Look To The Stars News: UNHCR

Angelina Jolie Visits Afghanistan

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:00:00 -0000

Angelina Jolie has returned home after visiting poverty-stricken families in Afghanistan last week.

The 33-year-actress spent last Wednesday and Thursday (October 22-23) in the country as part of her duties as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, and visited with refugees who have returned to the country and are attempting to build new homes.

“Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 more than five million Afghans have returned home,“ she said. “Afghanistan has been struggling to absorb these massive returns. These families have been displaced for nearly 30 years and many of them face difficulties including food, shelter and basic services such as healthcare and education. They have suffered so much yet they remain gracious.”

Jolie spent her time in Nangarhar and Kabul, and raised awareness of a conference in Kabul next month to discuss the issue of the repatriation of refugees.

“The courage, resilience and quiet dignity of returnee families rebuilding their lives against the kind of adversity few of us can imagine shows the human spirit at its best.”

A Big Concert For A Big Man With A Big Heart

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A charity concert honoring Luciano Pavarotti took place at the site of the ancient Jordanian city of Petra on Sunday night.

The show – which featured many of Pavarotti’s friends from across the music industry, including Sting, Jose Carreras, Andrea Bocelli, Jovanotti, Laura Pausini, Angela Gheorghiu, Andrea Griminelli, Cynthia Lawrence, and Roberto Alagna – raised money for projects in Afghanistan run by the UN Refugee Relief Agency and the World Food Program, as well as for the Petra archaeological site 180km south of Amman where the concert took place.

Organized by Nicoletta Mantovani – Pavarotti’s widow – with the support of HRH Princess Haya of Jordan, a UN Messenger of Peace, the concert was attended by 500 guests, including Jordan’s Queen Rania Al Abdullah.

Pavarotti actively supported UNHCR projects in Kosovo, Pakistan, Zambia, and Iraq before his death. For his continuous commitment to refugee causes, he received UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award and was named a UN Messenger of Peace.

Pavarotti To Be Honored With Charity Concert

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti is to be honored at a tribute charity concert in Petra, Jordan, a year after his death.

Proceeds from the concert – to be held on October 12 – will go towards projects in Afghanistan by the UN Refugee Relief Agency and the World Food Program, as well as to the Petra archaeological site 180km south of Amman where the concert will take place.

The audience – limited to about 500 people – will be entertained by many of Pavarotti’s friends from across the music industry, including Sting, Jose Carreras, Andrea Bocelli, Jovanotti, Laura Pausini, Angela Gheorghiu, Andrea Griminelli, Cynthia Lawrence, and Roberto Alagna. The event is being organised by Nicoletta Mantovani – Pavarotti’s widow – with the support of HRH Princess Haya of Jordan, a UN Messenger of Peace.

“This is an event born of the desire of everybody to remember Luciano, with songs dedicated to him or ones that he had sung,” said Mantovani.

Jolie-Pitt Foundation Donates To War Children

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have donated $1 million to support the education of war-affected children through their Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

The Education Partnership for Children of Conflict will distribute the donation to four organizations working with children who have lost parents and homes in Iraq, and children in the United States who have lost parents in the conflict will also benefit.

“These educational support programs for children of conflict are the best way to help them heal,” said Jolie, who co-chairs the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict.

“We hope to encourage others to give to these great organizations,” added Pitt.

$500,000 will go to the Armed Services YMCA Operation Hero Program, which will provide educational tutors and counseling to 2,500 children affected by the war in America. The remainder will be split between three organizations operating in Iraq: Women for Women International, which provides books, school supplies and other basic necessities to Iraqi women and children; the International Rescue Committee, which will repair three schools and offer classes for more than 2,500 students; and www.NineMillion.org – a UNHCR campaign – which will donate learning materials to more than 2,000 displaced Iraqi children.

Aid will also go to refugee children and school rehabilitation programs.

