Look To The Stars News: Coldplay

Grammy Auction Has Something For Everybody

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:30:00 -0000

Another incredible Grammy auction benefiting MusiCares is currently running on eBay, giving bidders the opportunity to pick up some very special memorabilia for a good cause.

The 51st annual Grammy Awards will take place in February next year, and to celebrate there are all sorts of exciting items on offer. Maybe you fancy books signed by Ringo Starr, John Legend, Tom Jones, Tony Bennett, Nelly Furtado, Little Richard, or Carole King, or postcards signed by Rihanna. Or perhaps you would be more interested in grabbing a guitar signed by Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, or the Eagles’ Joe Walsh. Or, if strumming chords seems too hard and you want to hear real musicians play, you might want to make a bid on tickets to see Bette Midler, America, or 3 Doors Down. Whatever your taste, the auction has something for you.

So head over to the eBay Grammys Auction now to find yourself a once-in-a-lifetime bargain to raise money for MusiCares, an organization that works to help those in need in the music industry, and the Grammy Foundation, which works with industries, cultural communities and the public to raise awareness of music and arts education.

The auction runs until July 31.

Gwyneth Paltrow Donates $75,000 To Food Bank

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:10:16 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow has made a huge donation of $75,000 to an organization that helps feed the hungry in New York.

The 35-year-old mother-of-two and wife of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin made the donation to the Food Bank For New York City following a Food Bank gala last Saturday, April 19. It was the second time Paltrow has attended an event for the organization this month – she was guest of honor at the Can-Do Awards on April 8, which raised over $1 million for the Food Bank.

“I’ve been thinking about all the crap my children have and how much food we throw away,” the actress told the guests at the gala. “We have to do better.”

The Food Bank distributes free food to over 1.5 million hungry New Yorkers every year – that’s equivalent to over 68 million pounds of food annually, or 250,000 free meals a day for New Yorkers who otherwise would go hungry or not eat enough. To find out more on how to help the Food Bank For New York City, visit their website.

Celebrities Offer Support To Darfur

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:29:43 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

The Sudanese region of Darfur is benefiting from several new initiatives this month, all designed to raise awareness and money for the war-torn area. And the biggest effort comes from an independent record label that has waded into the music industry to put its money where its mouth is.

Waxploitation, established in 1997 by Jeff Antebi, is a label for innovative artists that has broken with the tradition of managing “producer/engineers” and instead manages artists as record producers – a huge difference in the industry, and one that has led to a huge shift in industry interests.

But not only are they challenging the way record companies operate, Waxploitation is leading the way with programs to fight poverty and hunger, especially in war-affected Sudan. The label has just released a compilation CD, featuring a host of artists who have donated songs to the effort, which has debuted at number 32 on the iTunes chart and almost sold out its first physical CD printing.

“Causes 1:Darfur” includes songs by The Cure, Travis, Death Cab For Cutie, and Spoon, with all proceeds going to three non-profit organizations: Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam America.

“This level of attention is not something we were expecting, given how grassroots our marketing efforts have been,” said Jeff Antebi. “But it shows the strength of the fans and artists who participated and the enormous desire to help Darfur. It’s quite telling that on iTunes people have chosen to buy the album, instead of cherry-picking individual songs. That says people are aware of how important the donation is.”

“Causes 1:Darfur” follows the label’s first charity release, “Genocide In Sudan”, and is available from www.waxploitation.com and iTunes for only 90 days to highlight the urgency of the situation.

The label has also hit the news this week by launching its fourth Darfur Benefit Auction, a massive online event that aims to raise money for the 2 million people forced to flee their homes in the wake of conflict in the region.

The auction, which can be viewed on www.ebay.com/causesauction, features a huge range of unique and collectible items, many of them personally signed by celebrities such as Kanye West, Coldplay, Macy Gray, and Gnarls Barkley. Norah Jones, Avril Lavigne, and Nickleback have all signed guitars for the auction, and other items have been donated by Sony, Xbox, Nintendo, Nokia, and Adidas.

Also joining the fight for Darfur this month is Golden Globe winning actress, Mia Farrow. The 62-year-old has launched Fund4Darfur in association with the Aegis Trust, the UK’s leading genocide prevention organization.

“I have visited Darfur seven times since 2004,” said Farrow on the Fund’s new website. “In these visits, I have seen the suffering that the people of Darfur endure. I believe strongly we should work together to give dignity and hope to survivors and enable Aegis to continue its work against genocide.”

Singer Annie Lennox has also lent her support to the initiative, and has donated a track from her new album to be used to promote the Fund.

Fund4Darfur will directly support survivors of Darfur’s ethnic cleansing, and one third of the money raised will be used to fund campaigning for the protection of Darfur’s threatened African population. Donations can be made at www.fund4darfur.org.

Stars Design Plates For Charity

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:51:22 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

For those who want to have dinner with the stars, this could be the next best thing. A selection of dinner plates designed by celebrities are for sale, with proceeds going to charity.

