Look To The Stars News: Earth Institute

Shakira Reveals Global Charity Plans

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:00:00 +0000

Colombian pop star Shakira’s charity is to go global by the end of the year.

The 31-year-old established Pies Descalzos to improve education, nutrition, and the lives of the thousands of displaced children living in perilous conditions because of the violent internal conflict in Colombia. Speaking at an Earth Institute meeting with South American leaders at America’s Columbia University on Wednesday, she said, “For less than $2 a day, we can provide a kid with top quality education and the nutrition that they need to be able to function and be able to learn, because a kid with an empty stomach cannot learn… This model that has been so successful in my country, I now want to bring it to other countries in my small way.”

She also urged Latin American presidents to include the development of children during the next Ibero-American summit to be held in El Salvador.

Musicians Start The Year With Generosity

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:45:39 +0000

2008 has only just begun, but already celebrities are straining at the leash to spread generosity among those who need it. And a host of musicians have kicked off the year with donations and events to raise money and awareness for a number of good causes.

Pop group OK Go are set to release a charity EP on iTunes on February 5, with all proceeds going to victims of Hurricane Katrina. The 5-song release, “You’re Not Alone”, will coincide with Mardi Gras 2008, and will benefit New Orleans-based musicians displaced by the 2005 disaster.

“New Orleans is one of the last places in America where music is truly a fundamental part of everyday life,” said OK Go singer Damian Kulash, whose hits include “A Million Ways” and “Here It Goes Again”. “People get together on the weekends and parade through the streets just playing songs; 12-year-old-kids learn funk on the tuba; everyone dances. Life elsewhere in the world simply isn’t as celebratory. If we allow the culture of New Orleans to die by leaving its musicians marooned around the country, America will have lost one of its great treasures.”

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.