Time 100 - Tribute to Brad and Angelina by George Clooney

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:20:52 -0000

As previously mentioned, this year’s “Time 100 List” is out. We would like to share with our readers some of Time’s chosen Heroes & Pioneers, celebrities who are making a difference. Below is the full tribute to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, written by George Clooney, and we’ll feature further tributes in the coming days:

“It is one thing to talk about the problems of the world and quite another to actually try to change things.

“As a team, actors Brad Pitt, 44, and Angelina Jolie, 32, have served as our goodwill ambassadors worldwide. They brought help to Pakistan in 2005, after a catastrophic earthquake killed tens of thousands of people and left millions homeless. They have tended to the poor and sick in Africa. And they’ve raised global awareness—and contributed $1 million of their own money—for the victims of atrocities in Darfur. Brad co-founded Not On Our Watch, an organization set up to focus global attention on Darfur and other hot spots.

“In the U.S., Brad and Angelina didn’t just talk about, or even just throw money at, the tragic fallout from Hurricane Katrina. They actually moved to New Orleans and have set about trying to make right what so many have made wrong. Brad established a project to finance and build 150 new homes in the Ninth Ward.

“Angelina has worked tirelessly through the United Nations on behalf of refugees around the world, touring border camps in Africa, Asia and Latin America and lobbying on Capitol Hill. The couple cares for three adopted children, from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam, in addition to their biological daughter.

“There are hundreds of people who could be honored for their good works, but I’ve seen Brad and Angelina firsthand, and their commitment together is truly impressive.”

Clooney himself is well-known for philanthropic work, and is actively engaged in trying to resolve the Darfur crisis.

Angelina Jolie Explains The Iraqi Refugee Problem

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:27:57 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Back from her latest trip to war ravaged Iraq as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador, Angelina Jolie has a sense that the time is right to do something about the humanitarian crisis there. In her recent editorial to the Washington Post, Jolie explained the risks of non-action.

“We not only have a moral obligation to help displaced Iraqi families, but also a serious, long-term, national security interest in ending this crisis,” wrote Jolie. “Can the United States afford to gamble that 4 million or more poor and displaced people, in the heart of Middle East, won’t explode in violent desperation, sending the whole region into further disorder?”

Since the US invasion of Iraq, more than 2 million Iraqi civilians have been driven from their homes into perilous conditions, seeking shelter in abandoned buildings and primitive huts without food, clean water, or electricity. Over half of them are under the age of 12. Another 2.5 million have fled the country altogether, looking to Syria and Jordan for refuge. So great was the influx that the borders are now closed to refugees.

However, Jolie also sees opportunity. The actress has met with several key people in the US, UNHCR, and Iraqi government who all appear ready to do something. The army has offered protection to UNHCR staff and new efforts to address the humanitarian crisis, and UNHCR’s High Commissioner has promised to assess the conditions required for the return of refugees and providing humanitarian relief. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is also committed to overseeing issues related to internally displace people and financial support for the effort.

As for the refugee families, Jolie believes that all they want is “the chance to return to their homes and get back to their lives.” Even the troops “want to be a part of the humanitarian progress they now feel is possible.”

Because 4 million refugees will not be fast or easy to absorb, Jolie is adamant that the progress and momentum not be lost. “I would like to call on each of the presidential candidates and congressional leaders to announce a comprehensive refugee plan with a specific timeline and budget as part of their Iraq strategy. It seems to me that now is the moment to address the humanitarian side of this situation. Without the right support, we could miss an opportunity to do some of the good we always stated we intended to do.”

Angelina Jolie - Helping Her Heroes

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:34:29 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

She may be known for her various roles on the silver screen that have earned her Golden Globes and an Academy Award, but perhaps Angelina Jolie’s greatest role is that which she plays in real life – Global Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. And it is exceedingly clear that the dedication that she shows in her acting is reflected in her work for humanitarian causes around the world.

The 32-year-old actor has just returned from a visit to Iraq, in which she met with top political officials to discuss people displaced by the war.

