Look To The Stars News: USA Harvest

Hilary Duff To Give Blessings In Backpacks

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Singer and actress Hilary Duff is expected to visit an elementary school in Florida on behalf of the Blessings In A Backpack program today, March 4.

The 21-year-old star is scheduled to appear at Tice Elementary School in Fort Myers to raise awareness of the program, which aims to feed elementary school children who qualify for the federal free and reduced meal program and may not have any or enough food on the weekends. Every Friday, students receive backpacks with food that requires little to no preparation. They return with their backpacks on Monday ready to learn, with better test scores, improved reading skills, positive behavior, and improved health.

In the area surrounding Fort Myers, the number of children participating in the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program has increased dramatically from 50 percent last year to 62 percent this year.

Scarlett Johansson's Germs Sold For Charity

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:30:00 +0000

Last week, Look To The Stars brought you the news that actress Scarlett Johansson was selling her used and cold-infected tissue to raise money for charity. We can now reveal how much it was sold for.

The tissue – which came in a signed plastic bag – raised $5,300 for USA Harvest, beating expectations.

The actress appeared on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show on December 17 with a bad cold she caught from her The Spirit co-star, Samuel L. Jackson. For this reason, she joked that her cold had “value”, and proceeded to blow her nose on a tissue supplied by Leno – who then gave it to eBay.

Scarlett Johansson Sneezes For The Hungry

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:00:00 +0000

And now for one of the most bizarre celebrity charity stories ever: Scarlett Johansson is selling the tissue she sneezed into on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show for charity.

The actress appeared on the show on Wednesday night, December 17, with a bad cold she caught from her The Spirit co-star, Samuel L. Jackson. For this reason, she joked that her cold had “value”, and proceeded to blow her nose on a tissue supplied by Leno. The tissue is now up for sale on eBay, with proceeds to go to USA Harvest, Johansson’s charity of choice.

Johannson is a longtime supporter of USA Harvest, and has helped to supply over 9 million meals to the hungry. She also dished out food to the homeless victims of Hurricane Katrina at the Made Love Cafe in St, Benard Parish in New Orleans.

Hilary Duff Counts Her Blessings In A Backpack

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:30:00 +0000

Hilary Duff has been busy in the last two weeks visiting schools to raise awareness of the Blessings in a Backpack initiative.

Blessings in a Backpack was launched in 2005 to provide food to children and families in need. Since been established, they have provided over 6 million meals, with food being distributed through a network of volunteers and school officials on Fridays before the children leave school for the weekend. 21-year-old star Hilary Duff first helped with the campaign following Hurricane Katrina when – along with USA Harvest – she donated over 2 million meals throughout the Gulf Coast.

“I feel lucky enough to have a voice or a name that people might pay attention to,” said Duff. “I think that people might not be aware that a couple neighborhoods away, kids aren’t having food on the weekends, and we just want people to be informed and to know what’s going on in their communities and to help if they can.”

2008 Cartier Love Charity Braclets Launched In LA

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:30:00 +0000

It wasn’t just about the bling when a major jeweler hosted a star-studded event to launch a line of exquisite bracelets to benefit a worthwhile charity last night.

Stars such as Nicole Richie, Joel Madden, Eva Mendes, Fergie, Hilary Duff, and Janet Jackson attended the official launch of the Love Charity Bracelet in Los Angeles, and pledged their support of the initiative.

This year’s bracelets are made of silk cord with different colors corresponding to a selected charity, and feature two links – one white and one rose gold. They retail for $995, with $200 of that price going towards one of the charities selected by each celebrity. The list of celebrities, colors, and charities include:

Celebrity Auctions Kick Off The New Year

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 10:24:10 +0000

The new year has kicked off with a flurry of celebrity charity auctions, with items for sale to benefit a plethora of worthwhile causes and issues.

The American Civil Liberties Union is a national organization that advocates individual rights by litigating, legislating, and educating the public on a broad range of issues, including free speech, AIDS, human rights, racism, and more. The Southern California branch of ACLU has launched an auction on www.charityfolks.com to raise much-needed funds.

