Look To The Stars News: Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman Turns Vegan Activist

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Actress Natalie Portman, already a vegetarian for twenty years, has decided to turn vegan after reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s book, Eating Animals. The book had such an impact on her that Portman also declared herself an activist, and penned a letter to the Huffington Post.

It was a big step for Portman, who is not one to seek out controversy nor tell other people how to live, but after learning about the torture that animals endure, and the consequences of farming them, she is speaking out:

“The human cost of factory farming – both the compromised welfare of slaughterhouse workers and, even more, the environmental effects of the mass production of animals – is staggering,” she writes. “Foer details the copious amounts of pig shit sprayed into the air that result in great spikes in human respiratory ailments, the development of new bacterial strains due to overuse of antibiotics on farmed animals, and the origins of the swine flu epidemic in factory farms. [Her own friends] had never truly thought about the connection between their environmental conditions and their food. The story of the mass farming of animals had more impact on them when they realized it had ruined their own backyards.”

Ethics, environment or common sense, however one wants to classify the discussion, Portman introduced an unexpected element into her argument: shame.

“I remember in college, a professor asked our class to consider what our grandchildren would look back on as being backward behavior or thinking in our generation, the way we are shocked by the kind of misogyny, racism, and sexism we know was commonplace in our grandparents’ world. He urged us to use this principle to examine the behaviors in our lives and our societies that we should be a part of changing. Factory farming of animals will be one of the things we look back on as a relic of a less-evolved age.”

Be Published Next To World Leaders For The ONE Campaign

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:30:00 -0000

The ONE Campaign is giving you the chance to have your writing featured in a book alongside Nelson Mandela, Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Desmond Tutu and other world leaders, as well as Natalie Portman and Paulo Coelho.

In June, ONE and the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) plans to present a book called The Big Read to President Barack Obama, urging him to keep his promise to ensure children in developing countries have access to basic education through a U.S. contribution of $2 billion to a Global Fund for Education.

Contributions for the book come from children and adults who have struggled to gain an education; and local heroes who have helped make education possible for others. The book will be translated and distributed in over 100 countries, and will be used as a tool for promoting literacy and good quality, free and public education for everyone.

Deadline for submissions is May 1. Submissions should be no more than 1,000 words, and should be about your education-related or ONE advocacy work. Although many forms of stories appear in the book, ONE are looking for a personal narrative telling YOUR story: what does education mean to you? Why is it important to you that children in other countries receive a basic education?

Your story need not be heart-wrenching. ONE members are all heroes, using their voices on behalf of the world’s poorest people. That’s why a ONE member is getting this special opportunity to have a story published in the book.

To make a submission or learn more, visit the ONE Campaign website.

BBC Interviews LookToTheStars.org Founder

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:45:00 -0000

LookToTheStars.org founder Myrlia Purcell was invited by the BBC’s World Today show to take part in a radio interview on the subject of celebrity philanthropy.

Myrlia explains what the site is trying to accomplish, and responds to the suggestion that celebrities undertake charity work mainly for publicity.

The segment includes soundbites from George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Mia Farrow, and other celebrities mentioned include Paris Hilton, Forest Whitaker, John Hurt, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Lucy Liu, and Run DMC frontman Darryl McDaniels and his Felix Organization.

Audio: BBC World Today interview (approx. 4 mins).

Natalie Portman Makes A Powerful Noise For Women's Rights

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Actress Natalie Portman has joined a panel that will discuss women’s rights in celebration of International Women’s Day tomorrow, March 5.

The panel discussion will follow screenings of the film A Powerful Noise in 450 theatres across America, in partnership with the ONE Campaign and the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The documentary “A Powerful Noise” features three extraordinary women creating change in Bosnia, Mali and Vietnam. Immediately after the film, the panel discussion from the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College in New York City will be simulcast in each theatre.

The panel also features Madeleine K Albright – the 64th Secretary of State of the US – as well as model Christy Turlington, president of CARE Helene Gayle and many others.

“Serving as a Global Ambassador for CARE, I’ve met women in impoverished communities who still lack basic rights, access to education and health services – rights we often take for granted in the United States,“ said the film’s executive producer, Sheila C Johnson. “And I have learned that when you empower women in these communities, you strike at the very root causes of poverty. Their stories inspired me and my production team to make the documentary “A Powerful Noise.” It’s one of the most important projects I’ve ever had the honor of working on. Through the A POWERFUL NOISE Live event on March 5th, it has become so much more than just a film. This is a forum to unite, network and mobilize for meaningful global change.“

To find out more about the event and where you can attend the screenings, visit the official website. To find out more about Natalie Portman’s thoughts on women’s rights, check out Look To The Stars’ interview with her here.

