Turlington is model citizen for (Product) RED

Model Christy Turlington poses with children in Swaziland in May during a visit to promote the work of the international organization (Product) Red.

NBC News

updated 4:43 p.m. CT, Tues., Nov. 27, 2007

Each month, we highlight a celebrity’s work on behalf of a specific cause. This month we speak with model Christy Turlington about her work on behalf of (Product) RED, which teams up with companies to create (Product) RED branded products. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the products goes to the Global Fund. The (RED) money specifically goes to help women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Q: Can you discuss (Product) Red and your role with it?

A: I first learned about DATA One (the merged charities DATA – Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa — and One: The Campaign to Make Poverty History) and (RED) through Bono, who’s an old friend of mine, and (DATA Chairman) Bobby Shriver and the rest of the team. … I joined One right away as just an interested person and then, when they were about to launch in the U.S., Bono called and asked if I would participate by being in the initial ad campaign for the GAP. ... I said, ‘Absolutely … whatever I need to do.’ So I was in that campaign and from that point got even more interested and more excited about what they were doing and participated in their launch on ‘Oprah’ in the fall. … I’ve been a consumer as well, because I’ve bought a lot of (RED) products. I just really believe in the concept of creating something that involves the private sector in the way that Product (RED) does and that has sustainability. … That to me is what’s so brilliant about (RED) and sets it apart from other ideas: It really is a business model.

Q: Why do you think people should support this cause?

A: Because it easy, because it takes very little to go such a long way. It’s an epidemic that does involve us — you know the numbers are still growing in our country as well. But we have the means for so much more than the people in Africa do. And these products are things that we as American consumers we buy anyway, so why not buy the ones that happen to help people that can’t help themselves quite yet.

Q: What is your favorite thing about being affiliated with this cause?

A: It kind of puts together various aspects of my life in that I’ve been a model for twenty some years and I’ve sold a lot of products, products that I generally stand behind and believe in. But in this case, these products do so much more than make people feel good, and look good. … Also as a mother this issue has really hit me hard in the sense that you know mothers and children are being most affected. It is the women who are getting sick and then giving birth to children and then passing it on in that way. Now, with this (RED) money, we’re able to actually get drugs for people, free, … to keep moms alive for their children and to keep their children alive to enjoy a long life.

Q: Can you describe a moment where you first felt like you had personally made a difference in someone’s life through this cause?

A: I was is Swaziland with (RED) in May and I guess even though I knew … that we had raised $50 million raised in the global fund and made a huge impact in a relatively short period of time, it was when I first started to meet the people that were being helped. … I met a young mother, Lulu, who has a 2-year-old little girl – my daughter is not that much older -- and she was diagnosed with AIDS while pregnant and then was able to take (antiretroviral drugs) and give them to her daughter. … And so to meet her, healthy, happy, vibrant! She now works as volunteer as a counselor and so she’s able to give advice to other mothers who are in her situation, who are teens who have recently found out that they’re HIV positive, and to show that there is another side, there is a positive face, there is life after diagnosis. … She also has her own little community service project where she educates the community about AIDS and tries to get them to go to clinics, to get that diagnosis done. … Women also are making products and they’re selling to anyone who will buy them … doing on a small scale what (RED) is trying to do on an international scale. That was really great!

Q: This cause has made it easy for the average person to contribute by making purchases of everyday products like T-shirts and shoes donate portion of the proceeds to the fund. How do you think this has contributed to the fund’s success and the popularity of (Product) RED as an organization?

A: I think most people really do have an instinct to be generous and to help others, but this is one of the first times that that so many people — so many different types of people — are able to participate and feel that they’re doing something. And they can wear something with pride. … So many young girls ask me ‘how can I get involved with (Product) RED, how can I help?’ and since it isn’t a charity per se, you just continue to purchase products that you love and … then it becomes kind of a contagious thing where you want to share and want to spread the word.

Q: If you could say one thing about keeping up awareness of the AIDS epidemic in Africa, what would it be?

A: AIDS is … a preventable disease and it’s a treatable disease. In certain parts of the world now it costs just 40 cents a day to buy the two pills that someone needs to needs to keep someone alive. … I think anyone can handle that idea of 40 cents a day and that (RED) money is going to the communities, it’s doing the work … because of our efforts and our combined community effort internationally.

