Look To The Stars News: New Look Foundation

Usher Inspires Children To Help Haiti

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:00:00 -0000

After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, music legend and humanitarian Usher urged young people worldwide to mobilize and utilize their resources to help the victims.

Days after the disaster- on January 18, 2010- Usher announced a partnership with the United Nations Foundation to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake. Through Usher’s non-profit, Usher's New Look, Usher challenged young people worldwide to raise $5 each to help the United Nations’ emergency response in Haiti.

Immediately after hearing Usher’s call to action Will Smith, NFL star athlete with the New Orleans Saints, called on his fans—especially young people in New Orleans to answer Usher’s call to action. “As our own Katrina recovery continues, the plight of Haiti today is too familiar for those of us in New Orleans to ignore. All of us should be compelled to help. That’s why I’ve joined Usher to help raise money for Haiti’s recovery efforts,” said Smith.

Smith has not only asked his fans to join the effort, but he has personally contributed $20,000 to send a mobile health clinic to Haiti on behalf of the world’s youth.

“This mobile health clinic will ensure that the UN Foundation can continue relief efforts beyond the initial response and recovery,” said Shawn H. Wilson, President of Usher’s New Look. “In times of crisis it is important to look beyond immediate needs towards sustainable solutions. Young people understand this, which makes the mobile clinic a fitting contribution on behalf of this group.”

Thousands of youth responded from 17 countries, with many examples of commendable youth-led service projects for Haiti. In India, an 11 year old girl named Makayla G. Gilliam-Price made beaded bracelets to raise money for Usher’s New Look’s Haiti relief efforts. In Malaysia, youth leaders from the ‘Power of 10Sen’ group are mobilizing 400,000 youth to raise small donations in their schools and communities. Additional examples include Sophie, a young girl in Belgium that worked with her classmates to create and sell artwork to raise donations. Kimberly Mcmillian at the Benjamin Franklin Senior High School in New Orleans raised $2500 by organizing a day where all students could wear Saints hats to school for a small price.

Mobilizing youth is made easier with tools such as the One Economy toolkit www.pic.tv/willsmith, located on Will Smith’s website, www.thewillsmith.com youth can inspire adults and peers alike to become involved.

By teaming up with the United Nations Foundation, young leaders around the world have directly supported Haiti relief and recovery efforts through the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund, which disbursed $25 million immediately following the earthquake. Youth are directly helping the UN help Haiti by supporting humanitarian relief efforts including search and rescue operations, the provision of food, shelter, clean water and medical care, and now the recovery and rebuilding process.

In the months ahead, the UN’s life-saving work will continue, including delivering food and water to millions of Haitians, providing jobs to more than 200,000 people, ensuring women and children are safe and mitigating diseases such as measles and malaria. These are just a few of the daunting tasks that lay ahead but the UN is rising to the challenge, thanks to support for people around the world and, in particular, young leaders who are engaging their families, schools and communities to help the UN help Haiti.

Young people can continue to report on their efforts and accomplishments by logging on to twitter and Facebook and share their fundraising activities and successes with pictures, videos and statements. The ‘Powered By Service’ twitter page will be used to recognize and track efforts. For each dollar raised, youth are being encouraged to tweet their efforts @powerbyservice to demonstrate their commitment.

For information on fundraising for Haiti, please log ushersnewlook.org, thewillsmith.com or poweredbyservice.org.

Usher Helps Out With Home Makeover

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:00:00 -0000

On October 17, 2009, R&B star Usher and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” traveled to Clarksville, Tennessee to give Trina Scott and her three daughters the good news that their problem-ridden home would be rebuilt in just seven days. This episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” will air SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.

Trina, 44, met her husband Dave while he was serving with U.S. Army Special Forces in Fort Bragg – and it was love at first sight.

After his discharge, Dave became a Clarksville police officer. In 2002, he and his partner were on duty when their police car was violently struck by a truck. The car spun out of control, hit a guardrail, caught fire and killed both Dave and his partner almost instantly. Overwhelmed with grief, Trina turned to a group called Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. (C.O.P.S.), which helps the surviving family members of officers killed in the line of duty. Inspired by the help she received from C.O.P.S., Trina devoted all of her free time to the organization and became its President in 2003. The time that Trina dedicates to C.O.P.S. represents essentially a full-time job, and that’s on top of the full time job she works to support her three daughters — Leyla, 17, Deidie, 13, and Alethea, 11. Trina has spent more than $20,000 on the mounting repairs to her small home, but the structural problems caused by termites and water damage remains.

Usher was on hand to help with the build, but mostly to recognize and support the family’s dedication to giving back. Usher’s New Look Foundation awarded the Scott family $25,000 to continue their legacy of service and give back to the community in an even bigger way. Usher’s New Look has been working for the past 10 years to support young people to use their talents and creativity to become corporate and community leaders.

The work of the Foundation now expands to Tennessee where the Scott daughters and their peers at C.O.P.S. will use the funds provided by Usher’s New Look to give out small grants of $500 to other youth to start community service and social entrepreneurship projects. This youth to youth grant-making project is a part of Usher’s New Look’s Powered by Service initiative, which encourages young people to utilize their talents and passions to make a difference in their community.

In addition to youth in Tennessee, young people ages 12 through 20 around the country are eligible to apply for a $500 Powered By Service grant by logging onto poweredbyservice.org or ushersnewlook.org. Grants will be awarded to exceptional service ideas so that youth are not only called to serve, but have the tools they need to create real change. For more information about Usher’s New Look or Powered By Service, please visit the Web site at http://www.poweredbyservice.org or http://www.ushersnewlook.org.

