Look To The Stars News: Wyclef Jean

Matt Damon Returns For ONE X ONE

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:30:00 -0000

For the third year in a row, Matt Damon will host ONE X ONE’s annual charity benefit gala, where celebrities and activists will gather for an evening of musical performances, words from key speakers, fundraising and entertainment.

ONE X ONE’s Difference Awards will also be presented at the gala, recognizing individuals for their extraordinary efforts in fighting child poverty and suffering. One of last year’s honorees, Wyclef Jean, is returning this year as musical director and performer. Other entertainment will include John Legend and the African Children’s Choir, which is raising awareness of the needs of Africa’s orphans and destitute children.

A fairly young organization, ONE X ONE raises millions of dollars each year for projects within Canada and abroad for partners such as H2O Africa, the Yéle Haiti Foundation, Millennium Promise, War Child and Spread the Net to “directly impact children in need around the world – one by one.”

“There is an old biblical adage that says ‘You save one life, you save the universe,’” said Joelle Adler, ONE X ONE’s founder. “That should be our motto. We cannot look across the water and pretend it is not our responsibility because together we can change the world.”

The gala and concert will be held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on September 8 and a second gala will take place at Exhibition Centre in San Francisco on October 23 honoring Carlos Santana.

Matt Damon Heads Back To Toronto For ONE X ONE

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Actor Matt Damon will host the annual ONE X ONE Difference Awards for the third year in a row.

Also returning this year is Wyclef Jean, who appeared at last year’s event when Richard Gere, Sarah Ferguson, and Petra Nemcova were all honored for their humanitarian work.

The ceremony, which raises money for domestic and global charities, will take place on September 8 at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. ONE X ONE is a non-profit organization that supports children in Canada and around the world, and has raised over $5 million to fight child poverty. Last year’s fundraiser netted a massive $3.2 million for the foundation, with more than $7 million being raised since the first awards ceremony in 2005.

Earlier this year, the foundation held its inaugural benefit gala in Calgary, hosted by Ben Affleck. The organization now plans to expand to the US, with its first benefit gala there to be held in San Francisco on October 23.

The recipients of this year’s Difference Awards are yet to be named, but are guaranteed to be people who have dedicated their lives to fighting child poverty and suffering around the world.

Wyclef Jean Pushes For Economic Change In Haiti

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Hip hop artist Wyclef Jean spent five days in his native Haiti last week to further his humanitarian efforts in the impoverished Caribbean nation, and used the visit to call for serious economic change.

The 35-year-old rapper – born in the Haitian village of Croix-des-Bouquets – stated that the country needs foreign investment and assistance with sustainable development to help its people beat the poverty and food shortages that are crippling its economy, not just charity and handouts that could cause Haiti to become even more dependent on other nations than it is now.

“I understand that there is a food crisis that needs to be addressed urgently, but at the same time donors need to inject funds in projects likely to bring sustainable results,” Jean told Reuters. “Charity will never solve Haiti’s problems. Haitians want jobs, they want to develop their agriculture to produce food, not to everlastingly receive food assistance. To solve the economic crisis, we need investments and to have investments we need security. To have security we have to start addressing the social problems in the most vulnerable and underprivileged neighborhoods.”

Jean, who was appointed as a roving ambassador for the country by President Rene Preval last year, has been working tirelessly to help Haitians in their day-to-day struggle to survive. He established the Yéle Haiti Foundation in 2005 to make a difference in education, health, environment and community development, and in May he launched an initiative to raise $48 million to expand food distribution and provide assistance to farmers. He has also urged Haitians to cut their high crime rate to make foreign investment more secure.

“Social and economic change will remain a utopian dream if we remain divided,” he said.

Wyclef Jean Forms Partnership For Haiti Food Crisis Help

Fri, 23 May 2008 10:52:00 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

Musician Wyclef Jean announced on Tuesday that his Yele Haiti Foundation has formed a partnership with two other charities to help address the growing food crisis in Haiti.

Rising food and fuel costs have left the Caribbean island nation’s poor unable to afford food, resulting in widespread hunger and even rioting. Haitian native Jean, who first made his name as a member of The Fugees, is joining forces with the United Nations World Food Programme and the Pan American Development Foundation to form Together for Haiti.