Interviewed by Chelsea Connor, NBC News

Sienna Miller’s Sizzling Support for Global Cool

Sienna Miller joins fellow starlets Kate Bosworth, Rosario Dawson, and Heather Graham in supporting Global Cool, a campaign using fashion to address Global Warming. Showcasing the eco-friendly trademark T-shirt which reads “The People Versus Global Warming,” Miller has joined the organization as an ambassador and is doing her part to raise awareness of carbon emissions. According to sources,

The British actress, who is more famous for her street and red carpet style than her film career, has visited India as part of the campaign to raise awareness of carbon emissions. Speaking in Mumbai, Miller said, “I’m here in India to help spread the word about Global Cool and how we can all make a difference in tackling climate change issues.”

Buy the organic bamboo/cotton blended t-shirt at globalcool.org and help the organization reach its goal of reducing carbon emissions by one ton per year.

Thanks for the tip Linton!

per year.

Source : www.ecorazzi.com

Activist Mia Farrow urges help for Darfur

Close Slideshow

Mia Farrow speaks in the Webb Center at Old Dominion University on Thursday while showing photographs taken during several trips to Darfur, a region of Sudan. (Bill Tiernan | The Virginian-Pilot)

By Matthew Bowers
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 28, 2008

NORFOLK

More than 400 people sat virtually silent Thursday night as the photos flashed on the screen, save for the occasional gasp and the impassioned commentary of the photographer, actress-turned-activist Mia Farrow.

Some of her descriptions of the starved, the scarred, the scared and the dying in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan were terse: "A dying child."

Farrow has made eight trips to the region, coming back each time with the same mission: To get someone, be they governments or individuals, to care enough to act about what she and U.S. officials have labeled a genocide by one part of Sudan's population against its non-Arab part.

"I could leave," she said. "They can't. And the killing continues."

Farrow, 63, spoke at Old Dominion University as part of its President's Lecture Series.

She made her name as an actress, from the 1960s TV series "Peyton Place" and movies such as "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Great Gatsby." Lately she has focused on humanitarian efforts, particularly involving war-threatened children in Africa, and taking care of her family - she has 14 children, 10 of them adopted.

In this Olympic year, she asked for a different kind of pressure for help, against the big commercial sponsors of what she calls the "Genocide Olympics" scheduled for August in Beijing - companies such as McDonald's and Microsoft. In exchange for Sudanese oil, she said, China supplies much of the weaponry used to attack unarmed villages.

She asked that people plead with the sponsors to act responsibly to help, or to demand that China press Sudan's government to stop the killings and to allow in more peacekeepers. And for President Bush not to attend at least the opening ceremonies of the games in protest.

Farrow called the millions who have been displaced without food, water or medical care, and the hundreds of thousands who have died, been mutilated and raped, "the victims of our indifference."

"What message have we sent after five years to the people of Darfur?" she asked. "Only that they are expendable chips in a much larger game?"

She knew the names of many whom she photographed. Some photos showed older women fetching firewood because of the risk of rape, to spare the younger women.

And children's drawings depicted helicopter attacks, shootings and rapes in their villages.

"I think, really, this is a defining moment for us as human beings," Farrow concluded. "If not now, then when?"

"We don't have it so bad, do we?" a student whispered to her companion as they left.

Matthew Bowers, (757) 222-3893, matthew.bowers@pilotonline.com

Source : PilotOnline.com

Oprah : Keep A Child Alive

Alicia Keys is a singer, songwriter and a nine-time Grammy® winner who has taken the continent of Africa into her heart in a very big way. Through her involvement with the organization Keep A Child Alive, Alicia learned that in some cases an African child who has HIV can be helped with as little as $1 a day. With the proper medication and treatment, AIDS-infected adults can also live longer, fuller lives.

After celebrating with patients who have been helped by Keep A Child Alive donations, Alicia visited a family who lives in the slums of Mombasa. Alicia says she was overwhelmed when she met Sudi, a young man who was born with HIV and didn't receive proper medication until he was 14 years old. At 17, Sudi stood less than four feet tall. "Nothing really prepared me for seeing Sudi and seeing his family," she says.

About a week after Alicia left Kenya, Sudi passed away. "If we knew him when he was 3 and were able to start [treatment], he would still be alive today," Alicia says. "You can totally turn a person's life around by providing this medicine. … It's the simplest thing to save a life. Every one, single person can be a hero for a dollar a day."

