Look To The Stars News: Diane Lane

Ben Stiller Joins Artists For Peace And Justice Board Of Directors

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:30:00 -0000

Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) has announced that it will merge with Ben Stiller's Haitian school initiative (HSI).

The two organizations, both of whom were committed to improving living conditions in impoverished Haiti prior to the devastating earthquake, will combine their shared passion in helping build essential schools for the children of Haiti. Together they have engaged Global Philanthropy Group (GPG) to help develop and manage their philanthropic efforts. In partnership with an interim Country Director in Port-au-Prince, GPG will coordinate the day-to-day efforts of APJ.

“Ben Stiller understands the important role of schools in the lives of Haitian children. Together we share a mutual passion and determination to be as effective as quickly as possible,” says Paul Haggis, founder of Artists for Peace and Justice. “For the children of Haiti, schools provide so much more than education. They provide their only hot meals, their only clean drinking water and medical attention. These are critical elements for children, especially in a time of crisis.”

Established in early 2009, Artists for Peace and Justice is a fundraising effort founded by Paul Haggis and friends that encourages peace and social justice and addresses issues of poverty and enfranchisement in communities around the world. Over the past year, APJ has focused on raising funds to support essential street schools in Haiti. Following the devastating earthquake APJ has expanded its efforts to include emergency aid. To date, APJ has raised nearly $6.3 million including an impressive $3.5 million in long-term commitments through 2014.

Ben Stiller’s Haitian school initiative

Ben Stiller funded a community school in the rural village of Cérévrine, Haiti in 2009 and launched the Haitian school initiative in January, 2010 in an effort to help provide temporary schools for Haitians displaced by the earthquake.

Ben’s humourous STILLERSTRONG campaign, which was launched prior to the earthquake, included viral videos with high-profile participants such as Robert De Niro and Bill Clinton. As a result of this campaign, Ben generated the $300,000 in fundraising needed to complete the school and achieved an increased awareness of the needs of the impoverished Haitian people.

“If there is one way we can help Haiti emerge from this crisis, putting our efforts into building temporary and permanent schools is a step in the right direction,” says Ben Stiller. “When I heard about APJ’s initiatives and the difference they’re making in the country and spoke with Paul Haggis about their fundraising efforts, I knew we could accomplish more together.”

Given the shared goals and interests of Artists for Peace and Justice and the Ben Stiller Haitian school initiative, a merging of forces seemed a natural progression. As part of the merge, the Haitian school initiative will become a core program of Artists for Peace and Justice with Ben Stiller continuing to provide funding. Ben Stiller will join the APJ Board of Directors that includes Paul Haggis, Dr. Reza Nabavian and Dr. Bob Arnot. The Board of Directors is supported by an Advisory Board that includes a number of influential voices: Simon Baker and Rebecca Rigg, Javier Bardem, David Belle, Maria Bello, Josh Brolin, Jackson Browne, Gerard Butler, Jim Clark, Daniel Craig, Russell Crowe, Penelope Cruz, Dina and Clint Eastwood, Frances Fisher, Dr. Henri Ford, James Franco, Gale-Anne Hurd, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Natasha Koifman, Diane Lane, Michael Stahl-David, Lekha Singh, Madeleine Stowe, Charlize Theron and Olivia Wilde.

Celebrities Join African First Ladies At Health Conference

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Fifteen first ladies from African nations have joined a host of celebrities in attending a two-day summit in Los Angeles on health, women’s issues and HIV/AIDS.

The conference – organized by US Doctors for Africa (USDFA) and the African Synergy Against AIDS and Suffering, a nonprofit organization formed by 22 first ladies from Africa – will feature appearances by Hillary Clinton, Maria Shriver (wife of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jessica Alba, Natalie Cole, Sharon Stone, Kristin Davis, Maria Bello, Diane Lane, Blair Underwood, Joely Fisher, Lawrence Bender, Pras Michel, Wolfgang Puck, Steven Seagal, Selita Ebanks (VS model), Vince Young (NFL QB), Robert Horry (former Laker), Emeka Okafor (NBA Player) and the first ladies from Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Swaziland and Zambia.

“Empowering Africa’s first ladies is an innovative approach to bettering the lives of millions of Africans,” said USDFA Chairman Ted Alemayhu. “The summit will pair these leaders with U.S. experts, key political figures and important organizations to create ongoing partnerships.”

LTTS Exclusive: The Second Annual Celebrity Soccer Challenge

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

Look To The Stars reporter Delinda Lombardo attended Mia Hamm’s massive celebrity soccer game during the weekend and caught up with some of the stars that took part.

The second annual Celebrity Soccer Challenge at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles was a big success as Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra were joined by a slew of celebrity friends who helped raise nearly $200,000 for the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Mia Hamm Foundation.

The event also encouraged fans in attendance to register for the National Marrow Donor Program Registry, a cause close Mia Hamm’s heart after she lost brother Garrett to bone marrow disease.

