-threatening illness on a 90-minute shopping spree in Beverly Hills.

 

The 'Fantastic Four' actress - who is expecting her first child with fiancé Cash Warren - took her young fan on the trip and helped her pick out a pink Juicy Couture tracksuit as part of the Kids Wish Network charity.

 

A shop insider said: "Jessica got a chance to practise her parenting skills, and the young girl looked as though she was having a brilliant time. After Jessica helped her choose a tracksuit and raincoat, they went to our VIP room for a private chat.

 

"On the way out, the little girl gave both Jessica and one of our store managers a little coin that said, 'You're an official guardian angel.' "

 

The Kids Wish Network is a US charity dedicated to creating happy memories for children with potentially fatal diseases.

 

A writer on the blog section of the Kids Wish website wrote: "I hope that celebrities realise how much their caring and their time means to these kids. We've had doctors and social workers tell us that the lift in their spirits affects the physical health of many wish kids in a positive way. And it lasts!

 

"So thank you to all of the celebrities who have given of themselves to help grant the wish of a child who is facing some major medical battles."

 

Source: people.monstersandcritics.com

[sanlee 49]

Lennox Honoured For Humanitarian Work

 

 

Singer ANNIE LENNOX is set to be honoured for her "outstanding" humanitarian work by the British Red Cross.

 

The star will receive the charity’s Services to Humanity Award for her efforts working with families affected by HIV and AIDS.

 

Previous recipients of the prestigious award include late opera legend Luciano Pavarotti.

 

Maria Shammas, of the British Red Cross, says, "Ms. Lennox’s ability to raise awareness through her music and to use her international profile for the benefit of others is an example to us all.

 

"We are delighted that Annie Lennox will be bestowed this honour."

 

The award will be presented at a ceremony in London on 12 June (08).

 

Source: pr-inside

[Cutielb99 0]

Ailing Paul Newman Turns Over $120M to Charity

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

By Roger Friedman

Fox News

 

Movie star Paul Newman has quietly turned over the entire value of his ownership in Newman’s Own — the company that makes salad dressing and cookies — to charity.

 

Completed over a two-year period in 2005 and 2006, the amount of his donations to Newman’s Own Foundation Inc. comes to an astounding $120 million.

 

This is unprecedented for any movie star or anyone from what we call Hollywood. Of course Newman and actress wife Joanne Woodward have never been Hollywood types. They’ve lived their lives quietly in Westport, Conn., for the last 50 years. (They were married in January 1958. And people said it wouldn’t last!)

 

This column learned about this extraordinary gift as news started coming out recently about Newman’s battle with lung cancer. This is not news to my readers. I told you several months ago that Newman — who has five grown daughters — was seeing an oncologist, that he’d been in and out of Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital on many visits from Westport. Like everything else, the Newmans tried to keep Paul’s illness a private matter.

 

But a tip-off that he was maybe not doing so well came in late May. Newman announced that he would not direct a production of “Our Town” later this summer at the Westport Country Playhouse, where Woodward is the artistic director.

 

News of his illness seems to have been exacerbated by none other than neighbor Martha Stewart. She recently published pictures of Paul on her Web site from a party she hosted. He looks gaunt but nevertheless smiling his trademark smile. Nothing will set him back. This racecar driver and adventurer should not be written off as “dying.”

 

“He’s a fighter,” one of his close friends told me Tuesday morning. “And he’s going to keep fighting.”

 

In the meantime, I also told you last August that in Botswana, the Newman name is known not for being a movie star. It’s known for his famous Hole in the Wall Gang camps. The camps go to Africa every summer to run programs for impoverished and ill children. It’s the same program they run in dozens of similar camps all over the United States.

 

The Hole in the Wall camps are just a few of the places the hundreds of millions of dollars have gone that Newman has raised since he got the idea to bottle salad dressing for charity.

 

According to Newman’s Own federal tax filing for 2006, the actor personally gave away $8,746,500 to a variety of groups that support children, hurricane relief in the Gulf Coast, education and the arts.

 

Some of Newman’s recipients are well-known: He gave Rosie O’Donnell’s children's program $5,000 and even donated $25,000 to his pal Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute. But most of them are for the kinds of programs that we never hear about, the kind that simply keep people alive.

 

But don’t think that Newman — who received his Kennedy Center honor in 1992 and deserves a Presidential Medal of Freedom — did this because he suddenly thought he was dying. When he set up the new foundation, he hadn’t yet been diagnosed with lung cancer. It was just in honor of his 80th birthday, and an acknowledgment that he wanted to make sure his charities would continue receiving his largesse.

