Look To The Stars News: Millennium Promise Alliance

Emma Watson Is Painted For Charity

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:30:00 +0000

Harry Potter star Emma Watson recently collaborated with artist Mark Demsteader to create beautiful paintings for charity.

Crafted from a series of photographs, the “Emma” exhibition was displayed at London’s Panter and Hall. All of the paintings feature Watson and will benefit the African charity CAMFED.

Since 1993, CAMFED has educated and empowered the women of sub-Saharan. The community based charity takes children from the impoverished areas of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana and Malawi and provides them with long-term developmental support. CAMFED prepares its students to become community leaders by combating AIDS, poverty and poor money management.

Madonna Launches Digital Learning Programme

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:12:00 +0000

Madonna has launched an exciting new global education initiative called Connect To Learn.

Madonna, Connect to Learn’s global spokesperson, was joined at the launch by Millennium Promise co-founder Prof. Jeffrey Sachs and Ericsson CEO and President Mr. Hans Vestberg, during a visit to Malawi.

The initiative, a collaboration between The Earth Institute, Ericsson, and Millennium Promise, will focus on advancing the global breakthroughs needed in secondary education, especially for girls, and the extraordinary opportunities that new information and communications technologies are making possible for improving educational quality around the world.

Matt Damon Joins Entourage For Charity

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Matt Damon will make a cameo appearance on the latest season of Entourage to promote a charity he is involved with.

“It wasn’t hard to get him,” Entourage executive producer Doug Elin told TV Guide. “Matt came on the phone with me and wanted to do something that focused on his charity, ONEXONE, which helps kids all over the world.”

Damon will join NBA star LeBron James in the episode, which features Damon forcing Adrian Grenier’s character to donate more to the charity than he intended to.

Matt Damon Hosts ONE X ONE Awards

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:30:00 +0000

Matt Damon returned to Toronto on Monday to host his third consecutive Difference Awards ceremony for ONEXONE.

Over 500 guest attended the gala, which featured performances from Wyclef Jean, John Legend, Nikki Yanofsky, and the African Children’s Choir.

ONEXONE is a non-profit organization that supports children in Canada and abroad. Established less than four years ago by Joelle Adler, it has already raised over $5 million and created partnerships with major corporations and foundations, such as H2O Africa, the Yéle Haiti Foundation, Millennium Promise, War Child and Spread the Net.

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 ONEXONE’s annual charity benefit gala, where celebrities and activists will gather for an evening of musical performances, words from key speakers, fundraising and entertainment.

ONEXONE’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, ONEXONE 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.”

Legend, Doolittle Honor Sachs and Soros

Mon, 19 May 2008 10:56:00 +0000

The Millennium Promise and Malaria No More Annual Benefit took place last week at The Tent at Lincoln Center, raising over $2 million for the fight against extreme poverty and disease. The event honored the charities’ founders, Raymond G. Chambers, Peter Chernin, Professor Jeffrey Sachs and George Soros.

Grammy-winner John Legend presented an award to Jeffrey Sachs. Sachs’ book, The End Of Poverty was a catalyst in Legend’s forming of the Show Me Campaign. American Idol’s Melinda Doolittle presented an award to Peter Chernin, and performed “Amazing Grace” as part of the evening’s entertainment. Ann Veneman, the Executive Director of UNICEF, and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director of the World Bank, presented awards to Ray Chambers and George Soros, respectively.

Millennium Promise is on a mission to end extreme poverty by 2025. They have begun by taking steps to achieve the eight globally-endorsed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa by 2015.

Malaria No More Fights A Forgotten Killer

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:55:26 +0000

When people think of health and welfare in Africa, they think of AIDS, famine, poverty, and hundreds of other killers that bring death and hardship to the continent. But they hardly ever think of malaria. “It’s not a problem anymore,” they say. “We’ve been treating it for over 100 years…”

And yet it is still a problem – a HUGE problem.

The disease, which is spread by mosquitoes, causes a drawn-out and painful death. It destroys red blood cells and clogs the tiny capillaries that carry blood to the brain and other organs – a horrible way to die in anyone’s books. And it is killing as you read this – an African child dies of the disease every 30 seconds. That’s 3,000 children a day… over 1 million a year. In addition to the devastating human toll, the African economy loses over $12 billion in productivity due to the disease annually.

Editorial: What Motivates Giving?

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 12:16:31 +0000

What motivates giving? This question has been asked of a number of philanthropy websites as part of this month’s Giving Carnival, and Look To The Stars has been invited to join in the discussion.

Hope is what motivates giving. People need to have hope for a better future. Once they feel hope for the future they are more free to explore ways in which they can help. I constantly come across charities and causes while working on Look To The Stars, and the ones that really grab my attention are not those that say, “We are desperate for help!”, but those that say, “We have done so much already, and here is how you can help us solve this problem.”

Picture a child looking at a messy room. He sees an unending and exhausting future. What the child needs is help to see that the task isn’t impossible, and that progress is inevitable. Once he sees that, he has hope, and he can start taking steps to clean things up.

Madonna And Friends Shine A Light On Malawi

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:23:58 +0000

If you were to look on a map, you could be excused for missing Malawi completely. Bordered by Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique in South East Africa, the nation of Malawi is shaped like a lightning bolt, with much of its land area covered by a massive lake. But it a country that is in dire need of help, and a host of celebrities turned out to a dazzling evening of fun on Wednesday, February 6, to raise awareness for what is one of the poorest countries in the world.