Stars To Shine In Charity Heaven

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

The Art of Elysium will celebrate their 2nd annual Black Tie Charity Gala in a star-studded event this weekend.

Subtitled Heaven, the event will honor Jim Sheridan and Eva Mendes for their work with the charity, which encourages working actors, artists and musicians to voluntarily dedicate their time and talent to children who are battling serious medical conditions.

The event will be hosted by Rosetta Millington Getty and Relativity Media’s Ryan Kavanaugh, and celebrities expected to attend include Casey Affleck, Jason Bateman, David Arquette, Patricia Arquette, Justin Bartha, Sophia Bush, Courteney Cox, Eric Dane, Kirsten Dunst, Rebecca Gayheart-Dane, Topher Grace, Rachel Griffiths, Jake Gyllenhaal, Melissa Joan Hart, Thomas Jane, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Ali Larter, Jared Leto, Lisa Love, Tobey Maguire, Joaquin Phoenix, Natalie Portman and many others.

The Art of Elysium was established in 1997 and is dedicated to enriching the lives of artists and critically ill children.

“The Art of Elysium exists because of the passion that artists hold in their hearts,” said Jennifer Howell, founder of the organization. “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. We invite you to join in our efforts to make a difference or to invent your own way to reach out and share yourself with others.”

The Heaven Gala takes place on Saturday, January 10, at the The Vibiana, 210 Main Street, Los Angeles. More info can be found here.

Gwyneth Paltrow Attends FINCA UK Launch

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

FINCA International, a leading not-for-profit microfinance organization for nearly 25 years, launched FINCA UK this week, with a little help from Gwyneth Paltrow.

Paltrow was on-hand at a special fundraising evening held in London on Tuesday, December 9, to raise awareness of FINCA UK, which aims to help alleviate poverty by supporting the provision of small loans to the world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs living in the developing world.

The evening raised over $100,000 for FINCA, and was followed on Wednesday by a symposium attended by representatives from major corporations – including GE, British Petroleum, Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered Bank – who are involved in microfinance projects around the world. Former UK Trade Minister Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham was the keynote of the Symposium.

FINCA lends money to women in developing countries to set up their own shops and businesses, so they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living. It’s Village Banking scheme was launched by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan and actress Natalie Portman.

The launch of FINCA UK will contribute to the success of FINCA’s Global Village Banking Campaign, whose goals are to operate 100,000 Village Banks in the world’s most destitute neighborhoods by 2010, effectively reaching one million of the world’s working poor with loans and financial services giving them the tools to raise their own incomes

Anthony Edwards' African Mission

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:00:00 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

The last time “ER” fans saw Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene was in 2002, when his character died. But last week, Edwards reprised his role and Dr. Greene reappeared during a series of flashbacks to when he was still alive.

What would prompt the actor to reprise his role? Because he saw a way to help countless children in Kenya.

For the past three years, Edwards has worked with Shoe4Africa, a non-profit dedicated to empowering Africans by providing them with running shoes, educating them about AIDS, and – in its largest project to-date – building a $15M children’s’ hospital in Eldoret, Kenya.

“When your overall mission is to help and empower people, a hospital just makes sense,” Edwards says. “It’s an essential element of health.”

Warner Bros. approached Edwards about playing Dr. Greene, and Edwards agreed with the stipulation that the production studio would donate $125,000 to the hospital. The studio agreed and inspired others to donate, including a $125,000 gift from Steven Spielberg and $50,000 from the producer John Wells.

Edwards estimates the hospital will be built by 2010, and when it opens its doors, the 250-bed Shoe4Africa Children’s Hospital will be one of the largest in the world.

Shoe4Africa also plans to build a sports complex and a shoe factory, while increasing their outreach in Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Uganda, among other nations. The shoe factory is key, says Edwards: “Living in densely populated slums without water, clean food or shoes, many Africans are forced to walk barefoot on disease-ridden roads. Once infected with hookworm, a person is much more susceptible to HIV, allowing the virus to spread even more rampantly than it does already. Giving a poor child or adult something as simple as a pair of shoes can make all the difference in the world. Shoes are like soap, a basic element that we take for granted, but without which we get sick and die."

Edwards has always been more than happy to use his celebrity to raise awareness, “It’s one thing to write a check to a charity, but it’s much more fulfilling to get involved.”

Edwards is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Shoe4Africa. He is also one of their Ambassadors, as is actress Natalie Portman.

Celebrity Endorsement Pulls Young Voters

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A new study has revealed how celebrity endorsement can encourage young people to vote.