[Time4me 0]

..sniffling and tearing up here...

 

What a power of example...I adore them both

[Freckles 79]

That's great. Hugely impressive that he gave so much to charity.

 

One disappointing aside, though. Some charitable efforts of his have dreadfully high operating costs. Like, I'm fairly familiar with one of the Hole in the Wall Gang camps... it seems to spend way too much money. Hard that to be a truly effective philanthropist, one has to be not only generous (as he has shown himself to be!) but also find ways to provide goods and services to those in need in a cost-effective manner. Even if you're rich and kind, it's not easy to give money really well!

[akua123 0]

Sometimes, though, it simply costs money to put programs on, etc., I work for a nonprofit and I know firsthand the struggle to get money to cover overhead. People want to pay for the services, etc., but don't want to pay people to actually do the work. And though I know there are people that take advantage of the system, most everyone I've met/known is doing it, not to get rich or milk the system, but to help those who need it, and unfortunately, right now there's a lot who need help, and not enough people to give the help.

[ElleDriver 0]

David Spade Donates $10,000 to Save Arizona Animal Shelter

Thursday July 31, 2008

 

 

David Spade has donated $10,000 to save the Humane Society of the White Mountains in his mother's town of Lakeside, Arizona, a source tells Usmagazine.com.

 

"The shelter was falling apart, and they were going to shut it down, so he stepped in," says the source. "It was far and above what they needed and ever received."

 

The 44-year-old comic — who also grew up in Arizona — has opened his wallet for his home state before.

 

Last year, he donated $25,000 to the family of an Arizona police officer who was shot to death.

 

"It just struck me as such a rough situation just because cops in general get kind of a bad rap lately and people forget it is the scariest job out there," he said. "I'm from Arizona so I'm always a little aware of things that are going on there."

 

He also has given 15,000 to his alma mater, Saguaro High School.

[krispyinsd 0]

David Spade Donates $10,000 to Save Arizona Animal Shelter

Thursday July 31, 2008

 

 

David Spade has donated $10,000 to save the Humane Society of the White Mountains in his mother's town of Lakeside, Arizona, a source tells Usmagazine.com.

 

"The shelter was falling apart, and they were going to shut it down, so he stepped in," says the source. "It was far and above what they needed and ever received."

 

The 44-year-old comic — who also grew up in Arizona — has opened his wallet for his home state before.

 

Last year, he donated $25,000 to the family of an Arizona police officer who was shot to death.

 

"It just struck me as such a rough situation just because cops in general get kind of a bad rap lately and people forget it is the scariest job out there," he said. "I'm from Arizona so I'm always a little aware of things that are going on there."

 

He also has given 15,000 to his alma mater, Saguaro High School.

That warms my heart.

Edited August 1, 2008 by krispyinsd

[BobbyD 2]

Madonna Promises Quake Relief

Italian Town’s Mayor Says Pop Star Is Giving $500,000

 

PACENTRO, Italy, April 8, 2009

 

(CBS) The mayor of an Italian town damaged by Monday's earthquake says Madonna has promised $500,000 to help people in need.

 

Fernando Caparso, the mayor of Pacentro, the mountainside village where two of the pop star's grandparents were born, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that that he had spoken to the pop star's manager.

 

He said he was deeply moved by Madonna's effort to assist the town as well as surrounding areas.

 

Pacentro, 60 miles from hard-hit L'Aquila, felt Monday's earthquake but didn't suffer major damage. Caparso said most of the donation would go to areas harder hit.

 

Liz Rosenberg, the pop singer's spokeswoman, said Madonna had pledged a “substantial amount,” but didn't disclose the exact figure.

[BobbyD 2]

Murray autographs 'Caddyshack' for golf victim

Comedian nails woman with wayward tee shot during pro-am Thursday

msnbc.com

 

LUTZ, Fla. - One day after she was plunked on the head by Bill Murray’s wayward tee shot, Gayle DiMaggio had a request: a signed copy of his movie “Caddyshack.”

 

The actor, meanwhile, was back on the course Saturday for the second round of the Outback Pro-Am. And the course marshals took no chances: They wore hard hats.

 

DiMaggio lives on the course where Murray hooked his shot far to the left of the No. 9 hole at TPC Tampa Bay. She was hit on the left temple Friday as she stood in her backyard to watch the first round. She never lost consciousness but needed stitches at a hospital.

 

DiMaggio, who has lived on the course for eight years, recounted her mishap and her encounter with Murray.

 

“He came over and laid down on the ground with me and he was very concerned, asking if I was OK,” she said. “Once he knew I was OK and not seriously hurt, then he started joking with me, asking how many fingers he was holding up.”

