Look To The Stars News: Refugees International

Ante Up For Africa To Hit Las Vegas Tomorrow

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:33:00 -0000

Ante Up For Africa will support Refugees International’s efforts for the displaced people of Darfur and all of Sudan as part of its charity celebrity poker tournament in Las Vegas on July 2, 2009.

The event is hosted by WSOP Bracelet Winner and Celebrity Apprentice Star Annie Duke and Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle, with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Brad Garrett planning to attend. Professional poker players and Refugees International supporters Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, and Phil Hellmuth will also be participating.

“We are grateful to Ante Up For Africa for shining a spotlight on the ongoing crisis in Darfur and generating such significant support for the people who have been forced from their homes by this conflict,” said Ken Bacon, President of Refugees International. “An event like this makes it possible for Refugees International to continue to demand action from the world’s leaders to provide basic assistance and protection to refugees in Sudan and around the world.”

Ante Up for Africa is a non-profit organization that raises funds for the survivors of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan and to support activism dedicated to resolving this crisis. Its successful charity poker event has raised over $2 million since it began in 2006. Beneficiaries of this year’s tournament include Refugees International, the ENOUGH Project and others. ESPN will televise the 2009 Ante Up For Africa Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament on August 11.

“It is important to me to show people that it is possible to make a difference for the people of Darfur,” said Annie Duke, one of the founders of Ante Up for Africa. “I am thrilled that this event has become such a success and that it will generate support for efforts by Refugees International, the Enough Project and others to end the crisis in Darfur.”

In 2009, Annie Duke played for Refugees International on NBC’s hit reality show “Celebrity Apprentice.” As a contestant on the show, she raised $700,000 for Refugees International.

“We have been privileged to work with Annie Duke and her friends and to witness the incredible generosity of the professional poker community,” continued Bacon. “We can’t thank Annie enough for her commitment to refugees around the world and for her work for peace and justice.”

Refugees International is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises. The organization does not accept any government or UN funding to strengthen the independence of their advocacy. For more information, go to www.refugeesinternational.org.

Ante Up For Africa is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 by Don Cheadle, Annie Duke and Norman Epstein dedicated to raising money and awareness for Africans in need. For more information about Ante Up For Africa, please visit www.anteupforafrica.org.

Affleck, Damon and More To Ante Up For Africa

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:30:00 -0000

Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Brad Garrett, Mekhi Phifer, and top poker professional Phil Hellmuth have joined the growing list of celebrities who plan to play in the Ante Up For Africa charity tournament July 2 at the 40th annual World Series of Poker.

Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars are expected to go all in for the 3rd Ante Up For Africa (AUFA) Celebrity-Charity poker tournament.

Annually, the largest celebrity poker tournament in Las Vegas, the event is accessible for the public to play with their favorite stars or watch as spectators. A full house of celebrities will join Academy Award Nominee, Don Cheadle and “Celebrity Apprentice Star” and WSOP Bracelet winner Annie Duke at the event taking place during the 2009 WORLD SERIES OF POKER® (WSOP) at Rio in Las Vegas on Thursday, July 2 at 2 PM.

This No-Limit Hold’em poker tournament has an entry fee of $5,000 and provides entrants the opportunity to walk away with a six-figure payday. The event allows players to rub elbows with top Hollywood stars, athletes and poker professionals while contributing to a great cause.

Celebrities and athletes will join poker’s most notable players to raise public awareness and funds to support the victims of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan.

Among those confirmed to participate, subject to availability, are Cheadle, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Brad Garrett, Cedric the Entertainer, Charles Barkley, Danny Masterson, Hank Azaria, Herschel Walker, Jason Alexander, Kenny Smith, Marlon Wayans, Montel Williams, Reggie Miller, Tia Carrere, Sarah Silverman, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Cheryl Hines, Mekhi Phifer, Rob Schneider; Poker Professionals Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, Tiffany Michelle, Erik Seidel and Phil Hellmuth with more to be confirmed.

The tournament will feature a fast-paced structure designed to complete the competition within five hours. Seating for the tournament is open to anyone age 21 or older.

This event, as is every World Series of Poker tournament, is open to the public for viewing and admission is free. The event will take place in the famed Amazon Ballroom in the Rio Convention Center, just one day prior to the start of the WSOP Main Event, the game’s most prestigious poker event.

Cheadle, an accomplished poker player, and Duke, who has more than $4 million in tournament winnings, are committed to raising both public awareness about the tragedy in Darfur and funds to aid its victims. As the world’s richest sporting event, the WSOP awarded more than $180 million in 2008 and attracted participants from a record 124 nations.