“There are over two million displaced people and there never seems to be a real coherent plan to help them,” she told CNN on her return. “There’s lots of goodwill and lots of discussion, but there seems to be a lot of talk at the moment and a lot of pieces that need to be put together.”

The trip was a follow-up to her visit to the country six months ago, and marks Jolie’s commitment to displaced persons and refugees in war-ravaged nations, and confirms her dedication to implement solutions wherever possible.

“Of the two million internally displaced, it’s estimated 58 percent are under 12 years old. It’s a very high number of people in a very, very vulnerable situation and a lot of young kids,” said Jolie. “So far, the different US officials I met with and different local people I’ve met with all have shared concerns, very, very strongly. They have spoken out about the humanitarian crisis, but there seems to be a block in.”

Jolie traveled to Baghdad with Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, and Refugees Minister Abdel Samad Rahman Sultan. As a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Jolie is well known for using her status as a superstar to generate media coverage about the plight of refugees and the conditions under which they live, and this trip to Iraq proved no different.

“This trip is to get a better picture of the internally displaced people and to discuss [the situation] with the local government, with our government, with the NGOs and with local people,” said Jolie. “I’m not good at policy and fixing all this and saying what’s wrong, but I do know that, for example, U.N.H.C.R. needs to be more active inside Iraq… I know that this is one thing that needs to be addressed and solved because there does need to be a real presence here to help count the people and register the people. Also, the prime minister here needs to empower the government that deals with migration and displacement to be able to address the concerns for these people, and that hasn’t happened in a significant way yet.”

Born in Los Angeles in 1975, Jolie’s acting career has already spanned two decades. Her first feature role was in Lookin’ to Get Out in 1982, a film co-written and co-produced by her father, the acclaimed actor Jon Voight. Since then, she has received Golden Globe Awards for the television movies George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), and her film credits include Hackers (1995), The Bone Collector (1999), Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003), and Mr and Mrs Smith (alongside her partner, Brad Pitt, in 2005).

It was while filming the first Tomb Raider movie in Cambodia, a country stricken by poverty, that Jolie began to become aware of humanitarian issues around her. She approached the UNHCR for more information, and was sent to Sierra Leone, a small African country that – like the Democratic Republic of the Congo – had been devastated by years of brutal civil war. Seeing firsthand the enormous challenges that refugees face was a life-altering experience for the actress, and she was named a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in August 2001.

Over the next few years, Jolie witnessed some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. She visited refugee camps in Tanzania, Pakistan, Thailand, Ecuador, Kosovo, Kenya, and Namibia, covering all of her own costs and insisting on sharing the same living and working conditions as field workers.

In 2003 Jolie published Notes From My Travels, a compelling collection of journal entries from her early field missions. She now publishes her latest journal entries on the UNHCR website.

Since 2003, Jolie has traveled to refugee camps in Sri Lanka, Russia, Jordan, Beirut, and Egypt, and has also visited detained asylum seekers in Arizona. In 2005 she filmed an MTV special entitled “The Diary of Angelina Jolie and Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa”, portraying her trip to a remote group of villages in Kenya, and has visited Chad and Darfur several times since fighting erupted there in 2004.

In recent years, Jolie has been joined by Brad Pitt on many of her trips. In 2005 the pair witnessed the devastation of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan, and in 2006 they visited a school in Haiti supported by Wyclef Jean’s Yéle Haiti Foundation.

Also in 2006, the pair founded the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which made initial donations of $1 million to Doctors Without Borders and Global Action for Children. This was followed by a $100,000 donation to the Daniel Pearl Foundation, another to the Duk Lost Boys Medical Clinic in the Sudan, and $1 million to help refugees in Chad and Darfur.

Angelina Jolie’s generosity seems bottomless, and her heart is clearly as big as her stardom. In 2005, she announced the founding of the National Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Children, an organization that provides free legal aid to asylum-seeking children, and personally funded it with $1 million over 2 years. She also co-chairs the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, a program established at the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative that has pledged to help with the education of over 1 million children affected by conflict around the world.

