Look To The Stars News: Mel Gibson

Giving Back Fund Announces Top 30 Celebrity Givers

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:30:00 -0000

The Giving Back Fund has released its second annual Giving Back 30 survey, a ranking of the celebrities who have made the largest donations to charity in 2007 according to public records.

Heading the list was Oprah Winfrey, who donated $50.2 million to the Oprah Winfrey Foundation and Oprah’s Angel Network to “support the inspiration, empowerment and education of women, children, and families around the world and to encourage people around the world to make a difference in the lives of others”. Coming in second was Herb Alpert, who donated a total of $13 million to the Herb Alpert Foundation, followed by Barbra Streisand, who gave over $11 million to the Streisand Foundation.

To compile the most accurate rankings, The Giving Back Fund culled media reports of charitable giving by sports and entertainment professionals; reviewed PF-990 tax-forms; contacted more than 250 publicists, attorneys, agents, agencies, and managers for information about their clients; sent inquiries to more than 150 charities known for their celebrity associations; and contacted the major sports leagues.

“Our hope is that celebrities will begin to become more comfortable sharing information about their charitable giving - perhaps not disclosing everything they give, but sharing enough that they will serve as role-models to their peers and fans,” said Marc Pollick, President and Founder of The Giving Back Fund. “We know that many celebrities re-direct income from sponsorship and merchandising deals to charity, or help to raise funds in other ways. We are researching reliable means to report this information in a separate list.” The Giving Back Fund did not include grants made by foundations in the list so as to avoid counting the same funds twice - once when the donor gave money to a foundation and again when the donor decided on a beneficiary for that money. The Giving Back did not calculate giving as a percentage of the celebrities income because there is no consistent way to calculate income when taking into account income from sponsorship and merchandise sales.

Donations to private foundations are disclosed in public documents. However, donations to public charities are not publicly disclosed and therefore may not be reported in the Giving Back 30.

The rest of the list included Paul Newman, who gave away over $10 million; Mel Gibson, who gave $9.9 million to the AP Reilly Foundation, the tax-exempt entity named for his late mother, which supports Holy Family Catholic Church in Malibu, California; Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who collectively donated over $8 million to good causes; and Lance Armstrong, who pledged $5 million to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Other celebrities listed included Michael Jordan, Rosie O’Donnell, Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Hefner, and Tiger Woods.

To see the full list of celebrities and their donations, see the Giving Back Fund website.

Celebrities' Festive Gifts

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:21:24 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A pledge to walk one of the biggest man-made structures in the world, a successful celebrity auction, a tour of far away places, and a donation of time and energy were just some of the ways celebrities gave to the poor, the sick, and those unable to spend time with their families this Christmas.

Singer Olivia Newton-John met with the founders of Welsh breast cancer charity In The Pink over Christmas to discuss fund raising opportunities, and revealed her plans to walk the length of the Great Wall of China in April. Proceeds from the walk will go to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre in Australia, and the 59-year-old breast cancer survivor will also donate items to In The Pink to auction later in the year.

Meanwhile, socialite Kathy Hilton organized a charity auction over Christmas, featuring a selection of items donated by some of her famous friends. Mel Gibson’s jeans, Tom Cruise’s sunglasses, and an Ocean’s Thirteen script signed by the movie’s stars, including George Clooney and Brad Pitt, raised money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“Christmas is my favorite time of the year,” said Hilton, mother of Paris Hilton. “I have worked with Make-A-Wish before, and I wanted to do something really special. Hopefully… I’ll make it an annual event.”

Robin Williams, Lance Armstrong, Kid Rock, and Lewis Black were also busy over the festive season, and joined current Miss USA Rachel Smith on a 14 show tour with the USO in Afghanistan.

The shows were well received by soldiers from all nations, stationed away from their homes and families this Christmas.

“Afghanistan is sometimes called the forgotten war,” said one soldier who watched the shows. “We don’t get a lot of attention here, and conditions are pretty miserable. So it means a lot.”

The USO organized 52 celebrity tours in 2007 – which included over 300 shows.

And in Los Angeles, Jennifer Love Hewitt joined her new fiancé Ross McCall, as well as Melissa Joan Hart and Melissa Gilbert, to dish out dinners to the needy at the Los Angeles Mission.

