Kellie Pickler Picks A Tune For The AARP

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:30:00 -0000

Country singer Kellie Pickler is well known for her support of charities such as the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the USO, but lately she has had the elderly on her mind, and has been devoting her time and money to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).

“I love working with different charities, but the big foundations and organizations already get so much exposure and so much attention,” Pickler told CMT recently. “I wanted to bring awareness to a smaller charity that might not have gotten that kind of attention had I not helped them. The AARP is amazing, and I can really relate to it. My grandparents raised me, so I know the struggles that they have to go through financially and legally and all that.”

And the 19-year-old singer has certainly been putting her money where her mouth is – she donated $25,000 of prize money from her appearance on Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader to the charity, and recently performed at the AARP-sponsored Grand Rally outside the Capitol building in Washington, DC.

“It was just to bring awareness and educate people about the situation,” she said. “There were so many grandmas and grandpas there at the show. I spoke on my experience and living with my grandparents, sang a couple of songs, and actually performed a song I wrote about my grandmother. It was really a magical day, a very special day. What a lot of people don’t know is that four-and-a-half million kids in America are raised by their grandparents, and over seven million are part-time with their grandparents. It’s really amazing to see how much those numbers have grown, and really sad. It’s great to get out and help these elderly people who are struggling but want to take on the responsibility of raising their grandkids because it’s better than having them thrown into foster care.”

Stars Record Public Service Announcement

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 15:44:27 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Ben Affleck, Dakota Fanning, Eva Mendes, Garth Brooks, Jeremy Piven, Joaquin Phoenix, Morgan Freeman, and Reese Witherspoon have filmed a Public Service Announcement for all Americans, stating that the country’s health care and financial security crisis is about to explode. But if people on both sides of the issue would start a dialogue, the problems are not insurmountable.

The video is part of the American Association of Retired Persons’ (AARP) “Divided We Fail” project, an initiative that has just garnered support from the Entertainment Industry Foundation and the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF).

“We need to build a national conversation around these issues,” said AARP CEO Bill Novelli, who is more than happy with the union. “The entertainment industry is uniquely suited to help us do that.”

It is a view shared by MPTF Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg. “Hollywood can call attention to these problems and help galvanize the public into taking action,” said the producer of Shrek and head of the organization of entertainment industry leaders dedicated to supporting health and human service needs. “[This] is a key first step in solving them.”

The director of the video, Tony Goldwyn, had a very specific message to get across: “People wind up feeling that the two sides are just too far apart; that these problems are so big and complex that we can’t fix them. What we’re saying is, if we all get together and start talking, we can.”

Americans struggling with financial and health care problems are invited to share their stories at www.aarp.org, and their experiences may be used for the Divided We Fail project. The PSA video can also be viewed on the site. The AARP organization is dedicated to enhancing the experience of aging through advocacy, information, and service, with a focus on the needs for health, financial security, giving back to society, family and social connectedness, and joy in life.

Look To The Stars News: American Association of Retired Persons

Kellie Pickler Picks A Tune For The AARP

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