Items up for auction until January 3 include lunch with Jake Gyllenhaal on the set of his new film, a framed and autographed art print by Viggo Mortensen, the chance to dine with Harry Belafonte or Mike Farrell, a signed T shirt and photo from Danny Glover, and original artwork from singer Maria McKee, and an autographed copy of Corinne Bailey Rae’s single, “I’d Like To”.

Goo Goo Dolls to Play Benefit Gig

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 08:53:40 +0000

American rock band the Goo Goo Dolls are to end their current tour by playing a benefit gig at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on September 6. The band agreed to reschedule a June show for September, and all proceeds will go towards the Griffith Park Recovery Fund, an organization set up to help replenish the natural vegetation destroyed in the park during devastating forest fires in May.

“We are honored to headline such an important concert,” said Goo Goo Dolls singer, John Rzeznik.

The band was the first to offer their assistance, along with with performers including Clay Aiken, Tony Bennett and Los Lonely Boys.

Hilary Duff Dishes It Out at Homeless Shelter

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:03:34 +0000

Singer Hilary Duff served up chicken and stew for hundreds of homeless and working poor men last week at Hope Mission’s Herb Jamieson Center, a shelter in downtown Edmonton, Alberta. She stopped by the Center as part of her campaign to raise awareness about poverty and hunger.

“It’s nice when someone who makes a lot of money will look you in the eye and treat you like a real person,” Hope Mission spokeswoman Janelle Aker said, adding that Duff’s efforts could also help raise awareness with a younger demographic.

The pop star was in town as part of the Canadian leg of her North American Dignity tour, which kicked off last weekend. Duff is once again asking concert-goers to bring along non-perishable food donations to be collected at concert gates by The Salvation Army and distributed by food charity Harvest. Harvest chapters “collect surplus food from restaurants, grocery stores, and other food producers and immediately deliver it to missions, shelters, soup kitchens and food banks.” During her previous two Canadian tours, Duff raised over 125,000 pounds for Alberta Harvest. Harvest founder Stan Curtis says each concert can bring in as many as 3,000 cans of food, enough for 6,000 meals.  

Gaining Pounds Never Felt So Good

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 07:21:00 +0000

Gaining a few pounds might make most people anxious, but Hilary Duff has gained over 4,000,000 pounds – of food – and brought joy to homeless and hungry people across the United States. The food was collected for USA Harvest during her concert tour, to which she had asked fans to bring canned items.

USA Harvest was founded in 1989 in Louisville, Kentucky with a mission to feed as many hungry people as possible by moving food from people with too much to those with too little.

Hillary asked her fans for a small amount, but the final collection was so big that she has helped save millions of dollars of food money, which now can be re-allocated to other extremely important needs such as clothing, shelter, job training and opportunities, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and counselling programs.

Hill, McGraw and More Become Cartier LOVECHARITY Ambassadors

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 11:29:26 +0000

Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Djimon Hounsou, and Eva Mendes are among the list of 2007 Cartier LOVECHARITY Bracelet Ambassadors.

The Cartier LOVE bracelet was introduced more than 30 years ago, and has risen to be one of the most coveted jewelry designs in the world. In 2006 alone, more than $1.2 million was donated to eight global charities from the sales of its LOVECHARITY bracelet, spurring the company to create a new LOVECHARITY bracelet for 2007. The goal is to exceed last year’s donations as a number of new celebrities join the endeavor.

The 2007 LOVECHARITY bracelet features an 18K white gold miniature LOVE bracelet graced with the word LOVE and accented with two signature screw motifs. It is set into a knotted silk cord available in various colors, with each cord designating support of a unique cause. The bracelet costs $475 with $100 per bracelet benefiting its corresponding charity.

Hilary Duff Buys 200,000 Meals For Refugees

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 22:30:54 +0000

Pop star Hilary Duff has donated 200,000 meals through charity USA Harvest to two shelters in Texas which continue to house refugees from the August 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Duff had previously carried out relief work for the charity; on the one year anniversary of the hurricane, she travelled to New Orleans to visit and aid victims, accompanied by USA Harvest chairman Stan Curtis.

Commending Duff’s latest gesture, Curtis said, "Hilary has set an extraordinary example with her generous contributions to the Gulf Coast victims of last year’s tragic hurricanes.