Look To The Stars News: Tiger Woods Foundation

Tiger Woods Foundation Wants Cell Phones For Soldiers

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:30:00 -0000

“This event means a lot to me,” wrote Tiger Woods in a note to his fans expressing his appreciation for their outpouring of support for the AT&T National, in which 120 of the world’s best players will compete for the AT&T National tournament trophy and $6 million in prize money at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesday, MD, on July 2-6.

The opening ceremony will include performances by the U.S. Air Force Ceremonial Brass Quintet, the Joint Honor Guard representing the five branches of the military.

“I wanted this year’s ceremony to honor the men and women who serve in our military and their families,” Tiger Woods said. “I grew up in a military household, which gave me an understanding of the sacrifices these soldiers and their families make for all of us. It’s our way of saying thanks to them.”

“I’m really looking forward to playing the AT&T National. It’s a world-class venue that should provide a great week of competition,” said Fred Couples, who holds 15 PGA TOUR victories and will be participating in the AT&T National’s ceremonial first shot on Wednesday, July 2. Davis Love III, who holds 19 PGA TOUR titles, added: “Congressional has one of the greatest courses in the U.S. and I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to compete on the Blue Course.”

Tournament officials announced that other top golfers committed to the 120-player field include KJ Choi, Rocco Mediate, Zach Johnson, Anthony Kim, Stuart Appleby, J.B. Holmes, Ryuji Imada, Paul Goydos, Bart Bryant, Jeff Quinney, Daniel Chopra, D.J. Trahan, Fred Funk and Charles Howell III, Notay Begay, Chris Riley, Olin Browne, Billy Andra and many more.

Children ages 13-18 will have the opportunity to participate in the First Pump Challenge at a station in the Grove at Hole 11 by sharing their proudest moments and greatest achievements with Tiger Woods. Children at home can also participate in this challenge online by submitting an essay or video about their “first pump moment” to the Tiger Woods Foundation at www.tigerwoodsfoundation.org.

AT&T has donated more than $500,000 worth of prepaid phone cards to Cell Phones for Soldiers. During the tournament you will receive free postage at the AT&T Digital Clubhouse to mail your old cell phone to the organization. If you are not planning on attending, you can still help out by dropping your old cell phone off any AT&T store.

For more information, go to www.att.com/pressroom/soldiers. Tickets for the tournament start at just $25 and can be ordered by calling 1-800-594-TIXX or visiting the tournament website at www.attnational.org.

Vijay Makes Charity Work In India a Big Deal

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 09:52:48 -0000

Written by Crystal A. Johnson

Former tennis star Vijay Amritraj is not only devoted to calling attention to the plight of those in need in India, he also backs up his devotion to these needs by hosting two charity events back to back.

At seven AM on Friday morning Amritraj hosted his 2nd Annual Celebrity Charity Golf Classic. Among the celebs to support the golf event were Golden Globe Winner Elke Sommer, Wonder Woman movie star Cathy Lee Crosby, James Sikking (Hill Street Blues/Doogie Howser), former soap star Tom Hallick and it was quite a big deal when two of the game show models from the hit Deal or No Deal hit the course at Simi Valley’s Lost Canyons Golf Club.

The day of efforts to raise money included raffles, silent and live auction items. Among the silent auction items included tickets donated by the Tiger Woods Foundation to the Masters champion play.

The next evening Vijay hosted a Gala Banquet at the Beverly Hilton. Chuck Norris was honored at the gala for his work with children. One of the evening’s hosts was Parminder Nagra of Bend It Like Beckham fame and the tv series ER. Parminder looked absolutely stunning in her pink Sari. Many of the Celeb Golfers returned for round 2 of the charity oriented weekend. Tom Hallick conducted the live auction. Briefcase #18 model A.K.A Marisa Petroro modeled beautiful jewelry during the live auction. However, the biggest live auction prize of the night was comprised of roundtrip airfare to London, the two tickets to join Vijay at Wimbledon and then join him for dinner. This prize went for $30,000.

Determined to generate the most money he could for the foundation, Vijay offered to the same opportunity to the bidder who would match $30,000. Much to his pleasure, someone did make a matching bid.

The silent auction offered a wide variety of great items including a sneaker autographed by LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant, reserved seating to see Dr. Phil McGraw’s and Jay Leno’s shows.

Vijays says, “Since my appointment as UN ambassodor of Peace, I have seen the first-hand magnitude of a plight that exists all around us. The more I saw, the more it became obvious to me that something had to be done…” The Vijay Amritraj Foundation helps with a multiple causes in India which include helping those with HIV/AIDS, education of women, children and the blind. To learn more, go to www.vijayamritrajfoundation.org.

Oprah Tops Celebrity Philanthropy A-List

Sat, 12 May 2007 08:24:15 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

A list of the 30 largest public donations made by celebrities in the past year puts Oprah in the top spot.