“Celebrities have the power to motivate civic engagement regardless of their own grasp of the issues at hand,” reported a study by Washington State University published in the Mass Communication and Society journal. “Celebrity endorsed campaigns successfully lowered complacency and helped young people believe in their own impact on the political system. Young people got involved at higher levels and became increasingly aware of societal issues.”

According to the study, initiatives from stars such as Jessica Alba – who recently featured in several ad campaigns for Declare Yourself – as well as Christina Aguilera and Beyoncé Knowles have influenced the youth vote in America. 44% of newly registered voters in 2004 were between 18 and 25.

This year’s voters have been encouraged by a host of celebrity campaigns, such as Death Cab for Cutie’s free concert offer and the recent 5 Friends video that featured will.i.am, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Bacon, Maria Bello, Halle Berry, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Connolly, Courteney Cox, Ellen DeGeneres, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Jonah Hill, Djimon Hounsou, Dustin Hoffman, Anthony Kiedis, Ashton Kutcher, Adam Levine, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria, Tobey Maguire, Demi Moore, Esai Morales, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman, Ethan Suplee, Kyra Sedgwick, Michelle Trachtenberg, Usher, and Forest Whitaker.

About 44 million people aged 18 to 29 are eligible to vote in the November 4 presidential election. If young voter turnout exceeds 50%, it will be only the third time since the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1972.

Hollywood Urges US To Vote

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A host of the brightest stars in Hollywood have joined forces in a new video encouraging people to vote in the upcoming US elections.

The 5-minute film, which is called 5 Friends and can be viewed here, features appearances from Amy Adams, Tatyana Ali, will.i.am, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Bacon, Maria Bello, Halle Berry, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Connolly, Courteney Cox, Ellen DeGeneres, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Jonah Hill, Djimon Hounsou, Dustin Hoffman, Anthony Kiedis, Ashton Kutcher, Adam Levine, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria, Tobey Maguire, Demi Moore, Esai Morales, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman, Ethan Suplee, Kyra Sedgwick, Michelle Trachtenberg, Usher, and Forest Whitaker.

The video, which uses a little bit of reverse psychology to get people to the polls, was organized by Declare Yourself, a national nonprofit campaign initiated in 2004 to energize and empower a new movement of young voters.

“If you’re not going to vote I don’t even know what to say to you anymore,“ says DiCaprio in the video, which was shot in his home in LA. “You know you have to vote.”

Declare Yourself has also launched a new print and internet advertisement featuring Jessica Alba.

Last month the star appeared gagged and wrapped in plastic in an ad for the organization. In the new campaign, Alba appears wearing only a Hannibal Lecter-type mask called “The Muzzler.”

The advertisement can be seen at the Declare Yourself website.

Portman Honored for Charity Work

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

In Venice for its film festival, Natalie Portman has become the first recipient of the Movie for Humanity Award in recognition of her dedication to humanitarian causes.

This accolade from the Kineo Italian Movie Awards aims to recognize film artists who devote themselves to philanthropy, as Portman unquestionably has. Aside from launching the Village Banking Campaign with FINCA, speaking up for the endangered Rwandan Mountain Gorilla, and highlighting the plight of needy children around the world, she is an enthusiastic supporter of Tacare Girl’s Scholarship Programme of the Jane Goodall Institute in Tanzania.

The scholarship program, which carries out wildlife research in Tanzania, was established to create opportunities for women’s education and provide access to secondary and higher education, ultimately leading to job opportunities.

Portman’s $50,000 award prize money will go to the scholarship program.

“The Jane Goodall foundation does incredible work in Tanzania, an area which is very environmentally affected. I really appreciate this award,” Portman said.

The 27-year-old actress is making her directorial debut at the Venice Film Festival with a short film called Eve.

Famous Faces Flock To Family Festival

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:30:00 -0000

A host of celebrities will gather at the annual Kids for Kids Family Carnival in New York in September to raise money for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

For 15 years, Kids for Kids has brought families together to rally in support of the Foundation’s fight against pediatric AIDS. In celebration of the Foundation’s lifesaving work, plans are under way to make this year’s carnival unforgettable!

Kids for Kids has moved to a new time and place, and will feature new and exciting components, but you can still expect your favorite attractions from years past — samplings from New York’s greatest restaurants, world-class artists and photographers, celebrities, and both old-fashioned and cutting-edge games and activities. Stars already confirmed to attend include Natalie Portman, Whoopi Goldberg, Helena Christensen, James Gandolfini, Heidi Klum, Rachael Ray, Julianne Moore, Petra Nemcova, Susan Sarandon, Meredith Vieira, and many more.