 

DiMaggio was at it again Saturday, watching the second round, and was almost conked again. This time, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks nearly hit her. But when Murray was about to shoot, she took cover. DiMaggio stayed inside her screen enclosure until the actor’s foursome teed off. Friends and family stood in her yard wearing hard hats.

 

Bill Murray's errant golf shot went awry from hole number 9, seen in this image, sailed across the street and hit a woman in her front yard. Murray was golfing at the TPC Tampa Bay during the Outback Pro-Am. The woman was taken to the hospital after her injury.

 

Murray came to DiMaggio’s backyard and asked her how she was feeling. DiMaggio said the only thing she wanted from the actor was his autograph on a copy of “Caddyshack,” the rollicking golf comedy from 1980 in which Murray starred.

 

Earlier, a large crowd showed for Murray’s 12:50 p.m. tee time. The 58-year-old comedian joked through most of his partners’ tee shots. When Murray stepped up for his shot, the course marshals also donned hard hats and warned the crowd for incoming shots from the “Ghostbusters” star.

 

Murray laughed, and before teeing off told the crowd, “This one is for a little girl in a hospital.”

 

His drive was a perfect draw down the fairway.

 

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[sanlee 49]

Winfrey donates $1.5M to Atlanta private school

 

ATLANTA, (AP) --

 

A private middle school in inner-city Atlanta has received $1.5 million from Oprah Winfrey.

 

The Ron Clark Academy announced the donation Thursday. The innovative school has struggled to raise money this year amid the sagging economy to pay for its $2.8 million operating budget, which is bankrolled almost entirely by donors.

 

The school in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods is hoping to expand its campus by building a cafeteria, gymnasium and theater.

 

Winfrey, who has had school founder Ron Clark on her show twice, donated $365,000 to the school last December. Clark wrote the best-selling teaching book "The Essential 55."

 

___

 

On the Net:

 

Ron Clark Academy: www.ronclarkacademy.com/

 

 

source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...L#ixzz0ZyTpIW9h

[BobbyD 2]

Groups raise doubts about Jean’s charity group

Tax returns, audits show Yele Haiti intertwined with musician’s businesses

Haitian-born musician Wyclef Jean backs the Yele Haiti Foundation, which groups are now raising doubts about.

 

updated 6:04 p.m. PT, Fri., Jan. 15, 2010

LOS ANGELES - Groups that vet charities are raising doubts about the organization backed by Haitian-born rapper Wyclef Jean, questioning its accounting practices and ability to function in earthquake-hit Haiti.

 

Even as more than $2 million poured into The Wyclef Jean Foundation Inc. via text message after just two days, experts questioned how much of the money would help those in need.

 

“It’s questionable. There’s no way to get around that,” said Art Taylor, president and chief executive of the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, based in Arlington, Va.

 

Taylor reviewed Internal Revenue Service tax returns for the organization also known as Yele Haiti Foundation from 2005 through 2007. He said the first red flag of poor accounting practices was that three years of returns were filed on the same day — Aug. 10 of last year.

 

In 2007, the foundation’s spending exceeded its revenues by $411,000. It brought in just $79,000 that year.

 

“Here’s the bottom line: for an earthquake of catastrophic proportions, do people really believe that this organization is in a position to do anything right now?” he said.

 

Jean, a 37-year-old Grammy-winning artist, has been imploring followers to text “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 to his foundation in support of Haitian earthquake victims.

 

The foundation, founded in January 2005, intends to airlift supplies using a FedEx plane into Haiti early next week carrying medical supplies, water and Clif Bars, according to foundation president Hugh Locke.

 

Intertwined with businesses

An Associated Press review of tax returns and independent audits provided by Jean’s foundation showed that it was closely intertwined with Jean’s businesses.

 

Three of the five foundation board members — Jean, Jerry Duplessis and Seth Kanegis — are involved in his personal music and business endeavors.

 

According to an IRS tax return from 2006 reviewed earlier by the Web site The Smoking Gun, the foundation paid $250,000 to buy airtime from Telemax S.A., a for-profit TV station in Haiti that is majority owned by Jean and Duplessis.

 

Part of that money went to pay for a concert in Haiti put on by Jean himself, Locke said.

 

Another $160,000 that year was spent on a concert in Monte Carlo that Jean participated in, of which $75,000 paid for backup singers and $25,000 went to Jean through a company he owns with Duplessis, Platinum Sound Recording Studios Inc., Locke said.

 

“I’m not saying he didn’t benefit from it,” said Locke, who says his own salary is $8,100 a month after taxes. “We were paying that to Platinum Sound because that covered the cost of him participating in the event.”

