Look To The Stars News: Ashley Olsen

Tobey Maguire Attends Skid Row Housing Event

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:00:00 -0000

The Skid Row Housing Trust hosted a 20th Anniversary Gala Celebration and Open House at the New Carver Apartments in Los Angeles last night and attracted a host of stars.

The event was held in the Trust’s 22nd building that provides supportive housing for Los Angeles’ homeless community. Guests included Tobey Maguire, Jen Meyer, Sarah Meyer, Ashley Olsen, Justin Bartha, Scott Speedman, Julie Bowen, Sam Trammell, Kat Dennings, Alison Hannigan, Oliver Hudson, January Jones, Justin Long, and New Zealand-born actress Melanie Lynsky, as well as Los Angeles’ elite, business leaders, members of the interior design community and architect, Michael Maltzan.

Four of the apartments feature resident inspired designs by celebrated Los Angeles designers, Katie Fine, Molly Luetkemeyer, Ruthie Sommer and Estee Stanley.

The Skid Row Housing Trust has been ending homelessness for the most vulnerable men and women in Los Angeles for the past 20 years. The Trust develops, manages and operates homes for the homeless, offers permanent supportive housing, and a complete range of support services necessary to move beyond poverty, illness and addiction.

The Trust is responsible for 22 buildings and over 1,300 residents who live in them. Skid Row Housing Trust was founded in 1989 and is a nonprofit organization.

For more info, go to www.skidrow.org.

Celebrity-Signed Books Up For Grabs For Charity

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Whether you are looking for a good book to read while stretched out on the beach, or – for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere – searching for something to curl up with in bed on a frosty winter’s night, there will be something for you in the SAG Foundation’s Celebrity Autographed Book Auction.

The Screen Actor’s Guild Foundation is raising money for it’s literacy programs by auctioning off books signed by your favorite stars. Going under the hammer are titles such as The Olsen Twins’ Influence, Michael J. Fox’s Always Looking Up, Heidi Klum’s Body of Knowledge, Julianne Moore’s Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully, Tom Colicchio’s Craft of Cooking, William Shatner’s Quest For Tomorrow, Alison Sweeney’s All The Days Of My Life, Kirk Douglas’ Let’s Face It, Jenny McCarthy’s Healing and Preventing Autism, Larry King’s My Remarkable Journey, Tori Spelling’s Mommywood, Sean Astin’s There and Back Again, John Lithgow’s The Poet’s Corner and many more.

Proceeds from the auction benefit the Screen Actors Guild Foundation’s literacy effort, which began in 1992 and now includes such programs as:

BookPALS, a volunteer program comprised of performing artists who read aloud to students in schools, hospitals and libraries.
We The Children, which teaches children the value of books and the importance of their lives by giving them the opportunity to write and illustrate their family history.
Storyline Online, an online interactive website which brings the excitement of books into the classroom and home.

The auction runs until July 28 and can be accessed here.

Children's Charity Celebrates Tenth Anniversary

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:27:55 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A major children’s charity celebrated 10 years of service last weekend by holding a black-tie gala attended by a host of celebrities.

The gala and fashion show, held on January 13 in Los Angeles, was in honor of The Art of Elysium, a charity that uses drama, music, and art to help children who suffer from serious medical conditions. Sponsored by Vogue and Cartier, the event attracted a crowd of stars who took advantage of the opportunity to support the organization, with Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, Lenny Kravitz, Ellen DeGeneres, Courteney Cox, Zach Braff, Ashley Olsen, and Casey Affleck all being spotted at the event.

The Art of Elysium was founded by Jennifer Howell in 1997, with the goal of helping 350 critically ill children in the Los Angeles area every week. By encouraging actors, artists, and musicians to donate their time to the children, the charity grew exponentially, and in 2007 over 20,000 children across North America benefited from the organization’s art-related workshops.

“The Art of Elysium exists because of the passion that artists hold in their hearts,” said Howell. “By serving children in need, the artist is allowed to express this passion in ways that could never be revealed on stage, in a gallery, or behind a camera. As Saint Francis said, ‘It is in giving that we receive’.”

Patricia Arquette, another guest at the gala, summed up the general feeling of the evening when she said: “I’m so glad the Golden Globes were cancelled, because it draws more attention to this.”

More information on how to support The Art Of Elysium can be found at www.theartofelysium.org.

Celebrity Designed Corsets On Auction

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:06:55 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Some of Hollywood’s hottest celebrities have teamed up to design a series of corsets to be auctioned off in October.

Scarlett Johansson, Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher, and Jessica Biel are just some of the stars who have submitted designs for the 4th annual Frederick’s Of Hollywood Celebrity Corset Auction. The event, which is being run in conjunction with the internet charity auction site Clothes Off Our Back, will raise money for a variety of children’s charities, including Second Harvest, a non-profit organization that benefits the hungry, The Art of Elysium, which uses art to help the sick, and World Education, a charity that provides training to underprivileged children around the world. Some of the proceeds will also go towards research into autism.

“In previous years, we got $18,000 for [”Charlize Theron’s":http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/34-charlize-theron] corset and $10,000 for Nicole Kidman’s," said Frederick’s of Hollywood’s Erin Dominguez. “Each year we set the bar higher and hope to get more.”

To create the pieces, the celebrities were each given a special design kit to make a sketch of their creation. It was then up to costume designer Linda Stokes, best known for dressing Gwen Stefani on tour, to produce the garments.

“You get to draw and sketch,” said Eva Longoria about her design. “And I sketched some tulle at the top and it has all of this beading.”

Andy Garcia, star of the Ocean’s 11 movies, was inspired in his design by the flag of his native Cuba. Others took a more fanciful approach, with Ashley Olsen’s design dripping black feathers, and Kyra Sedgwick’s creation appearing to have garbage trailing off the hem. Other celebrities involved in the campaign include Christina Aguilera, actress and Clothes Off Our Back founder Jane Kaczmarek, Maria Menounos, Gabrielle Union, Ashlee Simpson, Mandy Moore, Debra Messing, Fergie, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette.

The event kicked off on October 25, with a live auction hosted at Frederick’s flagship store on Hollywood Boulevard, and the online auction runs until November 5 on www.clothesoffourback.org.

“I think you should bid on any and all of them,” said Oscar nominee Julianne Moore, whose peacock inspired design is featured in the auction. “I love them, and it’s a great cause.”

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