And that’s not all! The evening before the carnival, the Foundation will host a very special art auction featuring pieces by acclaimed artists Cecily Brown, Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, and Tom Friedman.

The event takes place on Saturday, September 20, from 1pm to 5pm at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. More information and tickets can be obtained from www.pedaids.org.

A Conversation With Natalie Portman

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Marianne Schnall

Natalie Portman recently spoke about her philanthropic interests with our guest contributor, Marianne Schnall.

Natalie Portman is an Oscar-nominated actress who became an international star with her role as Queen Amidala in the “Star Wars” trilogy. She is an advocate of many social causes and was recently named the first Ambassador of Hope for FINCA International, an organization that promotes micro-lending to empower women in poor countries by helping them start their own businesses. She traveled to Africa and South America promoting FINCA’s work and in April 2007 completed a documentary about the power of micro-financing to change lives in impoverished countries.

For people who may not be familiar with FINCA, how would you describe the overall goal or mission of the organization?

Well, it’s a microfinance group and it works in twenty different countries and it will be expanding to more countries this year. And what microfinance does is based on a concept called “village banking,” wherein FINCA will go into a small village and find clients who want to be involved. They’re primarily women, and they start a village bank. So that means the women insure each other’s loan. And they get small loans – they’re called ‘microloans’ – they usually start around fifty dollars, but can go up to five thousand dollars after women have been with FINCA for a while and have proven their responsibility. And the women insure each other while they start these businesses – and they make all their own rules and everything.

And so it basically gives them a way to have agency in their own lives to sort of make their own destiny. Because what you find in these places is that women become sort of slaves to whatever jobs are available – I mean if there’s a factory in town, there’s that one factory and that’s where they have to work. And this allows them to open their own businesses, which means that they can stay home with their children if they need to – they can maybe run the business from home – and they are able to make better wages, so they’re feeding their children better, educating their children better – getting better health care, living conditions – I mean, all the side effects of poverty are helped by this one program. And it’s sustainable, so that you go in once to a village, you put money in once, and that money continues forever – once that money is in the bank, because the women pay back their loans with interest at such incredible rates – it’s like 97, 98% – it’s better than wealthy people in the United States [laughs] – the money continues and it turns over three times a year, so one amount of money serves three women every year – and their families of course.

There has been increasing awareness about the urgency and the growing crisis of world poverty, and people are starting to look at creative solutions – how do you see the role of microfinance contributing to the solution?

Well, it’s definitely just one of many creative solutions that as a package I am sure can help poverty, and the problems associated with poverty. Look – the one thing that I find really shocking, I mean, that is something you don’t learn in school that I was really surprised to find out about, was that not only are two-thirds of the world’s population in poverty, under $3 a day – that’s like 4 billion people – 70% of them are women and children, which I think is shocking. They’re calling it the feminization of poverty – it’s becoming more and more so. And when women are the poor ones in society, are disproportionally making up the world’s poor, you get an imbalance of power obviously between the sexes, which obviously leads to other social inequalities for women, more violence probably, and when a child is brought up into a world where his Dad has money and his mother does not, they might be more likely to follow their father into violence or drunkenness – these are a lot of the sort of problems you find in many of these communities in terms of how children make their choices.

And this gives women power over their sexual reproductive rights: they find the thing closely associated with controlling birth rates is women’s education, which is obviously related to women’s socio-economic status, so the more money a woman has, the more educated she is, and the more educated she is, the more she knows about how to prevent pregnancy, and also has more reproductive control – she feels a greater ability to say no to a man when she doesn’t have to depend on him for money. You really see this chain of events, and obviously women can really be at the core of changing things for the next generation since they are the ones caretaking for the next generation.

There are so many organizations you could have lent your support to, and you have now worked with FINCA for four years – what first attracted you to their cause and how did you first get involved?

Well, I really wanted to work on sort of mid-east peace, because I’m from Israel originally. And I really wanted to work on something with Queen Rania of Jordan, because she’s probably the woman I most admire from my region. And so I got in contact with her and her staff, and they recommended to me to get involved with FINCA, which was something that she was part of. And she talked a lot about the hope gap that exists – that what you’re dealing with in these conflicts is – I mean the economic gap can best be described, in her words, as a hope gap. And it’s true – the despair leads to sort of nihilism, and that can be very, very dangerous. But this hope gap, mending the economic divide, is sort of the first step, or a first step towards bettering the situation we find ourselves in today.

On behalf of FINCA you’ve visited programs in many diverse parts of the world. What are those trips like for you? What are some of your most memorable experiences from these trips?

