Look To The Stars News: Ian McKellen

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.

Ian McKellen Says Community Is No Place For Hate

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:00:00 -0000

Written by Emily Ray

Sir Ian McKellen has become the latest resident to sign the pledge that Tower Hamlets is No Place for Hate.

No Place for Hate is a council-led pledge, striving to improve community safety in the borough of London. Ian McKellen signed the pledge at the Annual General Meeting of the charity Step Forward. As a patron of the charity, McKellen knows full well the positive effect it has as a support service for young people, offering counseling, advice and personal development to enable them to reach their full potential.

Sir Ian said: “As a neighbor and supporter of Step Forward for many years, I am still impressed by the effect caring professionals can make on a community. Tower Hamlets needs specialists who can untangle the mess which makes young lives unhappy and unproductive.”

Tower Hamlets Council’s Hate Crime Policy and Partnership manager Menara Ahmed commented, “It is vital that we all work together on this. Together we can truly make a difference.”

To find out how you can make a pledge to end hate in Tower Hamlets, click here.

Sir Ian McKellen Supports Volunteering Scheme

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:00:00 -0000

Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKeller visited a youth centre in London earlier this week to see an art project that is bringing together a wide spectrum of the community.

The star visited the Limehouse Youth Centre in the borough of Tower Hamlets as part of the launch of a new scheme being overseen by City Gateway, a charity dedicated to bringing hope to the local communities of Tower Hamlets that haven’t benefited from the area’s wider economic development.

City Gateway works in partnership with over 20 large firms in everything from team volunteering days through to individual mentoring schemes & ongoing work placements. The new scheme launches with a ‘Literacy Lunch’ project at City Gateway’s Women’s Project – a twist on reading volunteering schemes which traditionally target children as it aims instead to boost the language and confidence of women, principally from the local Bengali community.

At the launch, City Gateway’s CEO Eddie Stride commented: “Many of the companies we partner with already provide incredible opportunities for their staff to support local projects but in some roles it can be hard to take a day off to volunteer even if your boss tells you to! We’re looking to provide bite-sized opportunities where people can come down in their lunch breaks or straight after work and still make a big impact.”

The centre in Tower Hamlets, run jointly with Poplar HARCA, has attracted more than 50 entries into its art competition which is being openly judged by a mix of young people, Canary Wharf workers and local residents, including Sir Ian himself.

“I do love art, my house is full of paintings on the wall – though none of them are done by me, I’m useless!“ said Sir Ian. "Drawing’s a great gift and several of them clearly have a great eye for colour and pattern. They’re all full of energy, they’ve clearly had a lot of fun doing it! It’s quite moving when you see some of the fairly rough art downstairs, kids who have clearly not had a chance to do much art before, that they’re still managing to communicate something original.

“Everyone needs encouragement, everyone wants a good laugh, everyone wants to develop themselves, and projects like City Gateway begin to allow that to happen.

“Firms in the area have a duty, they’re lucky to be here. They can be stuck in all of this new development and around them, if they just looked out of their windows, on the street level there are people who need help, through no fault of their own.

“Volunteers coming down will have a fantastic time and they’ll have their eyes wide-opened, as I’ve had mine.“

To read a full interview with McKellen about the work of City Gateway, click here.

Give Landmines The Boot With Charity Auction

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A British charity for victims of landmines has launched their annual online celebrity shoe auction.

The Mines Advisory Group has gathered footwear from over 50 celebrities for the auction, which will raise vital funds for their projects and draw attention to the part of the body most vulnerable to landmines.

The auction was launched by model Kelly Knox, the glamorous winner of BBC 3’s best disabled model competition, at Merchant Taylor’s Hall in London.

“We are extremely honored to have Kelly launch our shoe auction this year,” said MAG’s Chief Executive Lou McGrath OBE. “Despite being born without a left forearm, Kelly has proven disability is not a deterrent to success. She should be an inspiration to the many thousands of people who have been cruelly maimed by the thousands of landmines still threatening lives and communities worldwide.”

Celebrities who have donated their soles to the cause include Judi Dench, Geri Halliwell, Chrissie Hynde, Beverley Knight, Ian McKellen, Shirley Bassey, Russell Brand, Jarvis Cocker, Heather Mills, Joanna Lumley, Susan Sarandon, Pete Townshend, KT Tunstall, Chris Martin, Rolf Harris, and many others.

The auction ends on December 4 and can be accessed via the MAG eBay site.

British charity auction site Buy Once Give Twice also currently has some exciting opportunities for philanthropic bargain hunters.