The programme hopes to raise $48 million, with which it will provide targeted food distribution, employment in agriculture regeneration programmes, and micro-enterprise grants.

At the Manhattan launch of the partnership, Wyclef Jean stressed the importance of helping the Haitian poor to help themselves:

“How can you make people in a poor economy entrepreneurs? Well, if you give these families five chickens and you give them food for these chickens and give then a cage they automatically become entrepreneurs. Because, they can eat now and they can raise the chickens and sell chickens.”

Together for Haiti is a natural extension to Jean’s Yéle Haiti Foundation, the goal of which the musician says is “to restore pride and a reason to hope, and for the whole country to regain the deep spirit and strength that is part of our heritage.”

For more information, or to make a donation, visit www.togetherforhaiti.org. Just 25 cents can buy a school meal for a hungry child.

John Legend Buys Himself At Charity Auction

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:30:11 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

The Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation held its first Miami Gala on Saturday night, with a huge celebrity turnout to celebrate the occasion.

The Art For Life event was held at Miami Beach and honored John Legend, Wyclef Jean, and Suze Orman for their efforts to help improve the lives of others. Chaired by Sean ‘P.Diddy’ Combs and hosted by actress Nia Long, the event was co-organized by a legion of well-known names, including Dwayne Johnson, Petra Nemcova, and Rush founder Russell Simmons.

The main attraction of the evening was a massive celebrity auction, which featured a large selection of once-in-a-lifetime experiences and items. However, the auction took on a slightly skewed course when John Legend spent $19,000 on the very item he donated – a Happy Birthday serenade over the phone from… well, from John Legend! Quite how he is going to ring himself up and sing is anyone’s guess.

Legend also pledged a further $10,000 to the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, which was followed by $10,000 from Sean Combs and another $10,000 from former NBA player Larry Johnson. And although they couldn’t attend, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie pledged $5,000 in honor of Wyclef Jean.

The Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation was established in 1995 by brothers Russell, Danny, and Joseph Simmons to provide funding for non-profit organizations that give disadvantaged urban youth exposure and access to the arts. Although based in New York, a large percentage of the proceeds from Saturday’s gala will go directly to programs in Miami, including One Art, the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet, and the Theatre Institute of South Florida.

This is the third year the event has been held in South Florida – in previous years it was held at Palm Beach – and last year’s event raised over $2 million.

Angelina Jolie - Helping Her Heroes

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:34:29 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

She may be known for her various roles on the silver screen that have earned her Golden Globes and an Academy Award, but perhaps Angelina Jolie’s greatest role is that which she plays in real life – Global Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. And it is exceedingly clear that the dedication that she shows in her acting is reflected in her work for humanitarian causes around the world.

The 32-year-old actor has just returned from a visit to Iraq, in which she met with top political officials to discuss people displaced by the war.

“There are over two million displaced people and there never seems to be a real coherent plan to help them,” she told CNN on her return. “There’s lots of goodwill and lots of discussion, but there seems to be a lot of talk at the moment and a lot of pieces that need to be put together.”

The trip was a follow-up to her visit to the country six months ago, and marks Jolie’s commitment to displaced persons and refugees in war-ravaged nations, and confirms her dedication to implement solutions wherever possible.

“Of the two million internally displaced, it’s estimated 58 percent are under 12 years old. It’s a very high number of people in a very, very vulnerable situation and a lot of young kids,” said Jolie. “So far, the different US officials I met with and different local people I’ve met with all have shared concerns, very, very strongly. They have spoken out about the humanitarian crisis, but there seems to be a block in.”

Jolie traveled to Baghdad with Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, and Refugees Minister Abdel Samad Rahman Sultan. As a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Jolie is well known for using her status as a superstar to generate media coverage about the plight of refugees and the conditions under which they live, and this trip to Iraq proved no different.

“This trip is to get a better picture of the internally displaced people and to discuss [the situation] with the local government, with our government, with the NGOs and with local people,” said Jolie. “I’m not good at policy and fixing all this and saying what’s wrong, but I do know that, for example, U.N.H.C.R. needs to be more active inside Iraq… I know that this is one thing that needs to be addressed and solved because there does need to be a real presence here to help count the people and register the people. Also, the prime minister here needs to empower the government that deals with migration and displacement to be able to address the concerns for these people, and that hasn’t happened in a significant way yet.”

