As she moves on from her divorce from Kris Humphries, Kim Kardashian has decided to donate twice the value of her wedding gifts to the Dream Foundation. Kardashian revealed that the total value of wedding gifts she received equals $100k, so she’s decided to donate $200k to charity. Guests were informed that their gifts would not be returned—as Kardashian has decided to keep them—but that a charitable donation was made for twice the gift’s value.

The Dream Foundation is the first and largest national wish-granting organization for adults. It has been touching lives, meeting needs, reuniting families, and providing peace, closure and joy at the end of life’s journey since 1989. Together with hundreds of volunteers and more than 600 hospices and healthcare organizations nationwide, it fulfills thousands of dreams across the country each year.

Written by: DANIEL DAVIDSON

Grammy Award winner Estelle and friends Natasha Bedingfield, Kim Porter and Tika Sumptor experienced an intimate and exclusive afternoon of beauty, grooming and styling services the day before the 2012 Grammy Awards, all to benefit Estelle’s All of Me Foundation.

The ladies noshed, sipped drinks, and received massages as well as hair and beauty services compliments of Elgin Charles Hair Design and Kissable Couture, all while listening to the beats of DJ Toure.

The All of Me Foundation’s mission is to educate, enlighten, and expand the horizons of young people. Created by Estelle in 2010, All of Me expands young people’s knowledge base by providing significant exposure to real life work experiences, hands-on activities that challenge their decision making process, and intense cross cultural volunteer projects abroad.

Written by: DANIEL DAVIDSON

Actress Rose McGowan took a special trip to The Gentle Barn this weekend. McGowan, who regularly supports animal rights and rescue organizations, came to feed, clean and even hug some of The Gentle Barn’s 130 rescue animals, including cows, horses, goats, pigs, chickens, llamas, turkeys, emus, and peacocks.

McGowan began her visit with the animal sanctuary’s promoted “Hug-A-Cow” experience, a campaign inviting all visitors to hug a cow to feel the connection between all animals. Buttercup and Buddha received big hugs from McGowan, while others were on hand to hug Holy and Madonna (which were named by The Gentle Barn supporter Ellen DeGeneres).

In honor of her visit and support, The Gentle Barn co-founder Ellie Laks chose to name a newly rescued goat “Rose” as a thank you.  McGowan was graciously surprised by the gesture.

The Gentle Barn Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1999 as a safe haven and place of recovery for abused farm animals and children.  Its unique philosophy rehabilitates animals and connects their stories of survival and healing to the personal experiences of inner city, at-risk and special needs children and adults who have suffered physical, mental or emotional trauma.  Unlike most therapy animals who are selected for their docile temperaments and raised for service from a young age, each of The Gentle Barn’s 130 farm animals has a history of neglect, abandonment and other abuses that are personally relevant to at-risk children. The Gentle Barn is run by founder Ellie R. Laks and her partner Jay Weiner, both of whom were healed and supported by animals as children.

The Gentle Barn is open to the public Sundays from 10:00am to 2:00pm.

Written by: DANIEL DAVIDSON

On Saturday, January 21, 2012, Give Back Hollywood hosted its poppin’ VIBE AT SUNDANCE event benefiting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.  Special guest DJ YO-C rocked the house for three hours as celebrity guests like Estelle and Toni Braxton enjoyed the evening.  The ladies were joined by Jamal Munnerlyn, Rockmand Dunbar, Omari Hardwick, and Vibe Editor-in-Chief, Jermaine Hall.

The event was sponsored by Vibe Magazine, as well as Empire CLS and Indie Vest.

Written by: DANIEL DAVIDSON

Beyonce and Jay-Z are celebrating the birth of their daughter, Blue Ivy, by donating a majority of the baby gifts they’ve received to charity.  A source said:

“They’ve been sent literally hundreds of gifts in the past few days. Oprah Winfrey gave a huge trunk of children’s books and others like P. Diddy, Kanye West, Rihanna and Mariah Carey have all been sending luxurious baby treats.

Jay-Z and Beyonce have decided to donate a massive selection of the presents to local charities for young mothers. They’ve already got the most precious gift – their new baby daughter – so they want to help out other parents who haven’t been as fortunate.”

The source also said that there is one gift the couple does want to keep:

“A close friend of theirs in the music industry gave them a diamond-encrusted Cartier dummy - it must have cost $20,000. Blue has officially got her first piece of bling!”

Blue Ivy isn’t yet a month old and is already learning a wonderful lesson about humility and charity.

Written by: DANIEL DAVIDSON

On the second anniversary of the devastating Haitian earthquake, Cinema for Peace Los Angeles honored Sean Penn and J/P Haitian Relief Organization (J/P HRO) with the Cinema for Peace Award for Humanitarian Action in Haiti.

Other honorees at the January 14 event included Cheryl Mills (Counselor and Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton), Brad Horwitz (CEO, Trilogy International Partners / VOILA), and indie rock band Arcade Fire (Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and Marika Anthony-Shaw).