It’s sort of the most amazing thing – I mean, I’ve gotten so much out of it. The coolest thing is the opportunity to meet these people. These women are incredible. You go to these villages and usually, as an American, when you travel, even if you go to places like Uganda or Guatemala – you’re probably not going to get to interact with locals. And especially not locals who are like living in squalor. You might meet some wealthy people who live there, you might meet people who are working at your hotel or whatever – but to actually be in the villages and get to talk to people is such a lucky experience.

I was in Uganda and I met this woman who had ten children and she had been in FINCA for eleven years. And she had ten children – when she started out her husband was beating her because she couldn’t have a boy. She had only girls. So he had kicked her out and she was living on 80 cents a day. With ten kids. And she was like begging her neighbors to give her like old laundry water just to clean their clothes. And she started on a $50 loan with FINCA eleven years ago, and she now has, I think it’s a $2,000 loan, eleven years later, and she owns a huge restaurant. She sends one of her daughters to university and she employs seven other women in her village.

And you just see like in one generation how someone can turn it around. They are the most amazing people – they’re up against everything you can imagine in the world – I mean, extreme poverty, extreme disease. I mean in Uganda, so many people are affected by AIDS, but also malaria is terrible as well. And their life expectancy is forty-six years old; the average birth rate for every women is 6.7 children per woman, and they all adopt their sibling’s children if they pass away, so it’s just extreme, extreme pressure that I can’t even begin to imagine. And yet they’re so loving and hard-working and positive and find so much joy – not to be completely cheesy about it, but it’s inspiring, and it’s just incredibly moving to be around them.

What is most needed in this area – what can other people do?

Well, going onto the FINCA web site, it’s very easy to contribute to Village Bank. It’s very easy to give. $50 is like a loan for one woman, $5,000 opens an entire bank, so $5,000 will serve twenty women or something. It’s a pretty incredible turn-over. And also just to read up on it. It’s really interesting. I don’t want to be like any sort of like know-it-all [laughs] but I just find it to be such an amazing thing to learn about, how women live in much of the world.

There seems to be greater awareness about the serious issues we are facing, such as world poverty and global warming, which is spurring a growing, hopeful movement for change. What is your perspective on the current situation in the world – are you optimistic?

I am exactly for every reason you’re saying. I see a lot of people really wanting to do positive things in the world. And I feel that it’s like a new generation – I hope. You can only be optimistic because I don’t really know how you’d wake up in the morning if you felt pessimistic. I mean, it’s obviously easy to feel that way with the news – you can watch the news and it feels like it’s the end of the world, very like apocalyptic [laughs]. So I just stay away from the news and try and find people around me who are doing positive things and look to them.

To read the full interview with Natalie Portman, visit feminist.com.

Madonna Gets Into The Groove At Cannes

Mon, 26 May 2008 10:52:57 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Madonna auctioned off a private concert during the 61st annual Cannes International Film Festival late last week at the annual Cinema Against AIDS fundraiser to raise money for amfAR.

Hosted by Sharon Stone, the Gala is one of the hottest tickets at the Cannes film festival each year, with hundreds of guests traveling to nearby Mougins for an auction dinner held in a giant marquee. This year’s event attracted a plethora of celebrity guests intent on raising money for the cause, including P. Diddy, Natalie Portman, Dennis Hopper, and Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein, all of whom were keen to get their hands on some of the items up for auction on the night.

“I hope we all leave a little poorer,” said amfAR chairman Kenneth Cole prior to the festivities, although he needn’t have worried – a total of $10 million was raised for the American Foundation for AIDS Research on the night.

As well as Madonna’s private concert – which sold for $560,000 – other popular items up for grabs included a restored 1976 Porsche 911, which went for $790,000 after rap mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs stopped bidding at $710,000. A diamond-encrusted Christian Dior mobile phone also fetched $189,000. Tickets for the event started at $4,000 and rose to $15,000 nearer the stage.

Combs auctioned 24 hours in his company, promising: “I will fulfill your wildest dreams for amfAR and the children,” and “I will wake up with you.” The winning bid was $315,000.

Stars Dish Up Italian For Homeless Charities

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:19:53 -0000

Written by Crystal A. Johnson

Top chef Mario Batali has teamed up with Oscar winner Marisa Tomei, Golden Globe winner Natalie Portman and former American Idol rocker Chris Daughtry to cook up a few Italian treats for a new online recipe book. Fans can download the recipies from the website www.CelebrityItalianTable.com. A dollar from every purchase will go to homeless charities.

This is not Batali’s first celebrity cookbook collaboration for charity. In November of 2006 he offered recipes to The Hollywood Cookbook.