In 2004, Oprah's Angel Network surprised Alicia with a $250,000 check to help her continue her life-saving work in Africa, and her organization put the grant to good use!

Alicia traveled to South Africa to visit the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Ithembalabantu Clinic, which means "people's hope" in Zulu. This clinic provides free, life-saving drugs to parents and children with HIV and AIDS. "So many more patients are getting the medications they need to survive," Alicia says. Donations from Oprah's viewers also made it possible to hire the first pediatrician for the clinic, Dr. Thompson.

Dr. Thompson says that after a year of treatment at the clinic, most people can't tell an HIV-infected child from a healthy child. "Seeing a child coming in being absolutely a waste, literally a walking skeleton, and then a few months later just seeing the improvement…it's a feeling you can't replace ever," she says.

Alicia thanks Oprah and her viewers for their generosity, and she urges people to continue caring about this global issue. "AIDS is 25 years old. I'm 25 years old. There are 25 million [people] already dead," she says. "There is no reason why we can't join together and realize that this is something we have to do. … On behalf of them, let me be their voice and say that there's so much more to do."



For the first time on the same stage, Alicia and Bono perform their duet, "Don't Give Up (Africa)."

Bono and Alicia Keys's duet can be downloaded at www.keepachildalive.org. The song costs $1.49, and all proceeds go to the Keep A Child Alive organization.

Source : Oprah.com

The Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation.

http://www.agassifoundation.org/

From the site's description:

ABOUT US
Founded in 1994 by former professional tennis player Andre Agassi, the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk children through its support of recreational and educational programs. More than 180,000 children have been touched by its funding of programs designed to enhance their character, self-esteem and career possibilities.

“I have been very blessed, and I’m pleased that I can give back,” said Agassi. “Children today face so many obstacles. Fortunately, our donors have given their time, money and resources to provide educational opportunities, recreational activities, after-school programs and more. Through this support, thousands of children have the knowledge, confidence and skills to be successful. But most of all, they have hope.”

When Andy Roddick first became big, he asked Andre what he would change about his career, to which Andre's response was "I would have started my charity earlier." (which also led Andy to start his foundation early in his career, which I'll post later)

Andre inspired us on the court, and continues to inspire us with his charitable work.

Celebrities Making a Difference in the World With Humanitarian Efforts, Donations

What Angelina Jolie, Oprah, and George Clooney Can Teach You About the World You Live In

By Venus Rachal, published May 15, 2006

Published Content: 50 Total Views: 55,044 Favorited By: 13 CPs

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From George Clooney's visit to the Sudan, Oprah's work with children in Africa, and Angelina Jolie's support of Refugees through UNHCR, celebrities across the country are getting involved in humanitarian efforts. It has become a new trend to support developing countries in conquering poverty and the suppression of human rights. Let's take a look at who's doing what and how you can help.

For Angelina Jolie, it all started when she took a trip to Sierra Leone and Tanzania in 2001 to find out about the plight of Refugees. She took notes of her experiences there and officially became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR (the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). Since that initial trip to Africa, Jolie has also spent time in Kosovo, Thailand, Russia, Jordan, and more recently to the Sudan. Jolie has said that she believes that many Americans just don't know what is going on and that the US does not contribute as much as other countries around the world do even though we have more resources. Recently, Jolie's journals written during her humanitarian trips were compiled in the book Notes from My Travels: Visits with Refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ecuador which is now available through Simon and Schuster.

To learn more about Angelina Jolie's work with refugees and to read her more recent journal entries (written after those included in her book), you can go to www.unhcr.org and click on the "Goodwill Ambassador" link.
If Angelina Jolie's work inspires you, you can make donations to UNHCR or become one of their Interns. One-time donations as well as monthly gifts are available through the website.

Around the same time that Angelina Jolie journeyed to Sierra Leone and Tanzania, Oprah embarked on a project to brighten the lives of children in South Africa. She and Nelson Mandela created the ChristmasKindness program which gave toys and school supplies to 50,000 children in 2002. Her dedication to Africa has not stopped there. This year, Oprah visited South Africa to construct a school (The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls) which will help to empower young women to become leaders in their community and give them a safe, loving place to learn. The Oprah Winfrey Foundation plans to donate $10 million dollars toward the development of the academy. Oprah's dedication is revealed in numerous episodes of her show-many of which have been aired in the last few months. In April, Oprah also aired a special on child rape in Africa, and more recently, Oprah invited George Clooney and Lisa Ling to speak on issues confronting the people of the Sudan and Uganda, respectively, who have been displaced from their homes due to military insurgence. Detailed information about these shows is available on Oprah's website www.oprah.com.