Usher Honored In The Mississippi

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

R&B star Usher hit the South Mississippi coast last week to raise money for his New Look Foundation.

The 29-year-old singer was star guest at the Club Tiki at Beau Rivage, and was honored for his work with New Look and his commitment to provide housing for about 80 Beau Rivage employees whose homes were destroyed or nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Members of the public each paid a donation of $10 to attend the ceremony and listen to the star’s speech.

During the evening, the five-time Grammy winner talked about his desire to make a contribution those less fortunate. He hopes to become known as someone who did everything he could to help others in need.

Usher’s New Look Foundation is largely dedicated to improving health, mental health and housing for families affected by Hurricane Katrina. It is also committed to helping young people enter the business side of the sports and entertainment industries, and provides a two-week summer camp for children aged 12-17 where they can explore the industries while learning about and strengthening their skills.

“Service, volunteerism and civic action are integrated into all our programs, and we’re committed to being a voice and a force to aid in the resettling of evacuees and the mobilization to help rebuild communities fractured by hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” said Usher. “It’s about making something happen that’s good, right and needed.”

Usher Partners with Atlanta Dream For His New Look Foundation

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:21:10 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

Five-time Grammy Award winning singer, actor, and humanitarian Usher Raymond, also known as Usher, has announced a new partnership with the WNBA Atlanta Dream team and his New Look Foundation.

“I’m extremely excited about Camp New Look’s partnership with the Atlanta Dream, and look forward to witnessing how this new partnership motivates our young people to even greater heights,” says Usher. “We wanted to do something extra special for our students, and I’m happy that the Atlanta Dream have provided an avenue for our young entrepreneurs to attain real life experience.”

Usher’s New Look Foundation, now in its fourth year, has helped over 1,300 teens from across the country through Camp New Look in Atlanta and mini-camps in New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Milwaukee. This year, Usher is stepping it up a notch by expanding its youth services with the launch of the New Look Internship program for those who want to develop a career in the sports and entertainment industries.

Of the new partnership Atlanta, Dream President & COO Bill Bolen says, “The Atlanta Dream shares Usher’s commitment to inspiring young men and women to reach for their dreams. We are excited to partner with Usher’s New Look Foundation and look forward to the New Look youth participating with us this season.”

The new partnership with the Atlanta Dream allows New Look participants to receive hands-on experience in sports management, player development and game day operations and marketing.

Usher’s New Look Foundation, was established to empower youth from underserved communities by giving them the skills necessary to enter careers in the sports and entertainment industry with the intent of increasing their economic stats and decreasing at-risk behavior. We accomplish this through exposure, experience and employment opportunities.

For more information about Camp New Look, visit http://www.ushersnewlook.org

The Dream will tip-off its first regular season home game on Friday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m. against defending Eastern Conference Champions the Detroit Shock. The team was officially announced as the 14th team in the WNBA on October 17, 2007. The Dream will be a member of the WNBA’s Eastern conference and play their home games at Philips Arena. Other Eastern conference teams include the Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Detroit Shock, Indiana Fever, New York Liberty and Washington Mystics. For more
information visit http://www.AtlantaDream.net.

Hill, McGraw and More Become Cartier LOVECHARITY Ambassadors

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 11:29:26 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Djimon Hounsou, and Eva Mendes are among the list of 2007 Cartier LOVECHARITY Bracelet Ambassadors.

The Cartier LOVE bracelet was introduced more than 30 years ago, and has risen to be one of the most coveted jewelry designs in the world. In 2006 alone, more than $1.2 million was donated to eight global charities from the sales of its LOVECHARITY bracelet, spurring the company to create a new LOVECHARITY bracelet for 2007. The goal is to exceed last year’s donations as a number of new celebrities join the endeavor.

The 2007 LOVECHARITY bracelet features an 18K white gold miniature LOVE bracelet graced with the word LOVE and accented with two signature screw motifs. It is set into a knotted silk cord available in various colors, with each cord designating support of a unique cause. The bracelet costs $475 with $100 per bracelet benefiting its corresponding charity.

The complete list of the 2007 Ambassadors and their corresponding charities includes:

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have a chocolate brown bracelet for the Neighbor's Keeper Foundation
Djimon Hounsou has a deep copper bracelet for SOS Children's Villages
Eva Mendes has a navy bracelet for The Art of Elysium
Julianne Moore has a lavender bracelet for the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance
Rihanna has a sea foam green bracelet for Believe
Usher has a gold bracelet for the New Look Foundation
Rachel Weisz has a lilac bracelet for The Constant Gardener Trust
Elie Wiesel has a yellow bracelet for The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity

The 2006 LOVECHARITY Bracelets will also be available through the year, supporting YouthAIDS (Rosario Dawson) ; the Salma Hayek Foundation (Salma Hayek) ; USA Harvest (Scarlett Johansson) ; Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film & Television Graduate Division / Tisch School of the Arts/NYC (Spike Lee) ; Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (Edward Norton) ; UNICEF (Sarah Jessica Parker) ; The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (Liv Tyler) ; and Mercy Corps Gulf Coast Recovery Fund (Michael Stipe).

Cartier’s second annual LOVE DAY is scheduled for June 8, and on this day 10% of all sales from the complete LOVE collection will benefit partnered organizations.

Look To The Stars News: New Look Foundation

Usher Inspires Children To Help Haiti

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Usher Helps Out With Home Makeover

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Usher Honored In The Mississippi

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Usher Partners with Atlanta Dream For His New Look Foundation

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Hill, McGraw and More Become Cartier LOVECHARITY Ambassadors

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