Look To The Stars News: Carlos Santana

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.

Santana Plays Four Seasons Of Hope

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:36:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Guitarist and music legend Carlos Santana gave a special live performance to 650 guests at the seventh annual Four Seasons of Hope charity gala in New York on Sunday night.

The gala, hosted by Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor, and Live With Regis and Kelly’s Regis Philbin, recognized the charitable efforts of sports, entertainment, and political celebrities, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Wayne Gretzky, Arnold Palmer, Joe Torre, Boomer Esiason, and Dan Marino. The evening, which included an auction, raised over $1.1 million for a host of children’s charities, including the Arnold Palmer Foundation, the Boomer Esiason Foundation to Benefit Cystic Fibrosis, the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation, the Dan Marino Foundation, the Jason Taylor Foundation, the Michael Strahan Foundation, the Wayne Gretzky Foundation, and the Milagro Foundation.

“It is so rewarding to be able to come out and work with a first-class organization such as Samsung on a night like this,” said Santana. “We had a great crowd and were able to raise a lot of money for the charities Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope program supports. It’s not often you get such an eclectic group of athletes and celebrities together in one room, but when you do, special things happen and we were able to help a lot of children and families in need in the process.”

Launched in 2002 by Samsung Electronics America, Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope is an innovative goodwill program dedicated to raising awareness and funds through national retail initiatives with Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears and Staples, and has raised more than $12 million for a range of children’s charities.

Bono's Fishy T-Shirt Benefits African Farmers

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:41:01 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Bono has designed a new T-shirt for charity, joining a host of other celebrities in an on-going and major charity campaign.

The 47-year-old singer from U2 is the 25th artist to design a shirt for Hard Rock Café’s Signature Series clothing line, an initiative started in 1990 as a way for musicians to raise money for charities of their choice. Sales from the shirts have raised over $6 million for a variety of causes.

Bono’s creation, available for $26 from the Hard Rock website, features his stylized drawing of a fish soaring past the moon, and is adorned with the words “Fish Can Fly”, as well as his signature. 15% of the proceeds will go to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Conservation Cotton initiative – a scheme designed to lift African farmers out of poverty by providing education on proper land management, organic cotton growing techniques, and wildlife conservation. The shirts will also support the trade for aid ethos of EDUN, the conscious consumerism fashion label founded by Bono and his wife in 2005, by being made from 100% African cotton and manufactured by African garment workers.

Other artists to have designed shirts for the initiative in the past include Green Day, who raised money for Amnesty International’s Campaign To Save Darfur, Shakira who chose to benefit Pies Descalzos, Ozzy Osbourne for the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program, Bruce Springsteen for World Hunger Year, Eric Clapton for the Crossroads Centre, Peter Gabriel for Witness, Sting and Elton John for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Michael Stipe for Artists for a New South Africa, Don Henley for the Walden Woods Project, John Mellencamp for the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Foundation, and Stevie Nicks for the Special Olympics. Carlos Santana and Aerosmith have also contributed designs. Many of these shirts are still available from the Hard Rock website.

Bono’s “Fish Can Fly” is more than just a phrase – it is a message that tomorrow can be better than today.

Artists Come Out To Shake the Blues

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 15:17:52 -0000

Written by Crystal A. Johnson

The charity Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA) held its annual concert and auctions on Thursday November, 15, 2007 at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. The “Shaking the Blues” benefit supports ANSA’s work fighting HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and Africa, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Treatment Action Campaign, a grassroots organization at the forefront of South Africa’s fight against AIDS.

Among the celebrities in attendance were Blair Underwood, Eric Benet, Anthony Anderson, Alfre Woodard, Heroes star Jimmy Jean-Louis, and Grey’s Anatomy star James Pickens Jr. Event chairs include Jackson Browne, Morgan Freeman, Samuel L. Jackson, George Lopez, Carlos Santana’s wife Deborah, Alfre Woodard and Forest Whitaker.