The gala event was hosted by Madonna on the lawns of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, with the $3.7 million raised going to UNICEF and her own Raising Malawi organization. A long list of stars, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Lopez, Tea Leoni, Lucy Liu, Billy Joel, Gwen Stefani, and Djimon Hounsou, attended the event, with tickets ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. The evening also featured performances by Alicia Keys, Timbaland, and Rihanna.

“I want to put Raising Malawi on the map,” said Madonna. “I want credibility as a philanthropic organisation. I want to inspire people. I don’t want them to just write me a cheque: I want them to give me a piece of their heart.”

John Legend says ‘Show Me’

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:55:28 +0000

R&B singer John Legend’s song “Show Me,” presented some heavy questions to God about life, death and suffering. Then, after reading Jeffrey Sachs’ book The End of Poverty, Legend extended those questions to his fellow man, and to himself.

The book made him realize how possible it could be to set impoverished villages into an uphill spiral of self sufficiency and progress, so Legend created his own Show Me Campaign to raise the required funds, and partnered with Sachs’ Millennium Promise to serve needy African villages.

Rather than doling out money to destitute villages though, the organizations are doing practical things like providing mosquito nets to curb the millions of avoidable deaths from malaria, free meals to children attending school which raises attendance rates and health, safe water points, local clinics and fertilizer to improve crop production and eradicate food shortages.

Paris Heads To Rwanda

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 08:51:20 +0000

Paris Hilton is to head to one of the poorest countries on the planet to raise awareness of child poverty.

Plans have been confirmed for the 26 year old socialite and heiress of the Hilton Hotel chain to travel to Rwanda next month, as part of her image makeover following her brief stint in jail in June.

“I’ll be going in November, after I get back from filming my movie,” said the star of “A Simple Life”, who is currently making “Repo! The Genetic Opera” with director Darren Lynn Bousman. “There’s so much need in that area, and I feel like if I go, it will bring more attention to what people can do to help.”

Celebrities Wear Their Hearts On Their Sleeves

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 08:33:55 +0000

This Summer has seen both style and flair in the fashion world, and nowhere has this been more evident than in the clothes worn by celebrities. From the metallic mini-dresses that made a splash at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards to the dazzling array of gowns seen at the 79th Academy Awards, celebrity fashions have made it a year to remember. Yet, in a season that has included a host of environmental and humanitarian events, many stars have used what they wear to raise awareness of some big social and ecological subjects. They have embraced issue-based labels as a way of provoking thought on some of the most important problems facing the world today.

One such label is Threads For Thought, a contemporary lifestyle brand of clothing for men and women. With a portion of its proceeds going to the Natural Resources Defense Council and the International Rescue Committee, Threads For Thought produces designs which draw inspiration from three major areas: Africa, the Environment, and Peace.
The 100% organic cotton garments have been worn by a multitude of celebrities who support the brand’s concepts, including American Idol judge, Paula Abdul, and actor Jamie Foxx. Singer Gwen Stefani has been setting trends with a selection of Threads For Thought scarves and tops, and actor Don Cheadle, well known for his humanitarian work in Darfur, was spotted wearing a TFT t-shirt on “Inside The Actor’s Studio”.

Vanity Fair Charity Issue Edited By Bono

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:35:00 +0000

Bono is putting his philanthropic energy into Vanity Fair’s July 2007 special issue about Africa. The issue has 20 different cover photos of high-profile individuals, all taken by renowned photographer Annie Liebowitz.

The magazine includes information about the issues and charities supported by actors, athletes, models, politicians, musicians, activists, and billionaire philanthropists, all of whom are using their celebrity status and the publicity they receive to bring attention to the complex set of problems faced by the inhabitants of Africa.

Africa is a continent with great need, and has been given a disproportionately low amount of attention and aid from wealthy nations. It is the first Vanity Fair issue to have a guest editor, and Bono’s highly publicized commitment to aiding Africa makes him an obvious choice for editor of this issue. In recent years, celebrities have used their status to bring a great deal of attention to Africa.

Sachs Appeal - Who is Jeffrey Sachs?

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 20:48:00 +0000

Brad Pitt sang his praises at the ONEXONE fundraiser, and George Soros donated $50 million to the program which he directs, the UN Millennium Project. Bono and Madonna are also big supporters, and Angelina Jolie has filmed an MTV special promoting his work.

So who is this man that so many stars are looking up to? Jeffrey Sachs is considered the leading economic advisor of his generation; he has been called “the most important economist in the world” by The New York Times Magazine. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan regarding the Millennium Development Goals; has worked as an economic advisor to governments in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the former Yugoslavia, the former Soviet Union, Asia, and Africa; and has advised organizations such as the IMF, the World Bank, the OECD, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Development Programme. He is the Director of The Earth Institute, and President and Co-Founder of Millennium Promise Alliance, a nonprofit organization aimed at ending extreme global poverty.

But what really has people talking is the Millennium Villages he is helping to create as part of the UN Millennium Project. In 2004 the project implemented a plan to greatly reduce poverty by using practical, affordable means and empowering the people most affected by the condition.