Look To The Stars News: Dragon's Heart Charity

Jackie Chan Receives UNICEF Award

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

Action star Jackie Chan has received a special UNICEF award for his work with children.

Chan was a guest at a UNICEF reception held in China on August 9, where awards were presented to UNICEF supporting partners and goodwill ambassadors who have aided the organization’s efforts to help children all over the world. The event – called Champions for Children – served two purposes: to advocate for vulnerable children and to thank all of UNICEF’s partners, including the Chinese government, for their tireless work.

Attendees at the function listened to talks from Chan and world reknowned pianist Lang Lang, as well as the words of young survivors from the Sichuan earthquake.

“The May 12th earthquake hurt our people, but many uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters are helping us,” said one 12-year-old survivor. “Our new school has already been built; we have received donations and supplies from all over the world. I plan to study hard and invent a machine to control earthquakes, so that no more people will have to suffer as a result of earthquakes.”

Chan – who has been a UNICEF Ambassador since 2004 – said he was glad to have the opportunity to help and added that he is eager to help children not only in China but all over the world. “Call me anytime, I will be there,” he said.

Chan is well known for his interest in supporting children’s charities, and last year talked to Look To The Stars about his work.

“Since I am Ambassador for UNICEF and UNAIDS, I am able to help raise interest in the problems that children face,” he told us. “Plus I am involved with my own charities here in Asia – the Dragon’s Heart Charity and the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation. There are so many problems for children! Sometimes I feel that I just can’t do enough for them – as soon as I solve the problem of one group, I notice that another group is suffering. I try, but it’s never enough.”

Jackie Chan Sings Out For Donations

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Action star Jackie Chan isn’t just famous for his stunts – he has released 20 albums since 1984 and has sung many of the theme tunes for his own films. And last night he proved his bark is just as big as his bite at a special charity concert in Japan.

The 54-year-old star led a host of Asian stars – including Sandy Lam, Judy Ongg, Aaron Kwok and Ekin Cheng – at a special fundraising concert in Tokyo on Monday night, with proceeds going to Sichuan earthquake survivors.

The concert, dubbed Heart Aid Sichuan, was jointly organized by the Japan-based Chinese singer Judy Ongg and the Japanese broadcaster NHK. It followed the charity premiere of Chan’s latest movie, The Forbidden Kingdom, in Tokyo last week.

“We received a lot of donations from Japan,” said Chan at the premiere, which also raised funds for earthquake survivors. “I really thank you from the bottom of my heart. It’s not about how much you donated. Every donation is helpful.”

Jackie Chan’s fans are also showing their generous sides after the star made a plea for them to donate on his website. Over $26,000 has been donated to his Dragon’s Heart Charity over the last few months, which will be used to rebuild schools in the devastated area.

Look To The Stars Asks Jackie Chan

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 10:50:33 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

One of the greatest things about our work at Look To The Stars is the chance to ‘discover’ the wonderful things that celebrities do everyday. In doing so, we often find that our idols are true heroes. This is especially true of action hero Jackie Chan, a legend of Hong Kong cinema and star of the three “Rush Hour” movies. Chan volunteers his time to help many charities, the closest to his heart being the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation, an organization that has helped thousands of people since he started it in 1988.

Jackie Chan is a great example of someone who always uses his star power to help others. This can best be seen in his Build a School for a Dollar program, and in his plea to advertisers to join him in charity work .

Although Jackie is always busy running from one event to the next, he is never short of time for charity work. He was kind enough to answer a few of our questions on that topic:

LTTS: What do you feel is the biggest problem with the world today?

Jackie Chan: The suffering of children. There is just no problem that is bigger than that. When you see children hungry or sick, your heart just breaks. I have never seen anything worse in my whole life.

LTTS: What steps would you take to correct this problem?

Jackie Chan: I’m very lucky to be able to help children who are suffering the the world. Since I am Ambassador for UNICEF and UNAIDS, I am able to help raise interest in the problems that children face. Plus I am involved with my own charities here in Asia – the Dragon’s Heart Charity and the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation. There are so many problems for children! Sometimes I feel that I just can’t do enough for them – as soon as I solve the problem of one group, I notice that another group is suffering. I try, but it’s never enough.

LTTS: Do you have any message for our readers?

Jackie Chan: I guess I would like to remind everyone that we live now in a global village and we are in one single family. It’s our responsibility to bring friendship and love from all different places around the world and live together in peace.

LTTS: Jackie Chan, thank you very much for taking the time to answer our questions. You are a great inspiration.

Jackie Chan Meets UNICEF Painting Competition Winner

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 11:27:30 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Action star and UNICEF Ambassador Jackie Chan took time out of his hectic schedule to visit with the winner of the 2006 UNEP International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment.

The winner, Lau Tsun Ming (age 9) from China, said: “My picture shows two contrasting scenes of Earth. One is desertified and the other can keep its natural beauty. If people continue to ruin the environment, our surroundings will become dull and nasty.”

As environmental protection is very important to Chan, he was pleased to see that children are also concerned about taking care of the planet.

Children in the U.S. have been brightening Chan’s year with the Build a School for a Dollar Campaign.

In July, Chan toured poverty stricken areas of the Guizhou Province to visit more than a dozen schools built by his Dragon’s Heart Charity. During his travels he delivered warm coats and school supplies, led an auction which generated over $125,000, visited a rehabilitation center, and met with business associates to plan future philanthropic missions.

After reading about Jackie’s efforts to help poor children in remote areas of China, many kids wrote to him asking how they could help. Jackie’s Kids Corner shows how kids have started helping by drawing pictures of a school using a dollar bill as the centerpiece.

It costs only $9 a year to send a poor child to school in China.

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