Not only was a baseball signed by Hall of Famer Dave Winfield on hand at the silent auction, but Dave and his wife Tonya attended the event. Close friends with Samuel and Latonya Jackson, the Winfields hope to personally visit South Africa soon.

The musical line-up featured stirring performances by The Roots and friends, Erykah Badu with Edith Funker, Nikka Costa, Doyle Bramhall II, Keb Mo, and Taj Mahal. The Roots roused the crowd with a rendition of Bob Dylan’s Masters of War, and the audience rose for Erykah Badu’s performance of her classic On and On.

In keeping with many other recent celebrity events, acknowledgement was given to the writers’ strike; James Pickens Jr spoke of supporting the writers before he introduced the grand finale performance by Taj Mahal.

Movie and K-ville star Anthony Anderson served as auctioneer for the live auction. As Blair Underwood battled for a diamond earring lot, Anderson comically referred to him only as “the man with the orange leather jacket on”. Underwood’s counter-bidder upped the ante, requesting a date with her opponent be included along with the earrings, which she won at $9,000. Not only did Underwood accept, but he promised it would be a dinner at the world-famous restaurant Spagos.

To encourage higher bids on a private lunch with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Anderson jokingly suggested that the winner could take a picture with Tutu and put it on Myspace.com to be the envy of their friends. The lunch went for $15,500.

Los Angeles-based non-profit organization ANSA was originally founded in 1989 by noted members of the entertainment community, with an initial goal of supporting the struggle against apartheid. Over time, the organization’s focus has shifted to the fight against the African AIDS pandemic, advancing democracy, and equality in South Africa.

The effort to raise money is not over. If you want help the cause their are several items available at the online auction. To bid on the online items: www.charityfolks.com/ansa.

12th Annual Andre Agassi Benefit Concert Raises More than $9 Million for Children

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:01:30 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

The 12th Annual Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children Benefit Concert presented by Genworth Financial proved to be a raging success last weekend, raising more than $9 million for the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation. The AACF raised $8.1 million through ticket sales and a silent auction, while Charles Heers, owner of Tuscany Suites & Casino in Las Vegas pledged an additional $1 million to bring the total to $9.1 million.

“I am grateful that there are so many people dedicated to helping kids,” Agassi said. “I’m thrilled with the turnout from the public, the generosity of our sponsors, donors and bidders, and the commitment and talent of the performers who so graciously give their time to the Grand Slam. It was one of the greatest nights of the year.”

The star-studded concert at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on October 6th attracted more than 8,200 fans who enjoyed live music by Tony Bennett, Kelly Clarkson, Matchbox Twenty and George Wallace. Several surprises throughout the night included performances by Jerry Seinfeld, the Goo Goo Dolls and Hall & Oats. Fans were also treated to a fantastic performance from Carlos Santana and Matchbox Twenty front man Rob Thomas, who teamed up to close the evening with their multi-Grammy Award- winning hit “Smooth.”

A pre-concert reception and live auction was held for VIP sponsors, who bid on a variety of items including a Porsche Cayenne from the Sopranos signed by James Gandolfini and Edie Falco; Robin Williams’ movie premiere and after-party; an in-home food and wine pairing for 12 with Emeril Lagasse; an evening at a Six Flags park for 500 friends; and vacation packages such as a Costa Rican getaway with private tennis lessons from Agassi and Stefanie Graf.

The two most noteworthy auction items were the Porsche Cayenne and a Dale Chihuly chandelier. The 2005 Porsche Cayenne SUV, which was plucked from the set of the Sopranos, fetched $100,000. The vehicle once driven by ‘Carmela Soprano’ boasts a 4.5-liter V8 engine, as well as a 350-watt, 14-speaker Bose stereo and only has 6,758 miles on it. Richard and Theresa Beauchamp from Steamboat Springs, Colorado placed the winning bid for $90,000, but auctioneer Jack Williams added $10,000 of his own money to bring the total price to $100,000. The Beauchamps’ new ride comes complete with a bronze plaque bearing the signatures of Sopranos stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco.