Her missions to the most dangerous troublespots in the far-flung corners of the world look set to continue well into the future.

“It’s always hard to see decent people, families, living in such difficult conditions,” she said. “What is most upsetting is how long it is taking the international community to answer this crisis… You go to these places and you realize what life’s really about and what people are really going through. These people are my heroes.”

Angelina Jolie Seeks Accountability

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:11:50 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Angelina Jolie, Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has a dream – she is hoping for a year of accountability. Jolie’s essay in The Economist’s “The World in 2008” pulled no punches as she gave evidence on what accountability is needed for and how it can change, and has changed, the destructive spiral of vengeance around the world.

Jolie wrote that the convictions of heads of state for crimes against humanity from places like Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone are recognized by refugees, including those from Cambodia, Chad and Darfur who have also been witness to murder, rape, destruction and displacement.

In support, she revealed one of her experiences that occurred during a trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo five years ago: “In the Ituri region, where Mr Katanga’s reign of terror had been most intense, our group attended a meeting of rebel leaders. They had gathered in a field to discuss the prospects for a peace agreement—which were not looking very good. The conversation turned hostile and the situation grew extremely tense. At that point, one of my colleagues asked for the name of one of the rebels, announcing, perhaps a bit recklessly, that he was going to pass it along to the International Criminal Court [in the Hague].

“It was remarkable: this rebel leader’s whole posture changed from aggression to conciliation. The ICC had been around for only five months. It had tried no one. Yet its very existence was enough to intimidate a man who had been terrorizing the population for years.”

Set in her belief, Jolie states, “Accountability is perhaps the only force powerful enough to break the cycle of violence and retribution that marks so many conflicts. Only through justice will we achieve peace.”

Stars Design Plates For Charity

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:51:22 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

For those who want to have dinner with the stars, this could be the next best thing. A selection of dinner plates designed by celebrities are for sale, with proceeds going to charity.

The plates feature designs by David Bowie, George Clooney, Giorgio Armani, Coldplay, Minnie Driver, and Sir Michael Caine, and are part of a fundraising initiative from 21st Century Leaders, a non-profit organization that plans to raise $3 million over three years through its “Whatever It Takes” celebrity-designed merchandise. So far, the organization has raised almost $1.5 million to fund “charitable projects in developing countries, and contribute to the protection of the environment and other causes”.

21st Century Leaders was founded by Charlotte di Vita, MBE, a goodwill ambassador for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. The 39 year old founded her first charity, Trade plus Aid, in 1992, which has raised over $5 million and helped communities in 21 developing countries to become self-supporting. A desire to do more led di Vita to start Whatever It Takes, a unique charity art project where celebrities donate their own artwork, which is then transferred onto “merchandise with a meaning”.

“It’s 15 minutes of their time to do an artwork,” said di Vita. “And it’s not just for a one-off sale or auction – I can use it to create employment and royalties that will help the charities for years to come.”

Proceeds from the products are distributed to a charity of the designer’s choice, and the dinner plates (which retail for $20) will benefit Oxfam, Save the Children, CARE International, UNHCR, and Anti-Slavery International. Other products available include mugs featuring the designs of Claudia Schiffer, Ewan McGregor, and Nicole Kidman (also retailing for $20), T-shirts designed by the Kaiser Chiefs ($80), shoes designed by Ozzy Osbourne ($80), and wristbands by Joss Stone, Green Day, and Paul McCartney ($6).

All merchandise is available from www.whateverittakes.org.

Angelina Jolie Visits Iraq

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 15:11:59 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Actress Angelina Jolie visited Iraq and Syria for two days at the end of August, in an effort to raise international support for the millions of people displaced by war.

She made the trip, veiled in secrecy and with little media coverage, as part of her duties as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), an agency set up in 1950 to lead and coordinate international action for the protection of refugees, and to solve refugee problems worldwide.