Natalie Portman - Beauty, Brains, And Heart

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:01:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

She may have made her name as Luke Skywalker’s mother in Star Wars, and has since gone on to make some of the most interesting art-house films produced in the last five years, but young starlet Natalie Portman is more than just another Hollywood bimbo. Under the beauty lies a brain and heart many people only dream of possessing.

Born Natalie Hershlag in Jerusalem, Israel, to an Israeli father and an American mother, the 26-year-old actress comes from a family with a long history of social and political activism. Her grandfather, for example, was a socialist economics professor of the developing world who set up one of Israel’s first Kibbutzes. It was an atmosphere that left its lasting mark on Portman – she became a vegetarian at the age of eight, and joined an environmental dance troupe at the age of 12.

The star of the Star Wars prequels, as well as independent films such as “Closer” and “Garden State”, is an enthusiastic advocate for animal rights, and refuses to wear products made from fur, feathers, or leather. In 2007 she even launched her own range of vegan footwear, and she has also appeared in a documentary in which she trekked through a Congolese national park in search of the endangered Rwandan Mountain Gorilla.

But the Harvard University psychology graduate’s real passion is alleviating poverty in Third World countries. In May, 2007, Portman joined Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan to launch the Village Banking Campaign for the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA). The campaign is designed to provide financial services to the world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets, and improve their standard of living.

“I really wanted to work on Middle East peace, because I’m from Israel originally,” said the young star. “And I really wanted to work on something with Queen Rania of Jordan, because she’s probably the woman I admire most from my region. So I got in contact with her and her staff, and they recommended for me to get involved with FINCA.”

Portman is immensely proud of her role as an Ambassador of Hope for FINCA, and has visited programs run in countries such as Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uganda. She even produced a charity album for the organization, Big Change – Songs For FINCA, that featured songs by artists such as Norah Jones.

“My goal for this campaign is to galvanize my generation to support Village Banking, and take a leadership role in the fight against poverty,” she said at the launch of the initiative. “We have the ability and the responsibility to make our shrinking world a more hopeful, stable and peaceful place. With all of the tools we now have at hand – new anti-poverty approaches like microfinance; technology that helps us mobilize even greater numbers of people; and a growing understanding of the imperatives – we have no excuse to miss this opportunity.”

Portman has also recently been chosen to represent the Listen Campaign, joining Hollywood legends such as Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, and Jessica Lange in a new and exciting multimedia charity initiative designed to highlight the plight of needy children around the world. The scheme, launched in November 2007, hopes to raise $1 billion over the next 10 years.

“I understand that people might be jaded,” said Portman. “I know I get turned off by most celebrity joining-in efforts. But I’m interested in this because it’s about diverting some of the unwarranted attention we have in our celebrity-crazed culture and passing it on to something else. We can give people a voice who would not normally have one.”

The Listen Campaign website includes a video of Portman visiting a young 17-year-old boy named Nicholas in Uganda – an HIV-positive AIDS orphan who is trying to raise his sister and three brothers.

“The thing that upset me most is that we weren’t taught about this stuff at school,” said Portman. “We weren’t taught that half the world lives on less than $3 a day.”

Although she has had a lot of success in films, the young actress has thought about trading the position in for work in a non-profit organization, and claims that her travels through some of the poorest countries in the world has really opened her eyes about life, ambition, and true happiness.

And if she has one wish for the future of the planet, it would be this:

“People [should] pay attention, look to their neighbors. I think we’ve lost so much community. I think that’s one of the things I’ve appreciated most seeing in these villages is just the sense of community, where an entire family – an entire community – takes care of each other. And we’ve really lost that. And when you lose that on a personal level, you lose that on a global level as well. But I see a lot of people really wanting to do positive things in the world. And I feel that it’s like a new generation. You can watch the news and it feels like it’s the end of the world, very apocalyptic. So I just try and find people around me who are doing positive things.”

Celebrities Listen For Disadvantaged Children

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:33:55 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A huge and exciting new global media campaign has kicked off to raise awareness and funds for some of the world’s most disadvantaged children.

The Listen Campaign is the result of seven years work and research, and is being supported by a host of celebrities who want the public to listen to the rights and needs of children affected by poverty, disease, natural disaster, exploitation, war, and AIDS in places such as Africa, America, Asia, and Eastern Europe.

“Listen is an annual global media campaign bringing together some of the finest creative artists in film, music, and the arts to raise awareness and funds for 200 children’s charity projects around the world, and to develop a worldwide community of supporters,” said Tony Hollingsworth, Executive Producer of the campaign.

