Look To The Stars News: Gloria Gaynor

Jennifer Aniston Narrates Charity Audio Book

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:00:00 -0000

Earlier this year, Look To The Stars brought you the story of Jennifer Aniston's newest charity project: narrating a children’s audio book. We can now reveal that the book will be released on October 24 – National Make A Difference Day.

The story – written by Nick Katsoris – is called Loukoumi’s Good Deeds, the third release in an ongoing series about doing nice things for other people. The stories feature Loukoumi the lamb and her friends Gus the Bear, Fistiki the Cat, Dean the Dog and Marika the Monkey – a group of characters that like doing good deeds. Among the actors voicing characters for ’Loukoumi’s Good Deeds’ are Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis, Gloria Gaynor and US news presenter Alexis Christoforous.

The actress has promised that $2 from every purchase of the audio book will go to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and to celebrate the release, the book’s author will hold a special reading of the book at the hospital on October 20.

“It is a wonderful story, plain and simple,” said a spokesperson for Aniston. “She did it because she wanted to do it with her dad, as well as she loved the story.”

To order the book and find out more, visit the official website.

Nelson Mandela's 91st Celebrated In Style

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A galaxy of stars turned out to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday in New York during the weekend, with proceeds going to one of the South African legend’s charities.

Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder and many more appeared at the Radio City Music Hall on Saturday, July 19, with money raised going to 46664, Mandela’s campaign to help raise Global awareness of AIDS/HIV. 46664 aims to highlight the emergency of AIDS/HIV through unique live events and music related initiatives.

Mandela himself was unable to attend the event, but did send a video message in which he said “It is on your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.” President Barack Obama also appeared via video, saying that Mandela’s life “teaches us that the impossible can be done, but only if people have the courage to make change happen.”

Morgan Freeman, Forest Whitaker, Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins spoke at the event.

Others to perform at the concert included French first lady Carla Bruni, who sang Bob Dylan's Blowing in the Wind with former Eurythmics guitarist Dave Stewart. Queen Latifah, Aretha Franklin, Josh Groban, will.i.am, Wyclef Jean and Gloria Gaynor also performed, and Cyndi Lauper dueted with Lil' Kim.

“Our struggle for freedom and justice was a collective effort,” said Mandela. “It is our hope that people will dedicate their time and effort to improve the conditions within their own community.”

Dean Cain To Host Hero Awards

Fri, 29 May 2009 15:00:00 -0000

Actor Dean Cain will host the 2009 Hero Awards on Saturday, May 30, to honor everyday people who have gone out of their way to help others and their community.

Set to take place at Universal Studios in Hollywood, the Awards will be filmed for television broadcast and will benefit Feed the Children. Presenters will include Tatyana Ali, Anthony Anderson, Tom Arnold, Nnamdi Asomugha, Corbin Bernsen, Sharon Case, Erik Estrada, Kelly Hu, Jason London, Willie McGinest, Judd Nelson, Chester Pitts and Efren Ramirez. Musical guests include Gloria Gaynor and Brian McKnight.

Honorees will include:

NANCY DAVIS – Diagnosed with the illness 16 years ago, she founded The Nancy Davis Foundation for Multiple Sclerosis and has raised millions in her Race-to-Erase-MS.
KATHY IRELAND – Author, actress, CEO & Chief Designer of Kathy Ireland Worldwide, she continues to give back by dedicating countless hours of personal time and financial resources to philanthropic and non-profit projects.
DR. TODD PRICE – Director and President of International Medical Outreach, he supervises medical and humanitarian aid projects around the world. In this past year alone, his foundation has sent over $70 million dollars worth of resources abroad.
DOROTEA LIGUORI – Compassionate international jewelry designer, entrepreneur and philanthropist; she recently co-funded the ABC Baby Center for Feed The Children in Africa.
JOLANDA & JIOVANNI JONES – This mother and 16-year-old son saved the life of a teenage driver by pulling her from the rubble of a fiery crash seconds before the car exploded.
ZACH SMOTHERS – This 12-year-old rescued his 3-year-old cousin from the bottom of a pool and, repeating what he saw on TV, administered CPR to save her life.
USMC LANCE CORPORAL JEREMY LEPSCH – A Marine who saved the life of a motorcyclist whose leg had been severed in an accident.
MADELYN EAVES – The 3-year-old who called 911 to save her pregnant mother.
HERO- A German Shepherd who saved a stranger from a car wreck and is now being trained as a search and rescue dog.

More information about the event – and tickets – can be found at the official website.

Jennifer Aniston Helps Out With Children's Charity Audio Book

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Jennifer Aniston is to narrate a new children’s book with her father for charity.

Along with John Aniston, the 40-year-old actress and star of Marley And Me will lend her voice to an audio CD version of Nick Katsoris’ Loukoumi’s Good Deeds, the third release in an ongoing series about doing nice things for other people.

“Jennifer was wonderful, they were so easy to work with and it was the first time they had done something together,” Katsoris told RadarOnline.com. "They recorded in L.A. last fall and she was just a joy to work with… All the proceeds go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Jennifer is a big fan of them."

The stories feature Loukoumi the lamb and her friends Gus the Bear, Fistiki the Cat, Dean the Dog and Marika the Monkey – a group of characters that like doing good deeds. Among the actors voicing characters for ’Loukoumi’s Good Deeds’ are Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis, Gloria Gaynor and US news presenter Alexis Christoforous.

“It is a wonderful story, plain and simple,” said a spokesperson for Aniston. “She did it because she wanted to do it with her dad, as well as she loved the story.”

$2 from the sale of every CD will go to St Judes to help seriously ill children. An excerpt from the CD – which is to be released on April 1 – can be heard here.