In the previous events, many of the in the money finishers volunteered to donate half of their winnings to the charity. Proceeds from the event will go to the ENOUGH Project and Refugees International, organizations whose goals include raising public awareness and providing aid to the survivors of Darfur.

More information about the tournament is available at www.worldseriesofpoker.com. If you would like more information regarding the organization, please log onto www.anteupforafrica.org and follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/anteupforafrica.

ABOUT THE WSOP
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world awarding millions of dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2008, the event attracted 58,720 entrants from 124 different countries to the Rio in Las Vegas and awarded over $180 million in prize money. The creation of the new delayed Main Event final table more than doubled ratings on ESPN year-over-year. In December, 2008 the WSOP was named the 7th most admired sports brand in North America by the Turnkey Team Brand Index trailing only the more established NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour among sports properties. In addition, the WSOP has formed groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker Europe. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

ABOUT ANTE UP FOR AFRICA
Ante Up For Africa (AUFA) is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 by Don Cheadle, Annie Duke and Norman Epstein. We are dedicated to raising money and awareness for Africans in need. To date, Ante Up For Africa has raised close to $2 million for the cause and has donated to organizations such as Not On Our Watch (NOOW), ENOUGH and The International Rescue Committee. For more information, please log onto www.AnteUpForAfrica.org.

Annie Duke To Join Joan Rivers Impersonators For Charity Poker

Fri, 22 May 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Fans of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice may need to do a double take on May 27th after seeing Annie Duke join forces with archrival Joan Rivers at a charity poker tournament in Las Vegas… well, kind of.

Leading online poker site UltimateBet.net has announced the sponsorship of the Sucking out on the Rivers charity poker tournament in support of Refugees International. UltimateBet.net’s own Annie Duke will be hosting the event alongside Frank Marino, a well-known Joan Rivers impersonator, and nearly all of the top poker pros in Vegas are already on board to play in the charity tournament.

“I think that after this poker tournament, the real Joan Rivers will quickly realize that poker players are good-natured people – professional people with respected occupations and families – who really want to change the lives of those less fortunate,” stated Annie Duke. “As poker players, we’re all banding together, not just to prove a point to Joan, but to actually change the world.”

While the charity poker tournament will be co-hosted by a Joan Rivers impersonator, the real Joan Rivers went head-to-head with Annie Duke on the most recent season of Celebrity Apprentice. The often abrasive and brash comedienne told Annie, on camera, that all poker players were white trash and that none of them had last names, suggesting that those who love poker are automatically linked to organized crime.

Rivers’ opinion has drawn the ire of virtually everyone in the poker world, which is made up of doctors, lawyers, accountants, astrophysicists and other professionals. The world’s top poker players and several Hollywood celebrities are slated to play in the charity poker event to show that there’s a lot of good that comes from poker. Over 20 Joan Rivers impersonators will also be playing in the event and each one will have a bounty on his or her head. Poker fans can secure their spot in the tournament for $200 and the No Limit Texas Hold’em tourney features rebuys and add-ons to help the prize pool grow even higher.

100% of the prize money will go to the winner with half of it being directed to charity. While Nevada gaming laws prohibit money being given directly from the prize pool to charity, the winner may volunteer to donate half of their winnings to the charity, in keeping with what has been done in previous charity events hosted by UltimateBet.net.

The Sucking out on the Rivers Charity Event, sponsored by UltimateBet.net, DeepStacks University, Hard Rock Poker Lounge, and WSOP Academy, gets underway on May 27th at 6pm at the Hard Rock Casino Poker Lounge. The event will be preceded by a Red Carpet ceremony at 5pm.

For tournament information and registration contact:
Hard Rock Poker Lounge at 702-69FLUSH.

Annie Duke Blogs About Celebrity Apprentice 2

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Poker star Annie Duke is currently appearing on Celebrity Apprentice 2 to raise money for Refugees International, and she is blogging about her experiences.

Every week Duke writes about what goes on behind the scenes of the show, which sees celebrities such as Dennis Rodman, Brian McKnight, Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers, Clint Black, Tom Green, Khloe Kardashian and many others raising money for charities such as the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of America, the Lili Claire Foundation and StandUp For Kids.

As well as writing about the show, Duke is also guest blogger for Refugees International.