The campaign’s website was launched in November, and contains short films made by some of the world’s biggest stars, who have spent time visiting and listening to children in need. Brooke Shields, Jessica Lange, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Natalie Portman, and Ashley Judd have all pledged their support for the campaign and are featured on the site, and Samuel L. Jackson has recorded a film about children in New Orleans.

”I had to come here for this… to listen to remarkable stories," said Jackson, who was drawn to the project from the outset. “I don’t know how [the children] get through it. These kids shouldn’t be hungry and homeless, going to school hearing gunshots, without good schooling, getting ill from the formaldehyde leaching out of the trailer walls. That these kids are still suffering, two years after Hurricane Katrina, is a national scandal. Their voice should be a call to action.”

The campaign has set a fundraising target of $100 million for its first year, and hopes to raise over $10 billion within 10 years. Magazines, newspapers, internet, and television – in fact, every type of media available – are all going to play their part in attaining the campaign’s goal of making 500 million people a year aware of the plight of desperate children. Broadcasts will be made in over 60 countries, with two television specials set for worldwide release in June. One of these, Listen Live, will be a spectacular concert event in Los Angeles, in which major music stars will collaborate to perform one-off versions of their most famous songs, with musical direction from the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart and legendary music producer Don Was.

Over seventy of the world’s most respected charities, such as Save the Children, CARE, Christian Aid, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, (RED), and WaterAid have nominated 200 children’s projects for the campaign to benefit. All of the beneficiary projects have been pre-declared, and can be seen on the website so the public knows exactly how their donations are to be used. As a unique addition, all donors will also receive five update reports to show exactly how their money is changing the lives of children.

“Pre-declaring the projects that will be funded and then reporting back on the effect of the donor’s money is a key difference of the Listen Campaign to other major international fundraising campaigns,” said Hollingsworth. “This pre-declaration and impact reporting will build public trust, and the creative artists’ contributions will generate interest leading to a sustained community of supporters.”

To take part in the campaign, to read exclusive short stories by some of the world’s best novelists, and to donate and enter competitions, the public can register their support at www.listencharity.org.

Kite Runner Auction Raises Afghan Hopes

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:38:15 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Madonna, Will Ferrell and Angelina Jolie are among the many celebrities who have joined the Kite Runner Auction, which runs until the 15th of December.

The auction corresponds with the theater release of The Kite Runner on December 14th. Based on the book of the same name, the film explores the world of Amir, who returns to Afghanistan after 20 years in America to set right his past mistakes.

The book’s author Khaled Hosseini is joined in the auction by tail-signers Edward Norton, Steve Nash, Cher and Halle Berry. 75% of the auction’s proceeds will be donated to the Afghanistan Relief Organization.

Other items on the auction block include a visit to the set of the new James Bond film with director Marc Forster, who also directed The Kite Runner film, dinner with Khaled Hosseini, or the chance to name a character in one of his future works.

To see the full list of celebrities, or to bid on kites and tails signed by Jessica Biel, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal or Reese Witherspoon, go to The Kite Runner Auction page.

Lunchbox Auction Will Help Feed Hungry Children

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:49:04 -0000

Written by Crystal A. Johnson

Forget what they say about good things coming in small boxes, better things come in lunch-boxes created by artists, actors, chefs, musicians, photographer, politicians, and fashion designers to shed light on the plight of hungry children in New York City and South Africa. These original artistic efforts are for the Lunchbox Auction.

The artistry is often unique and often indicative of the personality behind the work. World renown chef Bobby Flay’s 2005 lunchbox was decorated with spices. Bono’s lunchbox was simply red signifying his (RED) campaign. The bidding for lunchbox items will commence online on December 6, 2007

Among the other contributors of lunch-boxes for the first online auction included Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, David Bowie and Iman among other famous people. The proceeds help the Food Bank For New York City provide food to more than 1,000 emergency and community food programs throughout the five boroughs.

One in five children in NYC rely on emergency food. Thousands of miles away in South Africa, children face similar hunger oriented plights. Fledgling school programs do not subsidize pre- and high schools, so for many of these children the Lunch box fund feed them their only meal of the day. Moreover, many of the children are AIDS orphans running child-headed households.

To see the full list of lunch-boxes, visit the Charity Folks Website.

Natalie Portman teams with iTunes to help FINCA

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 09:45:21 -0000

Written by Regina Walton

Award-winning actress Natalie Portman teamed with iTunes to help the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA).

Portman, who is an Ambassador of Hope for the FINCA organization, was invited by Apple iTunes to produce FINCA’s first charity album. The proceeds from this album will benefit FINCA’s Village Banking Campaign. The album, titled Big Change: Songs for FINCA, is a collection of 16 songs. Some of the artists on the compilation has both old and new tracks from Norah Jones, Tom Brosseau, Sean Hayes, Brett Dennan and many others. It is available now exclusively at the iTunes store for $7.99. The net proceeds will benefit FINCA.