“I have come to Syria and Iraq to help draw attention to this humanitarian crisis,” said the actress, who has visited over 20 countries since becoming an ambassador six years ago. “And to urge governments to increase their support for UNHCR and its partners.”

During her trip, Jolie visited the makeshift camp of al-Waleed, where 1200 refugees survive in basic conditions, prevented from entering Syria. Although Syria maintains open borders for Iraqi refugees, Palestinian residents of Iraq are not allowed to cross, and are stranded at the camp on the border. Jolie spent several hours talking with the refugees, as well as inspecting the medical and hygiene facilities.

“She did not make any promises,” said one of the refugees living at al-Waleed. “But she said ‘We will make an effort to resolve your situation.’”

The UNHCR is seeking to raise $223 million in aid to assist the 4.2 million Iraqis forced to leave their homes since the 2003 US-led invasion. Around 2 million of these people have fled into neighboring countries, placing heavy strains on their resources. The UNHCR have also launched an appeal with UNICEF to raise $130 million to help provide education to displaced Iraqi children.

“It is absolutely essential that the on-going debate about Iraq’s future includes plans for addressing the enormous humanitarian consequences these people face,” said Jolie, who plans to return to the troubled countries when her filming schedule allows.

Busy Month For Charity Icon Jolie

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 20:10:26 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

Angelina Jolie recently told an interviewer from Esquire magazine of her wish to be remembered more for her charity than her acting, and the first half of June is already bringing the fulfilment of that wish closer.

Describing the satisfaction her humanitarian path has brought her, she said, “I entered this business before I had focus and purpose in my life. I was very unhappy, very unhealthy, and when I sat down for an interview, I didn’t know why. I felt like I didn’t have anything to share.”

Jolie told Esquire, “I recently had a column published in a newspaper and at the end it didn’t say I was an actress. It said that I was a UN Goodwill Ambassador – that’s all. And I was really proud.”

Alongside that much-vaunted UNHCR ambassadorship, the actress was this month voted into the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank which boasts members such as Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, Diane Sawyer, Condoleezza Rice and Tom Brokaw.

“Angelina Jolie is accomplished in her field and has demonstrated serious interest in issues such as Darfur, international education and refugees,” said Lisa Shields, vice president of communications at CFR. “As such, her profile fits very well with other young professionals we’ve selected as the next generation of foreign policy leaders.”

Taking a further opportunity to do good, Jolie is donating the Bochic jewellery she wore to the Golden Globe Awards to a charity auction from which all proceeds will go to UNHCR programs in Chad for refugees from the Darfur region. The auction will run from June 19th to July 2nd at charityfolks.com.

And most recently, Jolie and partner Brad Pitt arranged Wednesday’s New York première of their new movie as a charity benefit event. “A Mighty Heart” recounts the story of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl, and its opening benefited the French charity Reporters Without Borders, which – appropriately – works to uphold the human rights of reporters.

Jolie And Shakira Swap Fundraising Tips

Mon, 21 May 2007 13:31:00 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

UN Goodwill Ambassadors Angelina Jolie and Shakira have reportedly become friends since their charity efforts brought them into contact.

A friend of Jolie said, “They have so much in common, we can’t believe they didn’t become buddies sooner.

“Shakira loves kids and runs a children’s charity in her home country so they have been swapping tips on fundraising.”

Jolie is ambassador of UNHCR, which works to help refugees, and Shakira represents UNICEF, the UN children’s fund.

Shakira’s own charity Pies Descalzos helps children displaced by fighting in Colombia, while the Jolie-Pitt Foundation funds various humanitarean causes, most recently including refugee relief in Darfur.

Jolie And Pitt Pledge $1m To Darfur

Fri, 11 May 2007 09:14:59 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

Philanthropic Hollywood couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have announced that they will give $1m through their foundation to help Sudanese refugees of the Darfur crisis.

Jolie has visited Sudan three times, and is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR, which is working to help those displaced by the fighting.