“I find it kind of shocking that there is more attention to the poker tournaments I participate in than in the tragedy ongoing in Darfur,” she wrote. "Since 2003, nearly 2.5 million people have been forced out of their homes, living in makeshift huts in large, sprawling camps in this western region of Sudan. Up to 400,000 people have been killed according to some estimates.

“A few years ago, [”Don Cheadle":http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/447-don-cheadle] and I were having lunch in Los Angeles and started talking about the crisis in Darfur. He had just released his book Not on Our Watch and was actively campaigning for more attention and meaningful action on Darfur. I felt that what was happening in Darfur was so horrible, and just said, “Nobody knows what’s going on in this part of the world. We should do a poker event for them.” At the time I thought it would raise around $25,000 or $50,000. This small idea turned into Ante Up For Africa — a hugely successful celebrity-studded series of charity poker events that has raised $2.5 million since July 2007.

“This year, I have added Refugees International as one of our partners. Why? Because organizations like Refugees International affect lasting change. Governments can do more to help refugees in Africa and around the world, but that’s not going to happen without pressure.

“It makes me even more excited to be supporting Refugees International knowing that the organization is celebrating its 30th Anniversary. For thirty years, the organization has demanded that policy makers save lives and respond to crises that the world is neglecting. Their work on Darfur is one powerful example.

“In 2004, the fighting in Darfur had barely registered on anyone’s radar. However, Refugees International knew that hundreds of thousands of people had fled Darfur and crossed the border into neighboring Chad. They traveled to Chad where they discovered that some of these Darfur refugees were near starvation. Agencies had underestimated the number of people in need and were distributing too few supplies. “Tell the world what is happening to us,” one of the refugees said.

“Refugees International did as they were told. They immediately called on the United Nations and aid agencies to address this problem. Within weeks, the number of refugees receiving assistance rose from 110,000 to 200,000.

“Since then, through op-eds, media interviews, and meetings with elected officials and aid organizations, RI has continued to urge more action in Darfur. They’ve convinced agencies to increase reproductive health care services for Darfur’s women. They’ve successfully called on Congress to fund a stronger peacekeeping force that can protect people living in desolate camps from more attacks. And today, they’re working to make sure that the U.S. does not forget about the people of South Sudan with their fragile peace agreement – there will never be peace in Darfur if another region of Sudan returns to war.

“This is why Refugees International calls itself “a powerful voice for lifesaving action.” And this is why I’m proud to help strengthen that voice."

Annie Duke’s blogs can be read here.

Stars Raise Megabucks At ICAP Charity Day

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:30:00 -0000

ICAP (IAP.L), the world’s premier interdealer broker, raised $16.3 million (£11 million) worldwide on its 16th annual Charity Day, beating the $13.7 million (£9.2 million) raised in 2007. The money raised will be donated to over 100 charities worldwide.

“To raise over $16 million in one day is an incredible achievement, particularly in the current environment,” said Michael Spencer, Chief Executive Officer of ICAP. “It is the efforts of our customers, staff and supporters that made Charity Day 2008 such a fantastic success. Many needy people around the world will benefit from their efforts.”

In New York, ICAP hosted many celebrity spokespeople from the various charities it gave to this year, including: Boomer Esiason, Gary Carter, Anna Kournikova, Don Zimmer, Amy Adams, Joe Montana, Matt Dillon, Jeff Gordon, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, and Julianne Moore.

“I was thrilled to be involved in ICAP’s charity day,” said Julianne Moore. “They were so generous and so excited to be helping so many. It was really wonderful, in a year where there has been so much economic distress, to be with a group that focused on giving so whole heartedly. Every one of us at the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance was so thankful to be included in their tremendous generosity. Thank you, thank you ICAP!!”

The charities the celebrities raised cash for included the Boomer Esiason Foundation, the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of America, Communities in Schools, Four Rings Family Foundation, Goal USA, Refugees International, The Jeff Gordon Foundation, Partners in Health, Equality Now, Robin Hood Foundation, and the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance.

“It’s disheartening to see and hear all the bad news that’s going around these days, and that’s why we can’t change the way we look at the world and interact with others, especially those groups like ours, which focus on an illness or disease and really change it for the better,” said Boomer Esiason, veteran NFL quarterback and founder of BEF. “I want to send a heartfelt thanks to all my new friends at ICAP and their customers for such a wonderful and supportive day.”

ICAP has raised a total of $79.2 million (£53 million) for Charity Day since it was started in 1993. A full list of the charities ICAP supported this year as well as more information about how ICAP’s donation will make a difference to the many lives receiving this aid can be found at www.icapcharityday.com.

Look To The Stars News: Refugees International

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