Perhaps earning the highest bid of the night was the Mercato del Pesce di Rialto Chandelier, sculpted by renowned artist Dale Chihuly. Chihuly created the chandelier during his two years of work in Finland, Ireland, Mexico and Italy, where the chandelier was then suspended over the canals and piazzas of Venice. The historical piece is six feet wide and six feet tall and is composed of approximately 126 glass elements. Final bid: $250,000.

Since its inception in 1994, the Grand Slam for Children concert fundraiser to benefit the AACF has raised more than $70 million for charity. Specific charities benefiting from the AACF fundraiser include the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a model charter school in West Las Vegas; Andre Agassi Boys & Girls Club; Assistance League of Las Vegas’ Operation School Bell; Boys Hope/Girls Hope of Nevada; Child Haven; Cynthia Bunker and Joy McClenahan Memorial Scholarship Fund; I Have A Dream Foundation; Greater Las Vegas After-School All-Stars presented by Inner-City Games; Las Vegas Philharmonic’s Youth Concert Series; Las Vegas Sun Summer Camp; and YMCA of Southern Nevada.

The Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation is a 501©(3) not-for-profit public charity created to provide recreational and educational opportunities for at-risk boys and girls. The Foundation strives to assist those underprivileged, abused and abandoned children who may be deprived of basic options in life. The AACF also offers a combination of emotional, physical and academic programs designed to enhance a child’s character, self-esteem and career possibilities. For information, visit http://www.agassifoundation.org.

Genworth Financial is a leading insurance holding company, serving the lifestyle
protection, retirement income, investment and mortgage insurance needs of
more than 15 million customers, and has operations in 24 countries,
including the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand,
the United Kingdom and 17 other European countries. For more information,
visit http://www.genworth.com.

Celebrity Shoe Auction for Women’s Heart Health

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:42:26 -0000

Spirit of Women Health Network and Carlos by Carlos Santana footwear announce today the opening of bidding for the Spirit of Women Red Shoe Celebrity Auction, an online auction of celebrity-autographed footwear that will benefit several health organizations, including the National Stroke Association and P.A.D. (Peripheral Arterial Disease Coalition). Shoes up for auction were autographed by celebrities including Courteney Cox, Nicollette Sheridan and Carlos Santana.

“While women are typically the caretakers of their families, they often fail to take action for their own health,” said Josh Davis, president, Spirit of Women. “We hope this auction will catch women’s attention by encouraging them to take action for their heart health while simultaneously giving them a wonderful opportunity to raise money for important women’s heart health issues.”

The Red Shoe Celebrity Auction is the national cornerstone of “The Red Shoe Initiative”, a national health education and action campaign that aims to encourage women on a local level throughout the year to take important steps for their heart health.

Other stars involved in the auction include Brenda Strong, Felicity Huffman and Laila Ali. Each of the participating celebrities has autographed a single shoe of the six red pairs donated by “Carlos by Carlos Santana” footwear, which will be on display at www.spiritofwomen.com/donate and auctioned in September.

In addition to the online auction, the 2007 The Red Shoe Initiative will include local “Red Shoe” events in communities across the United States. Each event will take on the flair and character of the community that serves as a host. These events will consist of evening receptions, fashion shows, and various activities in skating rinks and other venues that encourage women to take action for their heart health.

An additional auction scheduled to coincide with “Day of Dance for Women’s Health”, which takes place on February 23, 2007, is expected to include shoes autographed by other high-profile celebrities.

Carlos by Carlos Santana

“Carlos by Carlos Santana” fashion forward footwear reflects the dynamic passion and energy that defines the music of Santana. Hip, fun and fashionable, Carlos brand shoes are available in a rainbow of contemporary styles sporting the latest trends in materials, colors, shapes and detailing. The vibrant “Carlos by Carlos Santana” line donates a portion of it proceeds from sales to the Milagro Foundation.