 

Locke argued that the foundation took in “several hundred thousand” dollars in exchange for Jean’s work through the proceeds of an auction.

 

The foundation also rents office space from Platinum Sound, paying about $2,600 a month in New York. Locke said the foundation also plans to partner with Jean’s Sak Pase Records to build a music studio to provide vocational training to Haitian children.

 

‘We have a niche’

Sandra Miniutti, vice president of marketing for Charity Navigator, an organization that evaluates charities, said the foundation was too small to have been examined recently, although the current flood of goodwill may change that. Its revenue in 2008 was $1.9 million.

 

“My concern is it goes against our first tip, and that is to give only to groups with experience with disaster relief,” Miniutti said. “I think it’s very hard for a new organization even with the best intentions to handle something on this magnitude.”

 

Locke said the foundation has been directly involved in delivering food and providing clean-up services in many disasters, including the hurricanes that devastated Haiti in late 2008. Jean’s standing among Haitians can help the foundation gain access to gang-controlled or other troubled regions, he said.

 

“We have a niche which no one else occupies,” Locke said.

 

He said the foundation is now seeking bridge financing to allow it to use money that has been pledged in unprecedented volumes by text message.

 

It could take at least a month for donors’ money to flow in because it is not released until they pay their phone bills.

 

That delay presents a challenge and an opportunity, the Better Business Bureau’s Taylor said.

 

“The challenge is they can’t do anything until they get the money,” Taylor said. “The opportunity is that some people may change their minds and decide that $10 or whatever they text to him might be better used somewhere else.”

 

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[akua123 0]

edited because the wrong post showed up . . .

Edited January 17, 2010 by akua123

[Maxiemom 623]

Yikes! When in doubt, donate directly to the Red Cross.

[Baby Doll 77]

charitynavigator.org is a great web site.

 

Also, you can't go wrong with donating to Doctors Without Borders.

[sanlee 49]

I will continue to support Jean's charity which is close to his heart in a genuine way.

He started this charity way before anyone cared if the people of Haiti ate or not!

I always support the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders also.

Edited January 18, 2010 by sanlee

[BobbyD 2]

Haitian hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean defends his charity

Jan 18, 2010 16:37 EST

 

Haitian-born hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean, who is leading fundraising for his earthquake-devastated homeland, rejected on Monday accusations that he had profited from his foundation but admitted mistakes were made.

 

The Grammy Award-winner dismissed accusations raised by The Smoking Gun website that he had made money from Yele Haiti, a charity he founded in 2005 to raise awareness of Haiti and run education, sports, arts and environment programs.

 

”As a young N.G.O. (nongovernmental organization) … have we made mistakes before? Yes,” Jean said at a news conference in New York. “Did I ever use Yele money for personal benefits? Absolutely not.”

 

He did not elaborate on what mistakes he believed the organization had made.

The Smoking Gun on Thursday posted the 2005, 2006 and 2007 tax returns for the Wyclef Jean Foundation, which it said operates as Yele Haiti and showed the charity paid Jean and his business partner at least $410,000 for rent, production services and Jean’s appearance at a benefit concert.

 

Jean, who also posted a video on YouTube rejecting the accusations, said Yele Haiti’s finances had annually been given “a clean bill of health by an external auditor.”

 

A texting campaign launched by Jean after the Jan. 12 earthquake killed as many as 200,000 people and left its capital, Port-au-Prince, in ruins has already raised more than $2 million for the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund.

 

The musician, who carries a Haitian passport and has a U.S. green card, spent three days in Haiti after the earthquake and became emotional after speaking about his time there. He said he plans to return to Haiti on Saturday.

 

“We carried bodies to the cemetery … My three days in Haiti, for me personally, there’s no words to explain it,” he said. “My people are dying and I have to go back.”

 

Jean is also due to join actor George Clooney on Friday for a commerical-free telethon called “Hope for Haiti, which will be broadcast by major U.S. networks.

[BobbyD 2]

Ugh. That's really troubling information about Jean's charity. I hope there's some good explanation for it all...

Hated posting the article. However, when he was given the chance to explain himself...he didn't elaborate. So I will give to another organization, not his.

[Hoyaheel 1,874]

I gave to organizations I already had a relationship with - Red Cross and Heifer International. More to Heifer than Red Cross as I feel most people will give now and forget about it in 2 weeks - when Heifer will be there for rebuilding, not just crisis management. That's my professional inclination. Anyway - I wouldn't want to give to anyone I hadn't heard of before or didn't know -so many scams. And yes- check it out before you give, whomever you decide to give to!