Look To The Stars News: Venus Williams

Charitable Celebrities To Receive 21st Century Leaders Awards

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Celebrities will be out in abundance in Doha, Qatar, next week for the Whatever It Takes Experience presented by 21st Century Leaders and Whatever It Takes.

As well as a private art experience and gala dinner, several stars will be honored with 21st Century Leaders Awards at this massive charity event.

The Doha 21st Century Leaders’ Awards are granted to individuals who, whilst being leaders in their own fields, have also made a serious commitment and significant impact on their chosen cause.

The award is given to individuals who have used their influence to raise awareness, their celebrated status to raise funds, and the respect and notoriety which they have gained from successes in their chosen profession, to make positive policy changes to progress either environmental or humanitarian concerns.

Friday, October 30, will see Sir Ben Kingsley CBE, Venus and Serena Williams, Josh Hartnett, Danny Boyle and Christian Colson honored for their outstanding charity and humanitarian work. A surprise guest will open the event, and an art exhibition will also take place featuring original artworks by George Clooney, Stella McCartney, Sir Roger Moore KBE, Sir Michael Caine CBE, and Lady Shakira Caine, Sir Ian McKellen, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Laurence Fishburne, John Travolta, Pierce Brosnan OBE, Morgan Freeman, Charlize Theron, Minnie Driver, Lucy Liu, Susan Sarandon, Courteney Cox & David Arquette, Whoopi Goldberg, Penelope Cruz, Benicio del Toro, Joseph Fiennes, Anjelica Huston, Christian Slater, Harvey Keitel, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Gillian Anderson, Hilary Duff, Adrien Brody, Mickey Rourke, Robin Wright Penn, Patrick Stewart, Lauren Bacall, Stephanie Powers, Toni Collette, Daniel Craig and many more.

An active supporter and patron of charities such as the Prince’s Trust, Teenage Cancer Trust and First Star, English actor Sir Ben Kingsley CBE is very much devoted to helping disadvantaged young people and children. In 2008, Kingsley was awarded the “Cinema for Peace Honorary Award”, for the portrayal of the humanitarian role-models Simon Wiesenthal, Itzhak Stern and Gandhi.

In April 2009, following the success of Slumdog Millionaire, filmmakers Danny Boyle and Christian Colson announced a commitment of £500,000 to Plan, an international children’s development organization. The money will be spent on a five-year program focusing on education and sanitation, designed to improve the lives of children in Mumbai’s slum communities. In consultation with Plan, the filmmakers have also founded the Jai Ho Trust, an independent trust which aims to ensure that Rubina Ali (who played the youngest Latika in the film) and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (youngest Salim) receive an education, housing and social support. The trust will also hold a sum of money for the two children until they reach adulthood.

American actor and film producer Josh Hartnett supports a number of worthy causes and has backed Global Cool, a charity focused on climate change since its inception. Launching with a reception at No.10 Downing Street in London in 2007, Josh Hartnett met with former Prime Minister Tony Blair on behalf of the group and has since taken the message of greenhouse gas reduction far and wide, to let people know that they really can make a difference to the environmental health of our planet.

Professional women’s tennis players whom have won a combined 12 Grand Slam titles. The Williams sisters have demonstrated an immense amount of charitable work off the court. The “Williams Sister’s Tour” set out to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities which provides housing for families of seriously ill children. In addition, Serena started The Serena Williams Foundation which focuses on education, and helping underprivileged children in Africa who cannot afford to go to school or college to do so.

WhateverItTakes.org is a unique charity artwork project which inspires hope by gathering artworks from leaders in all fields; royalty, film, music, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, sports, literature etc. The artworks are used to ethically produce Whatever It Takes products which are then sold to raise funds for charitable causes chosen by each contributing leader. 21st Century Leaders Foundation’s mission is to assist and encourage a generation of influencers – royalty, Nobel peace prize laureates and well-known leaders in the fields of film, music, fashion, art and literature – to raise awareness and funds for international development causes, thereby leading the way in promoting positive environmental sustainable development. 21st Century Leaders was founded in May 2003 when Charlotte di Vita was made a Goodwill Ambassador to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. 21st Century Leaders was also the 10th Anniversary celebration of Trade plus Aid, the foundation for which Charlotte had received an MBE from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

To find out more about this event – to be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Doha on October 30/31 – click here.

GOSH, What Auctions!

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:26:00 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

The Great Ormond Street Hospital is set to benefit from many current and recent celebrity charity auctions, including a date with Orlando Bloom, which brought in £9,000 ($14,600) just last week.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star was on hand at the Victoria and Albert museum with Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton, British TV presenter Vernon Kay and Jade Jagger to help raise over £450,000 ($730,000) for the children’s charity.

Hamilton and other F1 stars, such as Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Sebastian Vettel, Jarno Trulli and Kimi Raikkonen have all signed unique displays for an auction benefitting the children’s hospital. The auction will run at Starcards.org until June 30th.

And, starting today, tennis fans can also visit Starcards.org to bid on the only WTA Tour No.1 Jersey signed by nine former World Number one’s, including Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Martina Navratilova, Justine Henin, Tracy Austin and Maria Sharapova. Also up for grabs are Serena Williams signed designer Nike shoes, and 30 other items. This auction runs until July 5th.