Rays of Sunshine – a charity that grants wishes to seriously and terminally ill children in the UK – have a whole bunch of VIP tickets up for grabs on the site right now, including concert experiences with Coldplay, Madness, and the Kaiser Cheifs. There is also a Fender guitar signed by Sting up for grabs, as well as a Chelsea football shirt signed by the whole team, and the chance to hang out with Emma Thompson on the set of the new Nanny McPhee movie.

But you better be quick, this auction ends tomorrow, November 26.

Sir Ian McKellen To Help The Homeless

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen will be the guest of honor at a special charity event hosted by Village Drinks, a social networking community for gay professionals.

McKellen will deliver a speech, take questions from the audience and mix with guests at the event, to be held at the Century Members’ Club in Soho, London, on Sunday, December 14. Only 200 tickets are available, with proceeds going to the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT).

“I am delighted to be lending my support to this special festive evening organized by Village Drinks, whose wide network of influential members can only help to spread the word about AKT and the work it does,” said Sir Ian. “Raising money and highlighting the issues faced by these young homeless people is a constant challenge.”

The Albert Kennedy Trust was set up in 1989, after 16-year-old Albert Kennedy – a runaway from a children’s home – fell to his death from the top of a car park in Manchester whilst trying to escape from homophobes.

“The Albert Kennedy Trust is a cause to which everyone at Village Drinks feels very close, indeed. Its tireless work to help homeless young people never ceases to amaze us,” said Neil Spring, the founder of Village Drinks. "We want to use our network to promote the best causes that we possibly can.“

Tickets to the event can be purchased via the Village Drinks website.

British Stars Sign Favorite Books For Africa

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Some of Britain’s best loved stars have signed editions of their favorite books for a new charity auction.

Helen Mirren, Joanna Lumley, and Ian McKellen are amongst the celebrities to sign the books, which cover a wide variety of genres.

“Education offers a route out of poverty and books are the foundation of lifelong learning, yet the majority of people in Africa cannot afford books of their own,“ said Lesley Pinder, Book Aid International spokeswoman. “The proceeds from this online auction will help Book Aid International support reading and learning in some of the world’s poorest countries by getting books into libraries, universities, hospitals and refugee camps.”

The range of books chosen as favorites by the stars is vast and revealing. Mirren has signed Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovsky, Sir David Jason has chosen Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows – which he voiced for a BBC series in the 1980s – and Gary Lineker has inscribed A Good Walk Spoiled by John Feinstein. Joanna Lumley has chosen Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, while Robbie Coltrane has signed Huckleberry Finn. Other names to take part include Twiggy, Alexander McCall Smith, Alan Rickman, Sue Townsend, Frederick Forsyth, Tim Rice, and Julian Fellowes.

Book Aid International is a non-profit organization that sends over half a million books to sub-Saharan Africa every year to support literacy, education and development. The books are almost always new books donated by UK publishers, and are distributed to national libraries, local and regional libraries, community libraries, schools, prisons, refugee camps, and NGO resource centers in 12 African countries. They also provide grants for purchasing books locally (especially those in local languages), and training and advice to ensure that books are targeted to the right groups of people and are well used.

The auction runs until October 27, and can be accessed through eBay.

Star Goodies Up For Grabs In Charity Auctions

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

The Television Academy Foundation is offering an array of exclusive items and experiences to bidders through a special online charity auction hosted by eBay Giving Works.

All proceeds from the auction – which can be accessed through the eBay Giving Works website – will benefit the educational outreach programs of the Television Academy Foundation, as well as the preservation efforts of the Archive of American Television, whose aim is to create an interactive encyclopedia of television history.

A wide range of items are available, including bikes signed by Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox, VIP tickets to The Daily Show and signed memorabilia from Jon Stewart, a set visit to CSI: New York, VIP tickets and meet and greets to Jimmy Kimmel Live, and signed memorabilia from the casts of Saving Grace, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, Rescue Me, Law and Order, King of the Hill, Smallville, and Battlestar Galactica.

The auction runs until September 4.

Also running at the moment is the Celebrity Bric-A-Brac charity auction raising funds for AMREF UK – the leading health development organisation in Africa, saving and transforming the lives of some of the poorest and most marginalised people in Africa.

Items up for offer include Ian McKellen’s slippers, Mischa Barton’s handbag, Lily Allen’s dress, and memorbilia signed by Noel Gallagher, Will Young, and Jodie Kidd.

But you must be quick, the auction – which can be accessed through eBay – ends on September 1.

Look To The Stars News: Ian McKellen

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