The event was hosted by Bill Maher with special performances by Damien Rice and Arcade Fire. Former Prime Minister of Haiti Jean-Max Bellerive, Minister of Foreign and Religious Affairs of Haiti Laurent Lamothe, and California Attorney General Kamala Harris were also in attendance.  Oprah Winfrey, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President Bill Clinton, and Haitian President Michel Martelly also recorded special messages for the event.

Dustin Lance Black, Orlando Bloom, Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, James Gandolfini, Mel Gibson, Melanie Griffith, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Salma Hayek, Eve Hewson, Felicity Jones, Diane Lane, Petra Nemcova, Julia Roberts, Hilary Swank, and Rainn Wilson were among the celebrity guests.

J/P Haitian Relief Organization is dedicated to saving lives and bringing sustainable programs to the Haitian people quickly and effectively. Following the tragic earthquake of 2010 J/P HRO began working immediately to make an impact in Haiti.  J/P HRO works with both government and non-governmental agencies to deliver immediate results where the need is greatest. Efforts include but are not limited to providing emergency medical and primary care services, delivering badly needed medical equipment and medicine, distributing food and water purification systems, improving communication systems, and developing housing and education facilities.

Since 2002, Cinema for Peace has been a worldwide initiative, promoting humanity through film.  Showcasing cinematic work that highlights the human condition and human values, they have created a platform for peace and tolerance.  Cinema for Peace brings together international members of the entertainment community with policy makers, leaders of the business community, and civil society to celebrate the power of moving image and its ability to unite cultures.

Written by: DANIEL DAVIDSON

Last week, I had the opportunity to interview Ms. Louise O’Shea, the Communications/Celebrity Manager at Keep A Child Alive.  She was kind enough to describe what KCA does and why it was founded by Alicia Keys.

DD: When and why did Alicia Keys start KEEP A CHILD ALIVE?

LO’S: Leigh Blake has been an AIDS activist for many years having founded Red Hot + Blue and Artists Against AIDS Worldwide. She met Alicia Keys in a recording studio during a re-make of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Whats Goin’ On’ with many artists such as Bono and Mary J Blige. Leigh could instinctively tell that Alicia, at 19, was a genuine young musician who was passionate to create change as an artist and Leigh began to tell Alicia about the need to provide anti-retroviral medication that can bring life back to those infected with HIV. During a trip to Kenya, Leigh had visited a clinic where she met a mother who could not provide AIDS treatment for her infected son. She stated that she would not leave the clinic until given the treatment for her son that was provided in the Western World. This unjust truth of available medicine in the West vs Africa shook Leigh to her core and that conversation between two mothers created the spark for Keep a Child Alive. Leigh came back to tell Alicia about this urgent need for medication and from their friendship and undeniable passion for Africa, Keep a Child Alive was born in 2003 to provide mothers, fathers and children with the life-saving AIDS treatment in Africa and now, India.

DD: What are some of the programs and services offered by KCA?

LO’S: Keep a Child Alive was created as an urgent funding source to community programs to provide access to AIDS treatment in Africa but now our work continues to evolve with the pandemic. As governments are responding to issues in accessing medication, with 44% of those in desperate need in low- and middle-income countries now on anti-retroviral treatment, Keep a Child Alive is ever more involved in surrounding care, nutrition, medical staffing and orphan care programs to support families in their entirety affected by AIDS. We currently fund 11 clinical and orphan care community-based organizations in 5 countries – India, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa.

DD: Louise, when did you become involved with the organization? What is your role?

LO’S: I originally became involved with Keep a Child Alive as I spent a summer in 2008 volunteering at one of the orphan care centers that KCA funded in Durban, South Africa. After working with children directly impacted from the life-saving funds raised by Keep a Child Alive, I was forever changed by the stories of hope and life but also those of misfortune and corruption in Africa and the developing world. This moved me to found a Chapter at McGill University to continue to fundraise for KCA’s programs involving my student community and ultimately, to work in public relations related to international development.

After a move down to New York City and 4 additional journeys to South Africa, I am currently the Communications/Celebrity Manager at Keep a Child Alive. I work directly with our President, Vice-President and Director of Development to drive new media campaign development, represent & directly liaise with our celebrity ambassadors, manage talent for our gala events and red carpets, and coordinate all outgoing communication & press opportunities.

DD: What has been the most fulfilling aspect of working with KCA?

LO’S: In 2009 during a visit to South Africa, I was in a traditional Zulu ceremony and given the named ‘Busisiwe’ which means ‘blessed’ and I couldn’t describe my work in any other way. Having the opportunity to share the stories of our patients and children in Africa and India with our supporters in the media is incredible and gives a beautiful realness to the life-saving work that Keep a Child Alive accomplishes on a daily basis. A story of how a father of 7 is now on treatment, healthy, back at work and able to support his children inspires our donors and high profile supporters and I love the connection that I am fortunate enough to build with our celebrity ambassadors. Knowing that through events and innovative campaigns, I help to bring celebrity and philanthropy together to save lives is really special and each of the 250,000 + lives served by Keep a Child Alive is what continuously fulfills me.