Born in Los Angeles in 1975, Jolie’s acting career has already spanned two decades. Her first feature role was in Lookin’ to Get Out in 1982, a film co-written and co-produced by her father, the acclaimed actor Jon Voight. Since then, she has received Golden Globe Awards for the television movies George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), and her film credits include Hackers (1995), The Bone Collector (1999), Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003), and Mr and Mrs Smith (alongside her partner, Brad Pitt, in 2005).

It was while filming the first Tomb Raider movie in Cambodia, a country stricken by poverty, that Jolie began to become aware of humanitarian issues around her. She approached the UNHCR for more information, and was sent to Sierra Leone, a small African country that – like the Democratic Republic of the Congo – had been devastated by years of brutal civil war. Seeing firsthand the enormous challenges that refugees face was a life-altering experience for the actress, and she was named a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in August 2001.

Over the next few years, Jolie witnessed some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. She visited refugee camps in Tanzania, Pakistan, Thailand, Ecuador, Kosovo, Kenya, and Namibia, covering all of her own costs and insisting on sharing the same living and working conditions as field workers.

In 2003 Jolie published Notes From My Travels, a compelling collection of journal entries from her early field missions. She now publishes her latest journal entries on the UNHCR website.

Since 2003, Jolie has traveled to refugee camps in Sri Lanka, Russia, Jordan, Beirut, and Egypt, and has also visited detained asylum seekers in Arizona. In 2005 she filmed an MTV special entitled “The Diary of Angelina Jolie and Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa”, portraying her trip to a remote group of villages in Kenya, and has visited Chad and Darfur several times since fighting erupted there in 2004.

In recent years, Jolie has been joined by Brad Pitt on many of her trips. In 2005 the pair witnessed the devastation of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan, and in 2006 they visited a school in Haiti supported by Wyclef Jean’s Yéle Haiti Foundation.

Also in 2006, the pair founded the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which made initial donations of $1 million to Doctors Without Borders and Global Action for Children. This was followed by a $100,000 donation to the Daniel Pearl Foundation, another to the Duk Lost Boys Medical Clinic in the Sudan, and $1 million to help refugees in Chad and Darfur.

Angelina Jolie’s generosity seems bottomless, and her heart is clearly as big as her stardom. In 2005, she announced the founding of the National Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Children, an organization that provides free legal aid to asylum-seeking children, and personally funded it with $1 million over 2 years. She also co-chairs the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, a program established at the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative that has pledged to help with the education of over 1 million children affected by conflict around the world.

Her missions to the most dangerous troublespots in the far-flung corners of the world look set to continue well into the future.

“It’s always hard to see decent people, families, living in such difficult conditions,” she said. “What is most upsetting is how long it is taking the international community to answer this crisis… You go to these places and you realize what life’s really about and what people are really going through. These people are my heroes.”

A Very Special Christmas

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:14:56 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Christmas may already be upon us, and Santa may at this very moment be squeezing his way down your chimney, but there is still time for one last fix of Christmas shopping.

Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, U2, and Eric Clapton are just some of the stars to be featured on the first ever DVD collection from the “A Very Special Christmas” holiday music series to benefit the Special Olympics.

“A Very Special Christmas – 20th Anniversary Music Video Collection” is out now, and is the latest release in the series that has already raised more than $100 million for Special Olympics programs around the world.

“A Very Special Christmas is a fitting way to spread holiday cheer,” said Timothy Shriver, Special Olympics chairman. “But more importantly, this gift will help bring the joy of Special Olympics to many more children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing them the chance of a new life – a life of participation, pride, friendship, and joy.”

The project was launched in 1987, when record producer Jimmy Iovine decided a Christmas album would be a suitable memorial to his father. His wife Vicki suggested that the album benefit the Special Olympics, which she was working for as a volunteer. Bobby Shriver, son of Special Olympics founder Eunice Shriver, signed on as producer, and A&M Records backed the project with an agreement to cover all costs.