FINCA is an organization that promotes the use of micro-finance to provide financial services to the world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs. In this way they help these entrepreneurs create jobs, acquire assets, and improve their standard of living. Portman has been active in promoting micro-finance for a few years now. She has visited FINCA programs in Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Uganda. She has also taken the message of micro-finance to many schools and organizations by speaking on behalf of the organization.

Natalie Portman Films Documentary On Rwanda's Gorillas

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:49:08 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Actress Natalie Portman has teamed up with wildlife expert Jack Hanna to make a TV special on the plight of gorillas in Rwanda.

The hour-long documentary, called Gorillas On The Brink, will go to air on the Animal Planet channel on October 26, and will feature the pair as they travel deep into the jungles of the Congo’s Virunga National Park in search of the endangered Mountain Gorilla.

The documentary follows the 26 year old star’s appearance at a gorilla naming ceremony held in Rwanda in July, in which a host of celebrities gathered to name 23 baby gorillas at a Rwandan wildlife sanctuary to raise awareness of the species’ possible extinction. Portman named her gorilla Ahazaza, which means “Future” in the native Rwandan language. Another was named in the memory of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, who was planning a trip to the African nation before being killed by a stingray while filming a documentary at the Great Barrier Reef in September 2006. His gorilla was named Ingufu, which means “Strength”.

According to figures published by the WWF, there are only 700 Mountain Gorillas left in the world, and just over half of these live around the lush Virunga volcanoes that straddle Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their populations are being decimated by conflict and poaching, although the efforts of several conservation organizations, such as the African Conservation Program and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, are trying to reverse this.

“This is one of the biggest conservation efforts in the world,” said Jack Hanna.

The plight of Rwanda’s Mountain Gorillas first rose to the public’s attention after the 1988 film, Gorillas In The Mist, based on the book of the same name by famed gorilla conservationist, Dian Fossey. They have now become a tourist attraction for the war-stricken nation, although they are still at risk from fighting militias. Visitors pay up to $500 to gain access to the Virunga National Park, and the nation earned $36 million from tourism in 2006. The Government aims to raise $100 million per year from gorilla tourism by 2010.

“We have every good reason to celebrate these gorillas,” said Rosette Rugamba, Director General of the Rwanda Tourism Centre. “The benefits they have brought to our country and people speak volumes.”

Natalie Portman is not the only celebrity involved in the conservation of this unique species. New Zealand-born supermodel and patron of the Born Free Foundation, Rachel Hunter, has also launched a desperate plea to save the animals.

“I am not afraid to say I wept when I saw pictures of the shot gorillas,” she said in a double page advert in Britain’s The Sun newspaper following the publication of gruesome photos of gorillas being slaughtered by poachers. “Charities that work in the area have got together to fund round-the-clock patrols by park rangers for the next three months, but they need more funding to carry on. This is absolutely vital.”

The screening schedule for Gorillas On The Brink can be viewed at http://animal.discovery.com, and more information on the plight of the gorillas, including the very latest news from Rwanda, can be found at www.rwanda-gorillas.com.

Natalie Portman Promotes Loans To Women

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 18:47:51 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

In an interview on Sunday, Natalie Portman told ABC’s “The Week” that small loans can change the lives of some of the world’s poorest women.

The actress is a supporter of FINCA, an organisation which provides such loans to individuals in developing countries.

Portman said that she had met mothers younger than her who had no option but to take low-paid jobs in poor conditions.

“And then they’re able to get a loan and start their own business out of their own house and be with their children,” Portman said. “It changes the whole system.”

Clothes Off Our Back Holding Emmy Auction

Sat, 09 Sep 2006 19:45:42 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Clothes Off Our Back is holding its Fifth Annual Emmy Auction, allowing fans to bid on clothing and accessories worn by winners, nominees and attendees on the red carpet.

Some of the items available include ipods signed by a variety of stars, a cell phone from “24” signed by Kiefer Sutherland, a tie worn by Denis Leary, Katherine Heigl’s earrings and a one-of-a-kind diamond encrusted brooch by Neil Lane worn by “Dancing with the Stars’” Samantha Harris and valued at $25,000.

The auction runs until September 15, and proceeds benefit the emergency relief efforts in Darfur, Children’s Defense Fund and Cure Autism Now.

Clothes Off Our Back is also holding a special auction for Natalie Portman items to help the Milo Gladstein Foundation for Bloom’s Syndrome.

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