Look To The Stars News: ALAS

Shakira Launches Charity T-Shirts

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Shakira has unveiled a range of new T-shirts she has designed for charity.

The Colombian singer has created a range of shirts featuring angels and guitars to raise money for her own charity, Pies Descalzos.

“She is someone who has always been connected with the idea of wings and angels,” said her publicist. “It’s a pretty design that people will like.”

Shakira Receives Charity Medal

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Shakira has once again received a medal from the U.N. labor agency for her charity work.

At a small ceremony Wednesday in Geneva, U.N. labor chief Juan Somavia called Shakira a “true ambassador for children and young people, for quality education and social justice.”

The 33-year-old Colombian pop star’s foundation, the Barefoot Foundation, provides nutrition to more than 6,000 children in Colombia. In addition to working as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, she is also member of the ALAS Foundation that advocates for children across Latin America.

Shakira Launches Early Childhood Charity Initiative

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Grammy Award-winning artist Shakira and World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick have launched a US$300 million joint initiative aimed at expanding development programs for young children in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The “Early Childhood Initiative: An Investment for Life” seeks to focus cost-effective policies and resources in the region, while mobilizing public support to improve opportunities for its young citizens and thereby help overcome deep inequalities, said Zoellick during a signing ceremony of the partnership agreement between Shakira’s ALAS Foundation, Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the World Bank, held at the Bank’s Washington D.C. headquarters.

Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs provide children with adequate nutrition, healthcare and stimulating environments from the moment of conception through age six –a period of development crucial for achieving a child’s full potential. The initiative will help expand ECD programs in a region where 9 million children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition and 22 million lack access to early basic care.

Shakira To Talk Charity In Oxford

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Colombian star Shakira will give a talk in Oxford, UK, today – December 7 – about her charity work.

The singer will give the speech to the Oxford Union, the most famous debating society in the British university city.

Shakira is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and also founded 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.

Shakira and Latin Singers Unite Against Child Poverty, Again

Tue, 20 May 2008 10:12:26 +0000

The ‘Concert For The Children’ was staged last weekend, simultaneously in Mexico and Argentina, free to the over 300,000 expected viewers.

Packed with Latin stars including Shakira, Ricky Martin, Alejandro Sanz, Chayanne, Diego Torres, Juanes, Maná and Miguel Bosé, the concerts’ goal was to raise funds that charity ALAS will use to help the millions of children living in poverty throughout Latin America, and where an estimated 350,000 children die from poverty every year.

“People are condemned to poverty because there are no exits or choices,” Shakira said. “And children who don’t receive an opportunity end up as adults being involved with things that they never imagined they would be doing in the first place, like drug trafficking or being recruited into criminal groups. Imagine what Latin America could achieve if we invest in developing the potential of these children.”

Shakira’s $40m Gift

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:31:00 +0000

Colombian pop singer, Shakira, announced recently at Bill Clinton’s conference, Clinton Global Initiative, that Latin America in Solidarity Action (ALAS) is donating $40 million dollars towards relief efforts in Peru and Nicaragua.

Ica, Chincha and Pisco were the regions in Peru hardest hit by an earthquake last August. Hundreds of people were killed and over a thousand injured. A state of emergency was declared initially, as well as a request for medicine, blankets, tents and any other help that could be given in South America’s coldest season.

ALAS’s donations are providing shelter and basic necessities to over 37,000 people. Additionally, donations provide psychological and social support, oversee the supply and quality of water, and work with the community in rebuilding structures.

Shakira Joins Latin American Solidarity Action Foundation

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:53:00 +0000

Shakira has announced her plan to raise $200 million for the charity América Latina en Acción Solidaria (ALAS).

The singer, who is already a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and founder of Colombian charity Pies Descalzos, will stage four fundraising concerts in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and New York this year.

ALAS is dedicated to aiding impoverished communities throughout all of Latin America, focusing on improved nutrition, health and education for children. “ALAS came about because of a social emergency: 350 thousand children die each year due to avoidable causes; 40 million children work and live on the streets,” Shakira said.