“My foundation started about 1999 and was motivated from my relationship with my brother who passed away in 1997 after complications from a bone-marrow transplant,” she said prior to the game. “For us, we shared a love of sport and I also saw first hand what my parents and his parents had to go through, not just financially, but struggling to find a bone-marrow match, so [the proceeds from] my foundation go to help families find bone-marrow transplants and also to encourage and empower young female athletes.”

During halftime, patients suffering from leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases were introduced for the first time to their bone marrow donors.

“The more the world becomes a melting pot, the more important it is for people to be registered, it’s a gift that you can continue to give,” Hamm said. “My brother was adopted, he was a minority and that was one of the big struggles. Nomar [her husband] is Mexican and that’s another message we’re trying to get out there, we’re trying to get more minorities entered into the bank. Last years game we almost got 200 people and a match was found for someone who registered at the event, so it’s so important to keep spreading the importance and raising money.”

While Nomar Garciaparra earned bragging rights for scoring in overtime to give his team, Nomar United, an 8-7 win over Hamm’s team, FC Mia, he never lost sight of what the event was really about. “We’re here to have fun,” Garciaparra said, “but the biggest thing is raise money for the children’s hospital and to get people typed and registered for the bone marrow bank. To be able to save a life is priceless.”

Both celebrities and athletes took the field to help Mia’s cause – including “Desperate Housewives” actress Andrea Bowen, C. Thomas Howell, Josh Hutcherson, Mark Consuelos, Jimmy Jean-Louis of NBC’s “Heroes,” Angus Jones of CBS’s “Two and a Half Men,” “Lipstick Jungle/Las Vegas” actor James Lesure, Josh Henderson of the CW’s “90210,” Good Charlotte's Benji Madden, skateboarders Tony Hawk and Ryan Sheckler, and several of Hamm’s teammates from the U.S. National Team including Brandi Chastain, Kristine Lilly, Joy Fawcett, Tisha Hoch and Abby Wambach. Other current and former male soccer players who participated included Cobi Jones, Chris Seitz, Matt Reis, Brian Dunseth and Alexi Lalas.

Skateboarding sensation and ‘Life of Ryan’ star Ryan Sheckler was a definite crowd pleaser as he participated in the event for the first time. “This is actually the first time I’ve ever played soccer,” he told me. “It feels great, it’s going to be a great day. Hopefully I make a goal, my goal is to make a goal today, just one and I’ll go home happy.”

Actor Mark Consuelos was also playing soccer for the first time: “I doubt I’ll score any goals. But it’s for a great cause so I’m really excited to be here.”

One of the youngest players and first time participant, actress Andrea Bowen, took a few minutes to speak with us before signing autographs for the throngs of young fans lining up to meet her. “This is my first game and I’m pretty excited that I get to play with all these people,” she said, Sharpie in hand. “They’re definitely going to have to pull extra weight because I really don’t know what I’m doing but it should be fun and its all for a really good cause.”

Tony Hawk: “This is my second time playing soccer, if you get one goal out of me you’ll be lucky.”

‘Heroes’ actor Jimmy Jean-Louis couldn’t hide his excitement for the game. “It is a beautiful day and we are going to have a great time today,” he told me prior to kick-off.

As a regular player for Los Angeles celebrity-soccer team Hollywood United, Jean-Louis is no stranger to using celebrity to raise awareness.

“I’ve been busy doing a lot of charity work. I started my own organization Hollywood Unites for Haiti, " he explained, “What I’ve been doing is collecting used (soccer) equipment and going to Haiti to give it to them because they really need this-that’s really how the whole idea of Hollywood Unites for Haiti started,” he smiled, "About a month ago some of us from Hollywood were invited to Haiti – including Josh Brolin and Diane Lane. That was for the opening of a hospital for handicapped, so that was nice and I plan to bring more awareness to Haiti because they really need help."

Harrison Ford and Sam Waterston’s Water Awards

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:30:00 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Orange County, California, kicked off this summer season with their largest fund raiser yet, The SeaChange Summer Party.

Held at a private estate on Laguna Beach, the event raised $1 million through ticket sales and auction to benefit Oceana, an organization that campaigns to protect and restore the world’s oceans. Actors Harrison Ford and Sam Waterston were honored at the event for their ongoing, significant ocean conservation efforts.

“We have done great things before in the human history,” said Ford. “We can do it again. Let’s not let this award be an empty vessel – let’s work for fundamental transformation – a real SeaChange in ocean policy.”

Several celebrities attended the event including Beau Bridges, Calista Flockhart, Diane Keaton, Diane Lane, Jeff Goldblum and Ted Danson.

Danson, who is a board member of Oceana, explained some of Oceana’s causes and projects to Variety:

“Basically, 70% of all the world’s fisheries have been fished to the brink of collapse; 30% of them have collapsed. Also habitat destruction: We have worked with fisheries and councils in the Northern Pacific and along the California coast to put aside 500,000 square miles of ocean floor the bottom trawler cannot make use of anymore.