If you wish to donate to Oprah's Leadership Academy for Girls, you can go to www.oprah.com/uyl/grants/uyl_grants_main.jhtml or you can mail a check payable to Oprah's Angel Network at Oprah's Angel Network P.O. Box 96600 Chicago, IL 60693. Cash donations should be made through the website as they only accept checks and money orders by mail.

George Clooney has made waves from his ads for the One Campaign to his reports on the Sudan. Just a few years ago, the One campaign was created to end world poverty and fight AIDS. George Clooney is one of the notable spokesmen for the campaign, which advocates contributing 1 percent of the US budget (approximately $25 billion dollars) toward these issues. According to the official website www.one.org, our country contributes less than one percent of its annual budget towards these humanitarian issues while most of the Americans polled assume that the percentage is around 15%. In the last month, Clooney has stepped up his game as a pioneer for human rights by traveling to Darfur, Sudan where around 2 million people have had to move from their homes because the Sudanese government is systematically wiping out anyone who is not of Arab descent-whether they are militant rebels or starving children. George Clooney has publicly deemed this situation "the first genocide of the 21st century." Unfortunately, the government will not allow UN officials into the area, so it is up to independent groups and advocates like Clooney to make the situation known.

To learn more about the crisis in the Sudan, please visit the Safe Darfur Coalition at www.savedarfur.org or The International Rescue Committee at www.theirc.org. Clooney also advises us to contact our congressperson or call the White House at 800-224-2084. Oprah's website also has useful information about the special she aired with George Clooney titled The Shocking Story George Clooney Has To Tell. Go to www.oprah.com for more details or to view movie clips from George Clooney's recent visit to the Sudan. You can also contribute to the One Campaign to end world poverty by signing a petition, buying a wrist band, or making a donation at www.one.org.

So now that you know what Angelina, George, and Oprah are up to, what will you do? How can you contribute or educate others so that these issues become more than just a brief bit of news connected to a celebrity?

Source : http://www.associatedcontent.com

Hollywood Stars: Making a Difference in Darfur

(Getty Images)

Financial contributions from Europe and a charity co-founded by Hollywood actors George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle and Matt Damon will help maintain humanitarian flights in Darfur through April, the United Nations said on Friday.

The $6 million donated by Ireland, the European Union and the Clooney backed Not On Our Watch Charity will allow the U.N.'s World Food Program (WFP) to hire helicopters and other aircraft to ferry aid workers to Sudan's war torn region for 30 more days.

"We've received some funds which will allow us to maintain the flights for the month of April," WFP spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume said on Friday. "It is vital to maintain the service especially at a time when insecurity still reigns."

The western Sudanese region of Darfur is the site of the world's largest aid operation. International experts estimate five years of conflict have killed 200,000 people and driven 2 1/2 million people from their homes.

Source : http://www.ok-magazine.com

Brad Pitt, Habitat for Humanity Build Houses in India

By Amrit Dhillon and Stephen M. Silverman

UpdatePosted Tuesday October 31, 2006 11:00 AM EST

Originally posted Tuesday October 31, 2006 08:00 AM EST

Pitt in Lonavala on Oct. 30 Photo by: Reuters / Landov

On Monday Brad Pitt visited the Western India town of Lonavala, where he helped former President Jimmy Carter, his wife Rosalynn and other Habitat for Humanity volunteers build two new houses.

The actor, who has been in Pune, India, with Angelina Jolie filming A Mighty Heart, arrived around noon – when the press corps was at lunch – and for a few moments went unnoticed among the 1,500 foreign volunteers.

But then a Times of India photographer happened to recognize Pitt and the whole press pack came running.

During his visit, which lasted until sundown, Pitt chatted with the Carters and then helped lay cement blocks. "He was perfectly relaxed and didn't mind being photographed at all," local reporter Pranjal Bhujan told PEOPLE. "He did everything – he mixed the cement, carried it to the house, laid it on the bricks and then placed the bricks on the wall that was being built."