The donation is to be made through the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which the couple established in September 2006 as a vehicle for their philanthropic activities.

UNHCR representative Michel Gabaudan said, “This generous donation comes just months after Angelina Jolie made a personal visit to a refugee camp in Chad and it shows, once again, her and Brad Pitts’ commitment to helping refugees and the displaced.”

Fighting in the region continues between the Janjaweed militia and the African farmers, and an estimated two million people have been driven from their homes by the conflic, 240,000 of which are living in refugee camps in Chad. The Sudanese government denies allegations that it is funding the militia.

“As Goodwill Ambassador, Jolie’s continued support of UNHCR and those we seek to help is a powerful force in ensuring they are not forgotten,” said Mr. Gabaudan.

Jolie and Pitt Play Santa In Costa Rica

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 19:56:20 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt spent Christmas Day giving gifts to Colombian refugees in Costa Rica. Jolie, a UNHCR goodwill ambassador, travelled to the Central American country in 2002 to visit a different group of refugees, and returned this year to do what she could to help raise spirits and awareness this Holiday Season.

Four decades of armed conflict between leftist guerrillas, soldiers and paramilitary forces has displaced three million people within Columbia, and forced 11,500 people to seek refuge outside of the country.

“The conflict in Colombia is the greatest humanitarian tragedy in the Western Hemisphere, but it receives very little international attention,” Jolie said after her arrival in San José. “My Christmas message to Colombian refugees and to the millions of displaced people in Colombia is that the world has not totally forgotten them.”

Brad and Angelina arrived in the Colombian capital of San Jose Monday afternoon, where they took time to visit with refugees who have set up businesses thanks to help from a microcredit program run by UNHCR.

The famously charitable couple met with refugee families and handed out gifts to the children, and in turn were entertained with a dance performance by a group of young refugees.

Far from home, the refugees face hardship and prejudice. “We are automatically associated with bad things – crime, delinquency, drug trafficking – but people never think of us as victims of the conflict,” said one of the performers, speaking to Jolie and Pitt after the performance, according to a UNHCR statement in English on Tuesday.

“They never think, maybe this person, this refugee, had to leave everything behind to come here.”

Jolie was troubled by what she heard, and says that there is a need for greater tolerance and solidarity toward refugees around the world.

“It’s been sad for me to hear so many negative stories that show confusion between refugees, who are the victims of the conflict, and some criminal elements,” she said.

“It is especially shocking that such a tragedy can go on, year after year, with the rest of the world paying so little attention to it,” said Jolie.

The UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency – works closely with the government of Costa Rica to protect refugees and help their integration.

Forbes' "Most Generous Celebrities" List

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:04:20 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

Forbes Magazine has published a list of “Generous Celebrities”, highlighting the incredible generosity of some of the world’s most public faces.

The ten celebrities listed are:

Bono supports AIDS charity DATA and many others
Sandra Bullock gave $1m to the American Red Cross after the 9/11 bombings, and has also donated to the Tsunami relief fund
Nicolas Cage supports Chrysalis, an LA charity for the homeless, and gave $1m to Katrina relief
Jackie Chan is a UNICEF ambassador, founded the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation, and gave $100,000 to Chrysalis
Céline Dion is Celebrity Patron for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and donated $1m to the American Red Cross after Hurricane Katrina
Angelina Jolie has given more than $3m to the UNHCR
Paul McCartney supports the Adopt-A-Minefield charity, and he and wife Heather Mills jointly donateed $1.9m to Tsunami relief
Arnold Schwarzenegger supports the Special Olympics, and in 2001 he donated a total of $4.1m to the Twin Towers fund, After School All Stars and Nelson Mandela’s children’s fund
Steven Spielberg is a patron of the Righteous Persons Foundation, founder of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, and gave $1.5m to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts
Oprah gave $52m to charity in 2005 alone, and wrote a personal cheque for $10m to help victims of the Katrina disaster

Look To The Stars News: UNHCR

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