Over the years, A Very Special Christmas has attracted a plethora of heavy-weight artists, and past releases have featured songs donated by Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, the Smashing Pumpkins, Stevie Nicks, Enrique Iglesias, Aretha Franklin, Tom Petty, and Reba McEntire.

“I am full of admiration for the many artists who have helped us,” said Eunice Shriver. “It’s a great tribute that these men and women say to themselves ‘I’ll use my talent to help others’.”

The full list of songs on the 20th Anniversary Music Video Collection is:

Run DMC – Christmas In Hollis
U2 – Christmas (Baby Please Come Here)
No Doubt – Oi To The World
John Mellencamp – I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Sting – Gabriel’s Message
Jon Bon Jovi – Please Come Home For Christmas
Vanessa Williams – What Child Is This?
Eric Clapton – Christmas Tears
Tracy Chapman – Oh Holy Night
Sheryl Crow – Run Rudolph Run
Wyclef Jean – Little Drummer Boy/Hot Hot Hot
Stevie Wonder – Merry Christmas Baby

Bid Now For Christmas Gifts

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:21:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

The countdown to Christmas has begun, and celebrities are doing their best to make holiday shopping easy this year. Several charity auctions have already kicked off to raise money for good causes, including one that may be eBay’s largest sale of celebrity items… ever!

The Bid 2 Beat AIDS online auction will open on December 1, World AIDS Day, and will feature over 1000 specially signed items, ranging from posters to iPods. The annual auction will raise money for LIFEbeat, the music industry’s AIDS fundraising and service charity, and in the past has raised up to $175,000.

The array of memorabilia up for sale this year is simply colossal, with perhaps the most interesting items being a series of “Lend a Hand to LIFEbeat” cards that feature the handprints of over 100 celebrities. Stars such as Britney Spears, Jack Black, and Kathy Griffin traced around the outlines of their hands and decorated their artworks for the auction, and the finished products will make a unique addition to any Christmas stocking.

Also included in the auction is a selection of signed musical instruments. Rapper 50 Cent has donated the tambourines he used during his performance at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, and Metallica and the Foo Fighters have both donated guitars. There are also over 200 official RIAA gold and platinum record awards up for sale, from artists such as Annie Lennox, Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Green Day. Rare tour crew jackets from Guns N Roses, Cher, George Michael, and Prince are also available.

There are a stack of autographed CDs and DVDs on offer in the auction, from Mariah Carey, Elton John, Rihanna, Fall Out Boy, Maroon 5, Amy Winehouse, and Val Kilmer, as well as books signed by Madonna, Bill Clinton, Rosie O’Donnell, Martha Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Ethan Hawke. Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Elijah Wood, and Usher have all signed posters for the auction.

For those people after something a little different, the auction also includes an iPod designed by Yoko Ono, a box of cereal signed by Will Ferrell, Borat’s hat signed by Sacha Baron Cohen, and a Spiderman action figure autographed by Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.

And if nothing mentioned so far whets your appetite, there are also signed items from Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Nelly, Joan Collins, John Travolta, Kanye West, The Cure, Jay-Z, Cameron Diaz, Victoria Beckham, Robin Williams, Hilary Duff, Jason Alexander, Jack Nicholson, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adam Sandler, John Legend, Jessica Simpson, Whoopi Goldberg, Aerosmith, Denzel Washington, Good Charlotte, James Blunt, Jeremy Piven, Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Norah Jones, Razorlight, Wyclef Jean, and many more… far too many to list here.

More information and a full list of items can be found at www.bid2beataids.com.

As if this wasn’t enough choice for Christmas shoppers, there are also several other auctions and events on the go at the moment. The biggest of these is the 10th Annual Collaborating For A Cure Benefit Dinner and Auction, a massive black tie gala to be held on November 29. It also happens to be one of the highest grossing charity events held every year in New York, and last year raised over $4 million for the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization that has provided over $55 million in grants to cancer research, and has been instrumental in the development of new cancer drugs.

The gala dinner and live auction will be held at the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue, New York City, and over 1200 guests are expected to attend. The host for the evening is Chevy Chase, and attendees will be treated to a very special performance by Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh, members of 70’s rock group, the Eagles.

