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Looks like Backstreet Boy Nick Carter is trying to make over his image - with a United Nations gig. Carter will be helping raise awareness of threats to the survival of dolphins in the wild for the U.N. Environment Programme, the Convention on Migratory Species, and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. "People like Bono, Angelina Jolie, and Nicole Kidman have inspired me to put my celebrity to good use," Carter says. "I have the advantage of reaching multiple generations to make a difference... I am really excited, but also a little nervous about this much responsibility...it is an actual job. There are responsibilities and commitments that I must make to be the voice of dolphins, whales and conservation issues, and expectations are quite large."
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Kate Winslet has turned something ugly into something good by donating the money she won in a libel case against a British magazine to several eating disorder charities. Winslet won a lawsuit in March after Grazia mag claimed she had visited a diet doctor and suggested the Holiday star was a hypocrite for speaking out publicly against Hollywood's pressure to be skinny. The magazine was ordered to publish an apology, Winslet split the proceeds between three eating disorder charities. "I think she was inundated by charities asking for help," says a rep for one of the organizations. "We were informed last week the money would be split between three eating disorder charities and we were thrilled to be one of them. This is a very thoughtful way of highlighting the issue."
Brooke Shields is campaigning for the bigwigs in Washington to pass legislation to help new mothers with postpartum depression. "There is an entire population of women suffering," Shields said in an interview on Sunday. "And it's time, I believe, for Congress to step in and prevent that, and actually save lives and save potential tragedy." Shields has been open about her own battle with postpartum depression after the birth of her first daughter. "I had gone through numerous attempts to have a baby, and then I finally did have this perfect, beautiful, healthy baby, and it all but destroyed me," Shields said, and added that if Congress passed a bill on the matter, it would be "an easy gift to give to women everywhere."
Drew Barrymore is following in the footsteps of Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts as a U.N. ambassador. Barrymore has been named as an ambassador against hunger for the World Food Program after a recent trip to Kenya, where she toured WFP-supported school projects. "I can't think of any issue that is more important than working to see that no schoolchild in this world goes hungry," the Lucky You actress said in a statement. "Feeding a child at school is such a simple thing, but it works miracles. I've seen it with my own eyes." Barrymore was in Washington this week advocating legislation in Congress to increase funds for school meals from $100 million a year to close to $300 million a year over the next five years.
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Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon and Don Cheadle have agreed to use the publicity for their upcoming film Ocean's Thirteen to draw attention to the genocide in Darfur. The foursome have partnered with the International Rescue Committee to launch www.notonourwatchproject.org, a website dedicated to raising funds to help the thousands of people uprooted by the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region. "All the guys have been to the Sudan this year. They saw this huge genocide and nobody doing anything about it," said the film's producer on Thursday. "Clooney got attention earlier, but it faded. What we are trying to do here is bring our celebrity to raise money and bring a spotlight on Sudan again. We decided to dedicate ourselves to this. The thing I am most proud of by far is that these events will benefit a cause that is very important to me and my colleagues."
Natalie Portman is lending her star status to support microloans. The Star Wars actress has been working with FINCA International, an organization that provides small loans to people in developing countries. Portman described meeting young mothers who only had access to low-paying jobs working in poor conditions and says, "And then they're able to get a loan and start their own business out of their house and be with their children. It changes the whole system... If a woman can't tell her child, 'I can feed you tomorrow, I can pay for your school,' then where do they go? What do they do? What do they choose? It's really trying to reach the poorest of the poor and offering banking services to them."
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Angelina Jolie appeared in Washington yesterday in support of an orphans advocacy group pushing for more U.S. aid for education in developing countries. Looking a little tired, the mother of four helped open the Washington headquarters of the Global Action for Children advocacy group. "This is a happy day because it is not often enough that these children are represented in this town," Jolie said. "The best solution for anyone who is abandoned or displaced is to be home [in their own countries]. I would support that first and foremost." The advocacy group wants the government to commit another $2.5 billion a year to education and aid for orphans in developing countries.
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Oxfam is hosting a celebrity and public auction to help raise funds for people suffering in Chad and the Darfur region of Sudan. Sienna Miller has donated a pair of shoes, Elton John has parted with a tailor-made Versace suit, and Helen Mirren has donated her script from her Oscar-winning performance in The Queen. "Try to imagine living in a tiny shelter made out of straw, dry branches and plastic sheeting with the sun baking down on you at 45 degrees. For most of us that's beyond imagination," John said of his support of the event. "I'm delighted to donate this suit that was custom-made by Donatella Versace for me to wear to the white tie and tiara ball in 2000 and hope it raises lots of cash for the people of Darfur who have already suffered so much.
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Hilary Swank's recent good deed helped her get out of a speeding ticket. The Oscar winner was learning lines at an LA bakery and helped a woman with her groceries when she noticed all the staff were busy. Days later, Swank was pulled over for speeding on the Pacific Coast Highway by a cop who had witnessed her efforts. "He goes, 'Hey, Ms. Swank... You know what, you were speeding...but I'm gonna let you off for being a Good Samaritan,'" Swank said of the incident. "I said, 'What? What did I do?' and he said, 'I was at that bakery a few days ago when you got behind the counter and helped that woman, that actually happened to be the judge of Malibu.' The moral of the story is, if you're in a bakery and they're short-handed, get behind the counter - you never know when it's gonna help you out."
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are continuing their humanitarian efforts by donating $100,000 to build a medical clinic in Sudan. The superstar couple gave the funds to the Duk Lost Boys Clinic through their Jolie-Pitt foundation after learning about the clinic and its director, John Dau, while working on the documentary God Grew Tired of Us. "Words cannot express my gratitude and the gratitude of the people of Duk County," Dau said in a statement. "Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt demonstrate the American spirit of generosity. Hopefully, their donation will inspire others to join with us to rebuild southern Sudan."
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Naomi Campbell plans to donate the scrubs she will don while mopping floors in NYC next week to raise money for a children's charity. Campbell will begin her court-ordered five-day sentence of mopping at NYC's Sanitation Department next Monday. "They'll go straight to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund," said the supermodel of any monies she collects.
Looks like Backstreet Boy Nick Carter is trying to make over his image - with a United Nations gig. Carter will be helping raise awareness of threats to the survival of dolphins in the wild for the U.N. Environment Programme, the Convention on Migratory Species, and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. "People like Bono, Angelina Jolie, and Nicole Kidman have inspired me to put my celebrity to good use," Carter says. "I have the advantage of reaching multiple generations to make a difference... I am really excited, but also a little nervous about this much responsibility...it is an actual job. There are responsibilities and commitments that I must make to be the voice of dolphins, whales and conservation issues, and expectations are quite large."