“Also a pollution campaign that we have at Oceana – seafood contamination: one out of every six women of child bearing years has too much mercury in her system to safely give birth to a child without the possibility of neurological damage.

“These issues are so big, and there is a ticking clock.”

Due to the huge success of The SeaChange Summer Party, organizers are hoping it will become an annual fundraising event. So is Oceana.

Gere Awarded Humanitarian Honor

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:29:43 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Actor Richard Gere has received a prestigious humanitarian award in his home city of Philadelphia.

The Golden Globe winner accepted the Marion Anderson Award, named after the famous African-American opera singer who fought racial segregation in the 1930s, at a ceremony at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on November 12.

“I’m not worthy of this award in any way whatsoever,” said the 58-year-old star of films such as “Chicago” and “Pretty Woman”. “I can’t tell you how this makes me feel. My heart is so wide open.”

Gere received the award for his charity and humanitarian work over the last three decades. A devoted Buddhist, Gere has advocated Tibetan independence since 1978, and is a friend and student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has made numerous trips through India, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, and China, and has released a book featuring his own photographs of these regions, with a foreword written by the Dalai Lama.

In 1987, Gere co-founded Tibet House, and is now Board Chairman for the International Campaign for Tibet. He has testified on Tibet’s behalf before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, the European Parliament, and the House International Operations and Human Rights Subcommittee in an attempt to free the nation from China’s grip. His own charitable organization, the Gere Foundation, was set up to award grants to humanitarian foundations, especially in relation to Tibet.

Gere also established Healing the Divide, an organization dedicated to improving care for HIV/AIDS patients, and in 2004 instigated the Heroes Project, which addresses the spread of AIDS in India. He is a spokesman for Meals On Wheels, and earlier in 2007 appeared in the charity’s first ever advertising campaign, along with his father who has been a volunteer for 17 years. He is also a longtime supporter of the American Foundation for AIDS Research, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

“We are proud to honor Richard Gere with the Marion Anderson Award,” said Philadelphia Mayor, John F. Street. “His accomplishments as an actor are only surpassed by his accomplishments as a humanitarian and as a advocate for human rights issues around the world. We are particularly pleased to honor Mr Gere this year as it will mark the first time that the award will be conferred upon a native Philadelphian.”

Gere attended the award ceremony with his friend and co-star of three films, Diane Lane, and made special mention of the woman the award is named after. He told the audience that Marion Anderson paved the way for artists to use their celebrity status for humanitarian work, and urged people to adopt her traits.

“I think that is what we are here for,” he said during the ceremony. “To make the road easier for those who follow us.”

The Marion Anderson Award, which includes a $100,000 honorarium, is bestowed annually upon individuals whose support for a cause upholds humanitarian principles and benefits society, and previous recipients include Oprah Winfrey, Sidney Poitier, Danny Glover, Quincy Jones, Elizabeth Taylor, Gregory Peck, and Harry Belafonte. Marion Anderson gained international fame in the music world in the 1930s, although she faced racial segregation at home in the United States. She bravely fought racism with her music, and became the first African-American person to perform at the White House in 1939. She was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Johnson in 1963, and died in 1993 at the age of 96.

“In honoring Richard Gere, we celebrate the achievements of an outstanding artist and humanitarian,” said Pamela A. Crawley, Chair of the Marion Anderson Award. “He has used his remarkable career as an actor to support his unparalleled advocacy for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. He has traveled the globe supporting efforts that allow people to live in health, in the integrity of their cultures, and with the fundamental human rights that all citizens of the world must possess. These are the qualities of a leader, and we are deeply honored by his acceptance.”

“Richard is a man whose heart dictates his choices,” added award winning actress, Diane Lane. “He has cultivated this tenacious advocacy for those who are in danger of being railroaded, shut out, and trampled under the big machine of ‘Business As Usual’.”

Gere intends to share the prize money between selected charities.

Diane Lane Chops Hair for Charity

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 19:37:58 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Following up on an article listed here in February, award-winning actress Diane Lane has had her hair cut live on NBC’s Today Show.

The eight inches of her hair, as well as eight inches of hair from each of 50 volunteers across the country, will be put to use in free wigs thanks to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths Campaign. The charity helps women suffering from cancer-related hair loss.

Diane comments, “This simple act of cutting my hair is going to make a profound difference to a woman who is fighting to regain both her health and sense of self.”

My dream is that every woman who hears about Pantene Beautiful Lengths will become inspired to grow her hair and donate a natural resource that only she can give."

Diane Lane's Hair Appointment

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 22:22:49 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

This July, Diane Lane will be given a new look on live TV by a celebrity stylist. Her locks will then be donated to make wigs for women suffering from cancer.

As the spokesperson for Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths campaign, Diane hopes to encourage Americans to get involved and give a means of beauty and self-esteem to cancer patients.

Look To The Stars News: Diane Lane

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