Selected items up for auction on the night as well as online include dinner with Chevy Chase, the chance to play tennis with Andre Agassi, and a meet and greet with Aerosmith.

More information can be found at www.charitybuzz.com.

Also on the Charitybuzz website is an auction to raise funding for Stand Up For A Cure, an organization dedicated to lung cancer research and awareness.

The auction runs from November 28 until December 12, and features unique items such as the chance to have Andrea Bocelli perform in your own home, the opportunity to have Patti LaBelle host your cocktail party, and VIP tickets to see Céline Dion at Madison Square Gardens.

And if you still can’t find a suitable gift, have a look at the Have A Heart Auction on Charitybuzz. All proceeds from the auction, which features the chance to meet Avril Lavigne, a copy of “An Inconvenient Truth” signed by Al Gore, and a “Godfather II” DVD signed by Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, will benefit HEART, an organization that aims to foster compassion and respect for all living beings.

But you have to be in quick, as the auction ends on November 29.

Celebrities Lend Their Hands To Charity

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:58:29 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Over 40 celebrities from around the world are featured in a special new book to be released in time for Christmas.

“Celebrity Handprints”, set to be published on December 1, is the culmination of two years work for author James Preston. Since November 2005, Preston has scoured the globe in search of famous names who were willing to dip their hands in ink and leave a lasting mark on paper. And his peculiar pursuit opened doors to some of entertainment’s biggest stars, including Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Matt Damon, and Keira Knightley.

Over the course of his travels, Preston collected more than 100 handprints and accompanying photos of some of the brightest stars in film, television, music and sports, 42 of which are to be included in the new book. All of the proceeds from the publication will go to benefit two British children’s charities – Children in Need and the Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Also available is a series of limited edition prints of the handprints, suitable for framing. The cost for each print, which also includes a photograph of the star involved, is $100. 30% of the total will go to both charities.

Other stars involved in the project include David Beckham, Robbie Williams, Will Smith, Joss Stone, Alicia Keys, Shakira, Sir Richard Branson, Sir Tom Jones, Linkin Park, Avril Lavigne, Snoop Dogg, Samuel L. Jackson, Wyclef Jean, the Kaiser Chiefs, the Smashing Pumpkins, Snow Patrol, Star Wars creator George Lucas, and many more.

The book will be available for $40 from bookstores and Amazon, and both the book and the prints will be able to be purchased from www.celebrityhandprints.org.

Wyclef Plays for Pick Your Charity Poker

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:38:13 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

The Vail Hold ‘Em Poker Event for Your Cause, held last month in Vail, Colorado, raised nearly a quarter million dollars for various charities. Hosted by Mario Lopez, with Wyclef Jean performing many of his popular hits, a host of celebrities competed to win $100,000 for their charity of choice.

Competing stars included Kelis, Joey Fatone and Boyz II Men playing for The Fatone Family Foundation and Lift Up America, and Shannon Elizabeth playing for her own charity Animal Avengers. Also playing were James Kyson Lee, Danny Masterson, Robert Iler, Kevin Brown and Jason Chambers.

Chris Masterson, playing for Citizens Commission on Human Rights, made it to the final round but lost to investor Mark Lotke, the only top prize winner, who donated his $100,000 to the Spotlight Foundation. Wyclef Jean was supporting his own charity, the Yéle Haiti Foundation.

Following the poker championship were live and silent auctions. The Alex Rodriquez 500 baseball bat, which went for $15,000, was the biggest hit.

Such was the event’s success that it has already been decided to make it an annual occasion.

Damon and Affleck Travel to Africa

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:53:52 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

September has already turned into a busy month for actor Matt Damon, and has seen him hosting a major children’s gala event, attending a screening of the documentary he produced to bring awareness to H2O Africa, and now flying to Africa.

September 10 saw Damon and long time friend, Ben Affleck, traveling to Tanzania to learn about the aid work being carried out in the country.

“We’re just going to observe these programs,” said Damon, who visited Zambia on a similar trip in 2006. “Our job is just to be quiet and take notes and meet people and listen to peoples’ stories.”

The Academy Award winning actor and screenwriter also hoped to spend time in the troubled region of Darfur, but that part of the trip was cancelled due to increasing security alerts.