Best known for the legendary group that bears his name, Carlos Santana has been an elemental force in global musical culture for almost four decades. Since Santana’s landmark 1969 debut album and explosive performance at Woodstock that year, Santana has sold over 100 million records and performed for more than 100 million fans internationally. Carlos’ many major awards include a record-tying nine GRAMMYs for a single project for 1999’s Supernatural, as well as three Latin GRAMMYs and scores of other music and humanitarian honors. As central to Santana’s identity as his visionary artistic legacy is his spirit of giving back – in 1998, Carlos and his wife, author Deborah Santana, established the Milagro Foundation, which has granted over $2 million to organizations supporting underserved youth in the areas of health, education and the arts worldwide. For more information, visit www.santana.com

Spirit of Women

The Spirit of Women Health Network is a national coalition of hospitals and healthcare facilities in more than 70 U.S. cities joined together to improve women’s health by inspiring access and action on local, regional and national levels. Utilizing national resources to improve healthcare in local communities, Spirit of Women aims to educate and care for women in a unique way that emphasizes total well-being — body, mind, and spirit – and impacts all aspects of a woman’s life, including family, health and work. Though a variety of means, including educational events, networking opportunities, consumer loyalty programs, national awards, and promotion of research, Spirit of Women addresses health topics such as menopause, cancer, incontinence, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, healthy pregnancy, and many more. For more information, visit www.spiritofwomen.com/donate.

AIDS Orphan Project in Running to Win $5M in American Express Contest

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 09:32:51 -0000

American Express Members Project, an online initiative for card-members to vote on ideas to make a positive impact in the world, announced results of elections for the Top 25 projects. Among the winners is Artists for a New South Africa’s innovative program “Help African Children Orphaned by AIDS,” the only orphan or AIDS effort in the Top 25.

ANSA’s initiative to Help African Children Orphaned by AIDS now has the chance to move into the Top 5. American Express card-members can vote online for ANSA’s project #6841 to help the charity win up to $5 million. Top 5 voting begins July 17 at 12:00 am EST and ends Sunday, July 22 at 11:50 pm EST. Card-members may vote once in each round.

ANSA’s project empowers African communities to care for orphans in their midst. South Africa has more people with HIV/AIDS and more AIDS orphans than any other country. Recognizing the magnitude of the crisis, ANSA brought together leading African AIDS and child welfare experts to develop It Takes A Village (ITV), a cost-effective method of delivering essential services to orphans. Implemented by local organizations, ITV’s pilot programs have operated successfully for three years in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa’s hardest hit province), served over 5,000 orphans, and strengthened local capacity to provide vital services. ITV provides loving care, food, clothing, counseling, legal aid, medical assistance, and other essential help to an orphan for under 50 cents a day.

ITV was initiated with funds donated by Deborah and Carlos Santana. George Lucas, Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson supported ITV with the 2005 Los Angeles fundraising premiere of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. In October 2006, the Santanas, Jacksons, Alfre Woodard, Jurnee Smollett, and CCH Pounder traveled to South Africa to witness ITV’s impact in Ingwavuma, a community where 40% of adults have HIV/AIDS.

ANSA is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization working in Africa and America to combat HIV/AIDS, assist AIDS orphans, empower at-risk youth, and advance human rights and democracy. Founded in 1989 to support South Africa’s quest for freedom, ANSA has raised $9 million for effective African nonprofits, shipped 70 tons of medical supplies and books to poor communities, and educated millions in the U.S. and Africa about HIV/AIDS and voting rights. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is the Honorary Chair of ANSA’s AIDS programs. President Nelson Mandela said, “We will never forget those who stood by us in our darkest days…You have become a part of the progress we are making…We are strengthened by the knowledge that Artists for a New South will be with us.”

American Express Members Project Top 5 will be announced July 24, and one more elimination round will follow, with the winning project announced August 7. American Express donates $1 for every cardholder who registers, up to $5 million. To vote, visit www.membersproject.com. For more information go to www.ansafrica.org.

Look To The Stars News: Carlos Santana

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