Janet Jackson Receives Humanitarian Honor

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:34:00 -0000

Superstar Janet Jackson was the recipient of a humanitarian award at an event organized by the Lisa Lopes Foundation on Saturday night.

Every year the charity honors an artist that has excelled in community and humanitarian efforts, and this year the presentation was made at the 13th Annual Hot 107.9 FM Birthday Bash at Phillips Stadium in Atlanta. Jackson was unable to attend the event, but accepted the award via a video. Other attendees included Ludacris and Usher, both of whom were past recipients of the award.

Jackson received the honor for her ability to create a global unification through her music and for her community efforts. She has provided global assistance to organizations which focus on children, hunger, conservation and animals, and after the tragic 911 attacks she supported the victims and families affected by the events at both the World Trade Center and the Pentagon through donations to the ClearChannel.com Relief Fund. She also aided the victims of the Tsunami disaster via the American Red Cross. Besides her support toward the on-going efforts of the Lisa Lopes Foundation, she also supports the Orca Network and Second Harvest.

“Instead of focusing on the mistakes our peers in the music industry make, the Lisa Lopes Award highlights their accomplishments in music and in giving back to the community,” said Ronald Lopes, Executive Director of the Lisa Lopes Foundation. “It’s our way of saying thank you. Your work has not gone unnoticed.”

Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, a member of R&B group TLC, was killed in a car accident in 2002. The Lisa Lopes Foundation was established in 2003 by Lisa’s mother, Wanda Lopes-Colemon, her brother Ronald Lopes and family friend Anashay Murphy. The Foundation was inspired by Lisa’s dream of building a children’s home on land she purchased in Honduras, now the site of Lisa’s Home of Love, a 10,000 sq. ft. residential facility. The orphanage includes a dental clinic, free healthcare, and on-site free schooling, which is open to children throughout the community who have no school to attend.

The mission of The Lisa Lopes Foundation is to provide access to basic health, education, self-awareness and recreational programs to children living in low-income communities within the United States and underdeveloped communities within Central America. The Foundation works to transform communities by establishing and supporting high quality community based programs.

Stars Get Behind A Big Problem

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:10:29 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Lolita is a 42-year-old living in Miami. Originally from Puget Sound near Washington, Lolita was forcibly taken from her home in 1970 – when she was only six years old – and forced to perform for people who would pay money to watch her. Thirty-seven years later, Lolita is still living in cramped conditions.

Lolita is 22 feet long and weighs 7,500 pounds. She loves being wet, but lives in a tank only 80 feet wide and 20 feet deep at the Miami Seaquarium… a far cry from the wide-open spaces of her home.

Lolita is an Orca – also known as a killer whale – and the campaign to send her home has just hit an all time high, with a long list of celebrity supporters adding their names to a proposal to retire the aging mammal to her home.

The Orca Network is behind the campaign, with organization co-founder and president Howard Garrett recently announcing the support of actors Johnny Depp and Harrison Ford and rap stars 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg.

“Momentum is building,” said Garrett. “A publicity campaign is in the works being directed by people in Hollywood.”

The Orca Network is also currently organizing a benefit concert to raise money for the campaign, perhaps featuring other celebrity supporters such as Janet Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, and Placido Domingo.

“Lolita is a very special orca,” said Garrett. “Her survival is beyond all expectations. Of the 45 of Lolita’s extended family, the Southern Resident orcas, captured and delivered to parks around the world between 1965 and 1975, all the others were dead by 1987. She is known to be courageous, yet so very gentle. She has endured 37 years of confinement while performing two shows per day, without the company of any other orca since 1980. She deserves a chance to retire to her home waters and visit with her family once again.“

Other celebrities to add their names in support of the “Free Lolita” campaign include Robert Downey Jr, Bob Barker, Hayden Panettiere, Billy Zane, and Jean Claude Van Damme.

People wishing to support the campaign or learn more can visit the Orca Network website.

Look To The Stars News: Orca Network

Janet Jackson Receives Humanitarian Honor

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