“I’m still open to going, and I hope to go,” said Damon, who has already raised over $10 million this year for the region with Don Cheadle, George Clooney and Brad Pitt. “There’s clearly an appetite back at home for what the issues are there, but also it’s a very complicated situation there… and it keeps changing.”

Damon also hosted the annual ONE X ONE benefit gala on September 9, the night before flying to Tanzania. The event, held at the Four Seasons Centre For Performing Arts in Toronto, followed the actor’s appearance at a screening of Running The Sahara, a film he produced and narrated, and which hopes to gather support for clean water supply programs in Africa.

“I’ve seen solutions to these very real problems,” said the actor, referring to his work with the film, which screened as part of the Toronto Film Festival. “I’ve seen these things working, and it’s exciting for me.”

The One X One gala aimed to raise money to improve the lives of children in Canada and around the world. The event featured a performance by Shakira, and honored singer Wyclef Jean for his work in Haiti with the Yéle Haiti Foundation, as well as model Petra Nemcova, who was seriously injured in the devastating 2004 tsunami, and used her experience to raise funds for other tsunami survivors. Sarah Fergusson and actor Richard Gere were also honored.

“This event is so great, and it’s such a huge fundraiser,” said Matt Damon. “The people that show up… they’re there to make an impact.”

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are scheduled to remain in Africa for a week.

Shakira Joins Latin American Solidarity Action Foundation

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:53:15 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Shakira has announced her plan to raise $200 million for the charity América Latina en Acción Solidaria (ALAS).

The singer, who is already a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and founder of Columbian charity Pies Descalzos, will stage four fundraising concerts in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and New York this year.

ALAS is dedicated to aiding impoverished communities throughout all of Latin America, focusing on improved nutrition, health and education for children. “ALAS came about because of a social emergency: 350 thousand children die each year due to avoidable causes; 40 million children work and live on the streets,” Shakira said.

Funding for ALAS comes from businesses, international institutions, NGOs and charity concerts. Other musicians involved since ALAS’s launch last December include Juanes, Alejandro Sanz, Diego Torres, Maná, Wyclef Jean and Daniela Mercury. Shakira said, “Each person has worked on projects or foundations on his own, but only now we are able to work together to develop interesting projects that will benefit everyone.”

Many more artists, such as Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin, have since joined the foundation. REM’s vocalist Michael Stipe has confirmed his participation in the ALAS benefit concert cycle in 2008, the dates of which will be officially announced later this month.

Concrete ALAS health care programmes cover mass vaccinations and pre-natal care for more pregnant women. “Let’s not forget that at the end of this day when we all go home, 960 children will have died in Latin America,” Shakira said at a UN award ceremony. The ALAS web site states, “Because we are Latin Americans we are determined to change this reality.”

Damon Is Back for ONE X ONE

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 16:50:34 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Matt Damon will once again host ONE X ONE’s annual Difference Awards ceremony on September 9. Among those being recognized this year for their extraordinary efforts towards fighting child poverty and suffering will be Richard Gere, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine and Petra Nemcova.

ONE X ONE is a non-profit organization that supports children in Canada and abroad. Established less than three years ago, it has already raised over $5 million and created partnerships with major corporations and foundations.

The charity’s projects include providing first-nations kids with breakfast every day, and a ‘doctor exchange’ in which doctors from Haiti and Rwanda will train at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children; in turn, Toronto doctors will travel to Rwanda to repair the heart valves of children damaged by water-borne illnesses.

ONE X ONE is also helping 12,000 children attend school in a Rwandan village, and has created a basket-weaving co-op. “If you’re trying to take people out of poverty,” says charity founder Joelle Berdugo Adler, “you have to give them tools, not handouts.”

The awards will be given at the gala in the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, where Shakira, Wyclef Jean of the Fugees, Nikki Yanofsky, the African Children’s Choir and others will perform. Wyclef Jean is also to be honoured for his Yéle Haiti Foundation (Cry Haiti), as are Charlie Engle, Ray Zahab and Kevin Lin, who ran cross the Sahara Dessert earlier this year to raise awareness for H2O Africa, the clean-water initiative founded by Damon and his partners at LivePlanet. Their documentary film of the run, which Damon narrates, will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.

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