The Giving Back Fund, which encourages and advises on celebrity philanthropy, compiles its list each year. President Marc Pollick said, “Encouragement-by-example is the main reason for the Giving Back 30 list.”

Oprah gave $58.3 million to Oprah’s Angel Network and her recently-opened Leadership Academy.

Of the other celebrities high on the list, Barbra Streisand was in fourth spot, having given $11.75 million through her Streisand Foundation.

Tiger Woods took fifth place, giving $9.5 million to organisations including the Tiger Woods Learning Center funded by the Tiger Woods Foundation.

Giving Back’s Marc Pollick praised an increasing trend in celebrity donations, saying, “Ten years ago when Slate magazine first published the Slate 60 reporting on the most generous American philanthropists, the last donor on their list gave $5 million. This year the last donor donated $30 million to charity. This is the type of growth we are hoping to inspire within the sports and entertainment community. One cannot help but be influenced by the generosity of his or her peers.”

The full list and information about how it was compiled can be found at givingback.org. This site has previously reported on many of the list’s featured celebrities and their donations; a comprehensively linked version of the list appears below:

Position	Celebrity	Donation	Cause(s)
1	Oprah Winfrey	$58,300,000	Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy, Oprah’s Angel Network, and other groups
2	Geoffrey Beene	$44,000,000 (bequest)	Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
3	Jack and Marie Lord	$40,000,000 (bequest)	Hawaii Community Foundation
4	Barbra Streisand	$11,750,000	Streisand Foundation, numerous civil liberties, environmental, and civil rights organizations “dedicated to democratic values”
5	Tiger Woods	$9,500,000	Tiger Woods Learning Center, Earl D. Woods Sr. Scholarship Fund, and other Tiger Woods Foundation programs
6	Rosie O’Donnell	$5,700,000	Katrina Relief efforts including Renaissance Village (a temporary shelter for Katrina victims), day care centers, a rehabilitation center in San Antonio, and a Habitat For Humanity sub division in Baton Rouge
7	Martha Stewart	$5,000,000	New York’s Mt. Sinai Hospital for a center on healthy aging
8	Carmelo Anthony	$4,282,000	CAF Youth Center in Baltimore, AAU Basketball, Syracuse University Recreational Center, and other charities
9	Pat Boone & Shirley Boone	$3,000,000	Pepperdine University for the Graduate School of Education and Psychology Center for the Family
9	LeRoy Neiman	$3,000,000	The School of the Art Institute of Chicago to support a Master’s class in figure drawing
11	Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt	$2,415,000	School and Community Center in Swakopmund in Namibia, Daniel Pearl Foundation, Namibian hospitals, Doctors Without Borders, Global Action for Children and others
12	Nicolas Cage	$2,000,000	Amnesty International for a fund to help child soldiers
12	Dwayne Johnson (“The Rock”) and Dany Garcia Johnson	$2,000,000	University of Miami to name new Alumni Center living room
12	Paul McCartney	$2,000,000	Adopt-A-Minefield
12	Arnold Palmer	$2,000,000	Pledged to the Arnold Palmer Foundation ultimately to benefit the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
16	David Geffen	$1,600,000	David Geffen Foundation
17	Susan Saint James and Dick Ebersol	$1,300,000	The Gunnery to help pay for a new dormitory in memory of their son Teddy killed in a plane crash
18	Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg	$1,250,000	Boston University to renovate facilities
19	Andre Agassi	$1,070,000	Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation
20	Tiki and Ronde Barber and family	$1,000,000	University of Virginia to support the McIntire School of Commerce, the Virginia Athletics Foundation, Childrens Hospital, a scholarship fund for African-American students, the Young Alumni Council, and to challenge young alumni to participate in the capital campaign
20	Bob Barker	$1,000,000	Georgetown University to endow a fund at its law school that will focus on the study of animal rights
20	Gloria Estefan	$1,000,000	Miami Paralysis Project
20	Dr. Phil McGraw & Robin McGraw	$1,000,000	Dr. Phil Foundation
20	George Steinbrenner & family	$1,000,000	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for Boshamer Stadium for baseball
20	Tony Stewart	$1,000,000	Victory Junction Gang Camp
20	Denzel Washington	$1,000,000	Save Africa’s Children
27	Mike Sexton	$560,000	Special Olympics, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, Children, Inc., Wounded Warrior Project, Ohio State University, and other charities
28	Lance Armstrong	$500,000	Lance Armstrong Foundation
28	Dolly Parton	$500,000	Fort Sanders Medical Center
28	Elizabeth Taylor	$500,000	New Orleans AIDS Task Force to purchase mobile medical unit for AIDS sufferers in New Orleans

Look To The Stars News: Tiger Woods Foundation

Tiger Woods Foundation Wants Cell Phones For Soldiers

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Vijay Makes Charity Work In India a Big Deal

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Oprah Tops Celebrity Philanthropy A-List

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