Look To The Stars News: Serena Williams

Serena Williams To Visit Kenya

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:30:00 -0000

Tennis star Serena Williams will visit Kenya this week to open a school she helped fund.

The Serena Williams Secondary School in Matooni will open on Friday, November 14, and Williams will be on site to help. Built through a partnership between the Build African Schools initiative and Hewlett Packard, the school is designed to empower African students through education.

“We are indeed honored to have Ms Williams visit Kenya at this momentous time in American history when we have a new President elect who has roots in Kenya,” said Mr Dickson Mutaiti, the Director of Projects Build African Schools in Kenya. “During her visit, Ms Williams will officially open a secondary school put up in her name, to give chance to needy primary school students who want to pursue secondary school education.”

The school will include a computer classroom, laptops, printers, internet, and training for teachers and students, all courtesy of Hewlett Packard.

Celebrities Cast Aside Their Clothing For Charity

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 10:35:59 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

It is not a case of what to wear for celebrities this month, but rather of what to give away, as eBay and other auction websites are inundated with the closet cast-outs of a variety of actors and singers.

Film company New Line Cinema is leading the charge by auctioning off original costumes from their current hit movie, Hairspray. Among the costumes are two dresses worn by John Travolta in the film, as well as the silk top and capri pants belonging to Queen Latifah. The proceeds will benefit Citymeals On Wheels, a charity that looks after those in need in New York City, as well as The Harry Holmberg Memorial Foundation, which is dedicated to sick children in the city.

Bidding on each costume is expected to reach $500, and the auction ends on August 4. It can be viewed at www.hairspray.ebay.com.

Several celebrities are emptying out their closets for an auction on the website www.clothesoffourback.org this month. Actress Eva Mendes is offering one of her personal handbags ($250), and Resident Evil star Milla Jovovich has donated a dress from her own fashion label ($175). Joss Stone and Serena Williams will also be donating items to the auction. Proceeds will go to America’s Second Harvest (the nation’s largest charitable hunger relief organization), The Art of Elysium (which enriches the lives of critically ill children through art), and World Education (which focuses on girls scholarship programs in Africa), as well as research into autism. The auction ends on August 6.

Also shedding her unwanted clothes this month is Faith Hill, who is auctioning a lilac cotton cardigan at www.myqlu.com. Proceeds from the auction (bidding has already reached $250) will go to the Neighbor’s Keeper Foundation, the non-profit organization she set up in 2005 with her husband, Tim McGraw, to help those in need of proper health care and educational services.

Also on www.myqlu.com, hip hop star Nelly is offering a pair of his NBA Basketball Logo jeans. Bidding for these started at $250, and proceeds will go to 4sho4kids, an organization that aims to improve the quality of life for children born with developmental disabilities, with an emphasis on Down Syndrome and those addicted to drugs.

And finally this month, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner is offering a special one-off jacket on www.myqlu.com. The man usually associated with the shedding of other people’s clothes has donated a custom-made jacket created for him in honour of the Playboy Jazz Festival held at the Hollywood Bowl in 1990. Super slick, super bold, and super collectible, the jacket is set to sell for over $500, with proceeds going to the Hugh M Hefner Foundation, which supports issues relating to freedom of speech and civil liberties, as well as health.

The Magnitude of Fortitude - When Parkinson’s Patients Feel Their Lives Are Crumbling, The HollyRod Foundation Provides Stability

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:08:00 -0000

Written by Jill Marie Elliott

It is a tremor that will send shockwaves through nearly 60,000 families in the U.S. this year. However, it will not be registering on the Richter scale; the shift in their world will be caused by the diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. They will join the estimated 1.5 million afflicted Americans, along with their loved ones, who feel the reverberations of a disorder that leaves physical destruction, emotional devastation and financial ruin in its wake. Out of this rubble, a resolve emerges to research and fund a cure amongst the chaos.

For many, the first rumblings of Parkinson’s Disease are noticed in slurred speech, muscle stiffness, a shuffling gait; for actress Holly Robinson-Peete, it was noticing her dad walking with a limp while dropping her off at college in 1982. Upon returning home for Christmas of that year, Holly was told of his Bell’s Palsy, a condition that causes the facial muscles to weaken or become paralyzed. At the age of 46, this was the onset of his diagnosis with Parkinson’s Disease.

His name may not sound familiar, however many know Matt Robinson as the man who swept our cares away. His role playing the original Gordon on Sesame Street endeared us to this gentleman who would go on to write and produce for some of televisions best-loved comedies, including Sanford & Son, Eight is Enough, and The Cosby Show.

“When my father got sick, our whole world fell apart,” expressed Holly in a 2002 iParenting.com interview.

Even though Matthew had a successful career in the entertainment business, there was a substantial financial strain created by the medical needs of the disease. Fortunately Holly and her husband, former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete and the rest of Matthew’s supportive family alleviated that stress. Moved by so many patients they encountered who did go without the physical, emotional and financial support, the Beverly Hills humanitarian husband and wife team were determined to create an organization that dealt straight-on with these issues. The HollyRod Foundation for Help and Hope was founded in 1997 in honor of Matthew T. Robinson, Sr.

The HollyRod Foundation joined forces in 2002 with the Center for Parkinson’s Research and Movement Disorders at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, in establishing The HollyRod Compassionate Care Program. This partnership enables HollyRod to provide individual patients with financial and medical assistance, along with other services and care as needed.

HollyRod is a lightning rod for charitable celebrities. The foundation presents two annual phenomenal fundraisers to raise money and awareness throughout the year. The star-studded DesignCure and Gridiron Glamour Celebrity Fashion Show & Brunch feature haute ensembles and cool entertainment!

Decked out in dynamic fashion designs from ESCADA, models took to the catwalk, delighting DesignCure 2006 invited guests such as Chris Rock, Star Jones Reynolds, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Angie Harmon and Samuel L. Jackson. The auction this year included a set of three guitars autographed by members of U2, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin! Boxing legend and three-time host of DesignCure Sugar Ray Leonard had the distinction of joining former honoree, famed fighter Muhammad Ali, when he was presented with the HollyRod Foundation Humanitarian Award for his knockout charitable efforts. The summer evening ended on a high-note with a musical performance by Grammy winner Jill Scott. In its eight years of existence, DesignCure has raised over one million dollars.

The Gridiron Glamour fundraiser fuses fashion & football together in an event held during Super Bowl week. In the past, the event has showcased the top fashion designs from Saks Fifth Avenue couture collection. The hottest trends & threads were worn by a team that included supermodel and hostess Niki Taylor, singing sensations Patti LaBelle, Kelly Rowland and Marc Anthony, sport stars Rick Fox, Serena Williams and Jason Sehorn and Hollywood personalities Daisy Fuentes, Nancy O’Dell & Carmen Electra!

The 2007 Gridiron Glamour Celebrity Fashion Show & Brunch will be held in Miami, Florida on February 3rd. In addition to money raised for the HollyRod Foundation, the fundraiser bestows a non-profit organization in each Super Bowl city to serve as local beneficiary of the event. The 2007 recipient is The Honey Shine Foundation, a non-profit mentoring program providing positive experiences that nurture the mind, body and soul of girls 6 to 18 years old in at-risk situations.

Mr. Robinson passed away from Parkinson’s Disease in August 2002, twenty years after being diagnosed. His spirit lives on in HollyRod’s ever-strengthening commitment to fostering help & hope to Parkinson’s patients, and their families and caregivers.

That’s one wave of compassion we can all roll with.

Look To The Stars News: Serena Williams

Serena Williams To Visit Kenya

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