Pitt also spoke with Aziz and Sadhiya Sheikh, who will own one of the houses he worked on – although Sadhiya Sheikh later told reporters she had never heard of the actor.

But her husband, a taxi driver, had, because of all the recent coverage of Pitt and Jolie's activities in Pune. "I know he is the famous American actor," Aziz said. "I was excited and honored that he and Mr. Carter were helping to build my house."

Pitt and Carter also helped out on a house for rickshaw driver Dev Aggarwal and his wife, who is seven months pregnant. "I didn't know who Pitt was, but to have a famous man visiting your house is an auspicious sign with a baby on the way. It means good things are going to come," Aggarwal told reporters.

After Pitt had gone, the Indian volunteers working on the site came rushing to the two couples to congratulate them on having been 'blessed' by a visit from Pitt and Carter.

"Brad just believes in doing his part to draw attention to the fact that so many people around the world lack adequate and affordable housing," the actor's philanthropic advisor, Trevor Neilson, told PEOPLE. "He has great respect for the work that President Carter has done leading Habitat for Humanity and is glad to be able to help draw attention to their important work in India and around the world."

In total, 100 houses are being built in association with Habitat for Humanity for low-income families in the Lonavala area as part of the 23rd annual Jimmy Carter Work Project.

Also helping the Carters – who every year since 1984 have spent a week building homes for Habitat – were former Miss World and Miss India Diana Hayden and Australian cricket player Steve Waugh.

"We've realized that people across the globe have the same basic needs, dreams and aspirations," Carter, 82, said at a press conference at the work site. "Habitat's program depends on finding families who cannot otherwise afford housing."

Last month, Pitt and Jolie formed the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which will give $2 million to Global Action for Children and Doctors Without Borders to help families affected by HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty.

Source : People.com

Reese launches charity bracelet

Source : Metro.co.uk

Reese Witherspoon supports the campaign to stop violence against women

Reese Witherspoon has lent her support to an UN and Avon-led campaign to end violence against women.

"Worldwide, one in three women are affected by violence. Violence against women is a global epidemic, and I strongly support the efforts of Avon and Unifem (United Nations Development Fund for Women) to put an end to it," she said at a press conference at the United Nations in New York.

The 31-year-old mother-of-two, who is Avon's global ambassador, unveiled the Women's Empowerment bracelet as she spoke out at the Global Summit For A Better Tomorrow. Proceeds from the wrist candy will go towards the Avon Empowerment Fund to support Unifem in their work to end violence against women - and help their local partnership with Refuge.

"The bracelet's clasp is the infinity symbol - representing a future without limitations for all women, a cause I truly believe in," she continued.

Reese added: "I love the bracelet, and what it stands for: our collective power, our solidarity, our determination and our hope. I hope to see this bracelet on the wrists of women all around the world as a sign of solidarity and hope that one day every woman will be empowered and live a life free of violence."

The Avon Women's Empowerment Bracelet will be available from May 11, priced £1.50, from Avon representatives and online.

Britney Spears Becomes A Dance Teacher For Children

She's giving back to the community...

By: Harjeet Mander on Thursday 06th Mar 2008

Photo: WENN

Britney Spears is doing her bit to help the community by teaching a dance class to young children, and selling a photographer of herself with the pupils to raise money for charity. Perhaps she should be helping herself before others.

The troubled 26-year old has regularly been spotted at the Millennium Dance Complex to teach 15 youngsters the art of dance.

One student, 5-year old Elissa Bouganim told People: "I like Britney. Today, first we were dancing slow, and then faster and faster... Then we did the fish-move and lots of other fun things."

As a thank you for being such a brilliant teacher, the little one gave Brit Brit a present: "It was a picture of [Peter Pan's] Tinkerbell. And she gave me a hug. Britney is nice. I want to dance with Britney all the time because it's so much fun."

Elissa’s mother was also quick to sing the dancer’s praises: "It's just amazing to watch Britney with the kids. Elissa won't stop dancing now, that's all she wants to do. Britney has really inspired her."

As an extra gesture of goodwill, the Toxic singer is selling a photo of herself with 10 of her pupils in order to raise money for a charity in Tennessee.

The snap will be given to a celebrity photo agency to syndicate worldwide with all profits going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis which treats patients with cancer.