“I have made it a point to come to the Los Angeles Mission at Christmas,” said the 28-year-old actress. “There are so many hurting people on the streets of our city, but when I’m here I get to see the smiles of the children and the great food for everyone. I come to give something back, but invariably I get more blessings than I give.”

Mel Gibson Supports The Kidz

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 08:39:36 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

While in Singapore last week, Mel Gibson made a last minute donation of S$25,000 ($16,000) to Kidz Horizon Appeal, an organization that supports children suffering from cancer, HIV and other chronic and terminal illnesses.

In town for the annual invitation-only Forbes Global CEO Conference, the actor/director’s surprise donation inspired two CEOs to match his pledge; Mr Vinod Sekhar of Petra Group and Mr Patrick Wee of the True Group (Gibson’s guide around town) each increased his initial S$10,000 ($6,500) donation to the charity.

Although they are reluctant to speak about it, Gibson and his wife are no strangers to supporting children’s charities, having made donations which reportedly run into millions of dollars.

“Everyone here has been so warm and wonderful and welcoming, and I’m glad for the opportunity to give something back,” Gibson said.

Gibson Supports Green Rubber

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 09:02:03 -0000

Written by Nadia Lias

Mel Gibson is going all out to recycle tire rubber by applying his charismatic star appeal to help kick-start a venture by Green Rubber’s in New Mexico. Gibson has been a long-time crusader for practical solutions to environmental problems, so his collaboration with Green Rubber Global was no surprise. He is one of the financial backers for the enterprise—a subsidiary of Petra Group, which has invented the world’s first commercially-viable, waste-free way to recycle tires.

About 1 billion tires worldwide end up as waste each year, nearly 300 million of them in the United States. Most go into landfills or are burned, practices that are coming under more environmental scrutiny. “This is the world’s greatest environmental concern,” said Vinod Sekhar, founder and president of Petra Group. The annual tire waste includes 1.5 billion gallons of fossil fuel, he said.

Realizing the problem, Green Rubber Global, a Malaysia-based global company plans to invest $30 million in its first tire recycling plant in Gallup, employing about 140 workers, and this is only the beginning. At least six more green rubber factories are to be expected in America, where they will use waste-free environmentally friendly technology to produce a rubber compound that can be used to make all kinds of products – including more tires.

Gibson has also recently discussed contributing financially to the creation of a nature conservation zone in Costa Rica.

Mel Gibson Plans Costa Rican Donation

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 08:19:25 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Mel Gibson has met with the President of Costa Rica to discuss making a donation to help the local indian population.

Gibson was granted an hour-long meeting on July 9 at the home of President Oscar Arias, during which the actor and the Nobel Peace Prize recipient talked at length about ways to assist the 50,000 native people living in the country.

“He wants to help the indigenous population here,” said Arias afterwards. “And he wants to know how to channel the funds.” The native indians of Costa Rica make up only 1.7% of the total population, yet they suffer greatly from financial and social problems, especially alcoholism and drug use. Safe drinking water and sanitation are also problems in many areas, with 30% of the population not receiving clean water.

Gibson recently bought a 163 hectare property in the Costa Rican district of Guanacaste, an important tourism and agricultural area, part of which he plans to turn into a nature conservation zone.

“If you go into someone else’s country… you don’t just go in there and stomp all over the place,” explained the Academy Award winning actor and director, who in the past has donated $1 million towards aid in Central America. “You bring a gift. It’s like going to somebody’s house.”

Oscar Arias said Gibson would return to Costa Rica in a month to arrange the size of the donation and the organizations it would benefit.

Gibson Helps Provide Housing

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 20:35:09 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Actor-director Mel Gibson is donating money to help build homes in Mexico’s Veracruz state, where he is currently filming.

Mexico’s family welfare agency and the Rotary Club will distribute the money to build houses for the poor in the cities of Veracruz and Andres Tuxtla.

Gibson also donated $1 million last year to help the people of the region recover from Hurricane Stan.

Look To The Stars News: Mel Gibson

Giving Back Fund Announces Top 30 Celebrity Givers

Related past articles

Celebrities' Festive Gifts

Related past articles

Mel Gibson Supports The Kidz

Related past articles

Gibson Supports Green Rubber

Related past articles

Mel Gibson Plans Costa Rican Donation

Related past articles

Gibson Helps Provide Housing

Related past articles