Bono's Edun Creates I/denti/tees For Africa

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

EDUN LIVE – the socially-conscious fashion brand launched by Bono and his wife Ali Hewson in 2005 – are partners in a new product being launched in time for Christmas – i/denti/tees.

I/denti/tees are T-shirts that feature lyrics from some of modern music’s most recognizable songs, such as Joan Jett's I Love Rock & Roll, U2's I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, and Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive.

EDUN LIVE works to improve the skills of the workers where their clothing is made, including India, Tunisia, Kenya and Madagascar, and aims to foster trade in Africa by ensuring all of its products are 100% African, from “grower to sewer”. Because the products are completely made in Africa, the benefit of each goes back to the people working on the product in sub-Saharan Africa.

The tees are packaged in classic album vinyl sleeves and come with a 10 song digital download iTunes card – each purchase of an i/denti/tees music tee will be eligible for 10 free iTunes tracks of your choice. Retail price is $35, and the tees will be available at www.identitee.com and select Hard Rock locations.

Other i/denti/tees available include Coldplay's I Used To Rule The World, Jay-Z's I’m A Hustler Baby, Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody, and Melissa Etheridge's I’m Not The Only One.

Beyoncé Honored For Charity Work

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Beyoncé Knowles was honored at a special gala on Saturday night for her charity work.

The Diamond Ball raised money for the Miami Children's Hospital Foundation, an organization whose mission is to create awareness and generate funds for Miami Children’s Hospital, and featured performances by Smokey Robinson, Gloria Gaynor, and seven-year-old pianist Ethan Bortnick, who was playing to show his appreciation for the hospital for treating his younger brother’s heart troubles.

Tables for the concert cost up to $11,000, and profits went directly to the only licensed specialty hospital in South Florida exclusively for children.

The list of charities Knowles supports is both long and varied, but perhaps the greatest contribution she has made is the Survivor Foundation, an organization she founded with fellow Destiny’s Child Kelly Rowland to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. The foundation’s accomplishments are many, including the Music World Cares Christmas Carnival that enabled over 300 low-income households to enjoy a fun-filled day of food, entertainment, a visit from Santa Claus and free toys from the toy giveaway. The singer also held a series of food drives before her concerts in 2006 to collect the food that was so desperately needed by victims.

'Growing Up With Loukoumi' Author Grants 3 Dream Days

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:58:19 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

When children’s book author Nick Katsoris released his book Growing Up With Loukoumi he also launched a national contest where kids were given the chance to win a day in their dream career. Based on his award-winning children’s book and celebrity-narrated CD, the ‘Growing Up With Loukoumi Dream Day’ recipients have been named.

The book, which teaches children they can be anything when they grow up if they believe in themselves, held over national 200 Dream Day events at schools, libraries and bookstores where thousands of children entered the contest by drawing themselves in their dream career

The first winner is a 9-year-old girl from Long Island who wants to be a Mars Rover Engineer. Thanks to the contest, on May 25th she’ll visit NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, CA to witness the Phoenix spacecraft actually land on Mars, tour the facility and meet a Rover engineer.

The second winner, an 8-year-old boy from New York who dreams of becoming a soccer star, is off to play soccer at Giants Stadium with the NY Red Bulls.

And the third winner is a ten-year-old girl from Colorado who wants to be a television chef. Her prize? She’ll cook with acclaimed CBS-TV Chef Tony Tantillo, and also meet Rachael Ray on the set of her hit show.

Contest judges included the narrators on the Growing Up With Loukoumi CD: Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, Gloria Gaynor, CBS News Anchor Alexis Christoforous, Guiding Light star Frank Dicopoulos, and American Idol’s Constantine Maroulis. The panel also included actress Florence Henderson, Fox-5 Anchor Ernie Anastos, Make-A-Wish Foundation VP Jennifer Maher, and promotional sponsor iParenting Media’s Editor-in-chief Elisa All.

The Growing Up With Loukoumi narrated CD includes an original song, “Believe,” by Gloria Gaynor. $2 from the sale of each book/CD benefits a national children’s charity.

More Music Against AIDS

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:26:47 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

After thirteen years of the annual One Mighty Weekend parties being held at The Walt Disney Resort in Florida, founder and producer Johnny Chisholm is bringing the show to Europe, with the first of four European events set to take place at Disneyland Resort Paris June 29 and 30.

This year’s shows once again benefit the non-profit Elton John AIDS Foundation. According to EJAF Executive Director Scott Campbell, these contributions are a huge help for the Foundation’s work in the worldwide fight against AIDS. The 2006 OMW generated $50,000 for the cause, and this year’s goal is to raise at least the same per show.

One Mighty Weekend has grown into America’s largest gay and lesbian celebration. It looks like it might grow into Europe’s as well – according to JustCircuit.com, the European party community is cancelling plans to attend the Madrid Pride events in lieu of Paris.

The Florida event held at the start of June featured diva Kathy Griffin and “Queen of Disco” Donna Summer. Paris headline performers are Gloria Gaynor and just-announced Mariah Carey.

Meanwhile, Elton John headlined a free concert in Kiev in an effort to bring attention to Ukraine’s AIDS problems. He performed to a 200,000-plus audience, including past and present top government officials. The concert was broadcast live on Ukrainian television.

EJAF has funded over $2.6 million in HIV/AIDS related projects in the Ukraine over the past six years. Mr John is also, with singer Olena Franchuk’s ANTIAIDS Foundation, launching a five-year project to help HIV-positive children and their families.

Look To The Stars News: Gloria Gaynor

Jennifer Aniston Narrates Charity Audio Book

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