DD: Could you share some thoughts on the college chapters of KCA? I was involved at one at NYU in my undergrad days that was very active.

LO’S: As a student who created a college chapter for Keep a Child Alive (KCA) – I am a huge believer in the power of this generation and their passion for philanthropy!! KCA believes that anyone, anywhere can fundraise for our cause. Community and college fundraisers are our grass-roots soldiers and they move our mission along in the U.S and around the world through their spirit and perseverance to raise funds for the children and families we serve. It is inspiring to think of the thousands and thousands of dollars that our college chapters have raised over the past few years. It is empowering to think that more students will hopefully graduate to continue supporting Keep a Child Alive in their workplaces but also that this generation will incorporate philanthropy and compassion into all that they do!

DD: How can people get involved with KCA?

LO’S: It can be as simple as liking us on Facebook (facebook.com/keepachildalive), becoming a monthly donor to our work or hosting your own fundraiser for Keep a Child Alive in your community! You could run a marathon in support of KCA, donate your birthday to KCA or attend one of our Black Ball Gala Events – no matter how big or small your donation or support is to Keep a Child Alive, it makes a difference. $5 buys AIDS care for an adult or child affected by HIV for an entire week! Check out http://keepachildalive.org/get-involved/ for more ideas!

DD: Thanks to Louise for taking time to talk to us!

Katharine McPhee is helping in an effort to stomp out malaria by becoming a spokesperson for the organization Malaria No More.

Malaria No More is an organization that teams up with various charities, people and corporations to help stop the deaths that are caused by malaria.

According to the WHO World Malaria Report there were 655,000 deaths due to malaria in 2010, which is an actual improvement from years past. However, if there is a shortage in funds, the progress toward stopping malaria altogether could be left at a standstill with no room to improve. Therefore awareness and continual funding is crucial.

“There remains a misconception about what [malaria] actually is and that it’s entirely preventable,” McPhee told USA TODAY. “What the message needs to be is that we can get rid of this. A 10-dollar donation for a mosquito net helps. It’s the simplest thing you can do. You can leave it up to MNM to ensure that the nets are really getting to the actual people in Africa.”

McPhee is taking a step toward creating awareness and informing the public that malaria can be stopped – helping to banish it altogether.

Written by: Marissa Lopez

Photo Credit: RCA

]]> http://www.stepuphollywood.com/2012/01/04/katharine-mcphee-speaks-malaria/feed/ 0 http://www.stepuphollywood.com/2012/01/02/ne-yo-spreads-holiday-cheer-orlandos-foster-teens/ http://www.stepuphollywood.com/2012/01/02/ne-yo-spreads-holiday-cheer-orlandos-foster-teens/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:04:30 +0000 Daniel Davidson http://www.givebackhollywood.com/?p=3093

Singer Ne-Yo was greeted by 500 screaming kids at a recent holiday party in Orlando, Florida.  Ne-Yo brought gifts and a message of hope to his guests, teenagers who are part of Florida’s foster care system.

“This is the first famous person I actually met,” exclaimed Tha Banks, 16, with a huge smile. Banks, a sports fan, got a new football autographed by the R&B superstar.

Shaffer “Ne-Yo” Smith has visited underprivileged children across the country for the past five years, bringing toys, games, shoes and clothing as part of his charity’s annual “giving tour.”

In 2011, Ne-Yo and his mother, who is president of his foundation, visited six cities in six days, bringing Christmas gifts to more than 3,000 kids at Boys and Girls clubs, group homes, and in foster care.

“I grew up pretty much like you all,” Ne-Yo told the teens at the central Florida foster home. “We didn’t have a lot of anything … there was no silver spoon in my mouth.”

A father of two himself, Ne-Yo said he sees his children in the faces of the kids he meets at these events.

“It’s hard for me to fathom any parent that would abandon their kids for whatever reason,” said Ne-Yo, the father of a 1-year-old and a 3-month-old. “That doesn’t compute with me.”

The holiday party was organized by the Kids House of Seminole County, which cares for 2,300 kids each year between the ages of 3 and 18, including victims of neglect, and others who witness domestic violence, or experience physical or sexual abuse, according to Marcie Dearth of Kids House.

With about 19,000 kids in foster care, Florida has the fourth-largest number of kids in state care, behind California, New York and Texas, according to a 2010 report.

Written by: DANIEL DAVIDSON

]]>

This holiday season, children being treated for cancer at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital have help from two guardian angels, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux. The celebrity couple sent beautifully decorated joint Christmas cards that shared this message:

We wish you and your family a holiday season full of happiness and joy.  A donation has been made in your name to St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and Best Friends Animal Society.

With warmth and love, Jen and Justin

Aniston has been a longtime supporter of both organizations.

Written by: DANIEL DAVIDSON