The plates feature designs by David Bowie, George Clooney, Giorgio Armani, Coldplay, Minnie Driver, and Sir Michael Caine, and are part of a fundraising initiative from 21st Century Leaders, a non-profit organization that plans to raise $3 million over three years through its “Whatever It Takes” celebrity-designed merchandise. So far, the organization has raised almost $1.5 million to fund “charitable projects in developing countries, and contribute to the protection of the environment and other causes”.

21st Century Leaders was founded by Charlotte di Vita, MBE, a goodwill ambassador for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. The 39 year old founded her first charity, Trade plus Aid, in 1992, which has raised over $5 million and helped communities in 21 developing countries to become self-supporting. A desire to do more led di Vita to start Whatever It Takes, a unique charity art project where celebrities donate their own artwork, which is then transferred onto “merchandise with a meaning”.

“It’s 15 minutes of their time to do an artwork,” said di Vita. “And it’s not just for a one-off sale or auction – I can use it to create employment and royalties that will help the charities for years to come.”

Proceeds from the products are distributed to a charity of the designer’s choice, and the dinner plates (which retail for $20) will benefit Oxfam, Save the Children, CARE International, UNHCR, and Anti-Slavery International. Other products available include mugs featuring the designs of Claudia Schiffer, Ewan McGregor, and Nicole Kidman (also retailing for $20), T-shirts designed by the Kaiser Chiefs ($80), shoes designed by Ozzy Osbourne ($80), and wristbands by Joss Stone, Green Day, and Paul McCartney ($6).

All merchandise is available from www.whateverittakes.org.

Coldplay and Beastie Boys Give, Listen, Help.

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 18:59:47 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

The Beastie Boys and Coldplay are among the musicians who are supporting the joint efforts of Urban Outfitters and Filter Magazine in raising money for charity.

The fourth installment of the “Give. Listen. Help.” compilation is raising funds for The Art of Elysium, with $12.88 of every $14 CD purchase going to help hospitalized children through art. Past beneficiaries include Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the American Red Cross’s hurricane relief efforts.

The two CD set is as follows:

DISC ONE:

Beastie Boys – The Mix-Up (b-side)
Coldplay – Pour Me (live at the Hollywood Bowl)
Band of Horses – The End’s Not Near
Rilo Kiley – Big Break
Hot Hot Heat – Money & Reputation
The Stooges – Claustrophobia
Kaiser Chiefs – Out Of My Depth
Travis – Up the Junction
The Go! Team – Bull in the Heather
The Decemberists – Shankill Butchers
Menomena – Gay A
Cold War Kids – A Change Is Gonna Come (Live)
The A-Sides – Diamonds (Live @ WOXY.com)
Annie Stela – White June
Mew – White Lips Kissed (Live in Japan)
Two Sheds – Psycho Killer
Patti Smith – Perfect Day

DISC TWO:

Silversun Pickups – Lazy Eye (Brian LeBarton Remix)
Blonde Redhead – Signs Along the Path (Maps Remix)
Interpol – The Heinrich Maneuver (The Scientist Dub Mix)
Air – Mer du Japon (Remix by the Teenagers)
Peter Bjorn & John – Young Folks (Punks Jump Up remix)
The Wolfmen – Jackie Says (Alan Moulder mix)
The Pipettes – We Are The Pipettes (Live from The Cherrytree House)
Carina Round – January Heart (Buffalo Bill Remix)
Low – Hatchet (Optimimi Version)
Mando Diao – Good Morning Herr Horst (RAC remix)
Magnet – Hold On (Metronomy mix)
The View – Face For The Radio (Live at Caird Hall)
The Maccabees – XRay (filthy dukes remix)
Ladytron – Soft Power (Vicarious Bliss Gutter mix)
Datarock – Fa Fa Fa (Riton New School Remix)
Fields – Song for the Fields (Eliot James Remix)

The Art of Elysium encourages working actors, artists and musicians to dedicate their time and talent to children battling serious medical conditions.

“Give. Listen. Help.” is available at Urban Outfitter locations around the world.

Stars Support Oxfam's Darfur Appeal

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 19:22:59 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Oxfam has launched an online celebrity and public auction to raise funds for its $10 million appeal to help victims of the violence in Darfur and Chad.

Actors, musicians and artists are showing their support for Oxfam’s work with donations of autographed items, clothing, art and concert tickets. Available items include a Dolce & Gabbana jacket worn by Chris Martin on Coldplay’s Rush of Blood Tour which is signed by the band members, Sir Elton John’s tailor-made Donatella Versace suit, gold Roger Vivier Shoes signed by Sienna Miller, and a script from The Queen signed by Dame Helen Mirren.

According to UN figures, four years of ethnic strife in Darfur have resulted in at least 200,000 deaths and left more than two million people displaced. Oxfam provides aid to 470,000 people in Sudan’s Darfur and 60,000 in neighboring Chad, which has been affected by the years of unrest.

Oxfam’s work in the area costs $10 million each year, and the charity hopes this auction will raise at least $500,000 towards those costs. The public is invited to either donate items to the auction or simply make a monetary donation.

To see a full list of available items or make a donation, go to the Oxfam Shop on eBay.

Look To The Stars News: Coldplay

Grammy Auction Has Something For Everybody

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