As if that wasn’t enough, also currently on the auction block is an exclusive signed collector’s image from Empire’s 20th Birthday Portfolio which captures Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. To bid, visit EmpireOnline.com.

The Great Ormond Street Hospitall (GOSH) was the first hospital in the UK dedicated to children, and since its start in 1852, its pioneering work has caught the attention of many well-known people. Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens and author J M Barrie – who donated the copyright to his famous play Peter Pan – were among the first to pledge their support. More recently, Johnny Depp became a supporter of the hospital, after the staff counted his daughter into the more than 100,000 children treated there annually – children who are suffering from the rarest, most complex and often life-threatening conditions.

To learn more about how you can support GOSH, visit gosh.org.

Williams Sisters To Play In Charity Tennis Event

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:00:00 -0000

Four of the world’s top women tennis players, including 2008 Grand Slam Champions Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic, along with World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, will face off in a one-night only single elimination event which will also celebrate tennis legend Billie Jean King and benefit two charities.

The “BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup” is scheduled for Monday, March 2, at Madison Square Garden and will be telecast live on HBO beginning at 7:30 p.m. E.T.

Limited front row VIP tickets priced at $1,000.00 and additional tickets listed at $325.00, $175.00, $125.00, $75.00, and $50.00 went on sale today and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden box office, all Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.thegarden.com. The $1.2 million “BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup”, the featured component of the national “Tennis Night in America” promotion, is produced by StarGames in association with Madison Square Garden. The event will benefit the Dream Vaccines Foundation and Women’s Sports Foundation.

“I am honored to be part of an event that showcases Serena, Venus, Jelena, and Ana – four of the best players in women’s tennis today — in one of the most storied tennis venues in the world,” said sports icon and tennis legend Billie Jean King. “This collection of players, competing in this spectacular venue, in an event that benefits the Women’s Sports Foundation and other organizations, is the perfect mix to deliver an exciting and entertaining celebration of women’s sports and tennis.”

On the heels of last spring’s sold out Pete Sampras/Roger Federer extravaganza, women’s tennis returns to Madison Square Garden for the first time since 2000 when Martina Hingis defeated Monica Seles in the WTA Championships. The Garden hosted the WTA season-ending tournament every year but one between 1977 and 2000.

“Women’s tennis has a long-standing tradition at Madison Square Garden and we are excited that it will return with this premier event,” said Joel Fisher, executive vice president, MSG Sports. “Madison Square Garden aspires to host the biggest events with the brightest stars in sports and entertainment, and this evening of tennis certainly fits the bill.”

Founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King, the Women’s Sports Foundation is a national charitable educational organization dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and women through physical activity.

The Dream Vaccines Foundation is a new non-profit US-based public charity that will be focused on the development of the vaccines against HIV/AIDS and malaria. Since the viruses that are the source of HIV and Malaria are different according to each region of the world, Dream Vaccines foundation will support specific human clinical trials in different areas of the developing world. The Foundation will offer grants to researchers and will also create and finance “Dream Vaccines Foundation Chairs” for professors willing to bring their input on those vaccines.

Tickets to the event are available here.

Athletic Champions Pose Naked For AIDS Awareness

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:00:00 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

Some of the world’s most beautiful sports stars participated in an amazing black and white nude portrait project by photographers Anderson and Low to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Venus Williams, Terrell Owens, Matt Dawson and Thierry Henry are just a few of the athletic champions who posed for Anderson & Low for the ‘Champions’ exhibit, now on display through March 8, 2009, at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

The exhibit – which took several years to complete – was conceived by the photographers as a way to raise awareness of the global issue of HIV/AIDS.

“Transcending cultural and socioeconomic boundaries the universal appeal of these athletes made them the ideal subjects for this project,” reads the press release. “Their nudity in the portraits is symbolic, illustrating both their physical beauty and prowess alongside their vulnerability and humanity.”

If you’re in London and want to check out the images, admission to the Gallery is free. You can also purchase a copy of the ‘Champions’ book in the gallery gift shop. It contains 138 images of the participating athletes.

For more images and information about the incredible photography of Anderson and Low click here.

Stars Line Up For Andy Roddick Annual Charity Event

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:00:00 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

Andy Roddick is once again giving fans a chance to return his 155 mph serve during his annual Andy Roddick Foundation charity event.

The weekend will kick off Saturday, December 6th, with an evening gala at the Polo Club Boca Raton and culminate in a charity tennis exhibition on Sunday, December 7th. This year Roddick and the Bryan Brothers will be joined by 2008 Wimbledon Champion Venus Williams.

Sunday’s festivities at the Boca Pointe Country Club will begin with a Pro-Am Doubles tournament, where nine lucky people will have the chance to play with some of the world’s top-ranked tennis players.

There will be events for children, and at 1 p.m. a Pro-Celebrity Tennis Exhibition will be held. Immediately following the exhibition, people will have the chance to return Roddick’s record-breaking 155 mph serve.

Tickets will not be sold at the gate. These events take place rain or shine.

To purchase tickets please contact the Andy Roddick Foundation at 561-620-9449 or visit www.andyroddick.com.

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