Kevin Bacon Is Inspirational

Robin Maxwell was so inspired by Kevin Bacon’s Six Degrees charity website that she helped to raise nearly $18,000 for Multiple Sclerosis research.    Because she was one of the biggest fundraisers, Bacon then donated another $10,000 to her cause.  Maxwell, 39, was diagnosed with MS in January 2007 and has continued to raise money for the cause by designing a t-shirt called “Perfect Health” that can be found here.  Proceeds from the shirts go to help find a cure for MS. 

Bacon calls Maxwell a “beautiful warrior” who is “not lying down without a fight.”

You can make your own charity badge by visiting www.sixdegrees.org.

Nicole and Joel Turn Baby Shower Into Charity Event

If  you were lucky enough to get an invite (see above) to Nicole Ritchie’s baby shower on Sunday, you won’t be bringing a gift for the mom-to-be.  According to US Weekly, Nicole and boyfriend Joel Madden have requested that guests bring items to donate to their newly formed charity — The Richie Madden Children’s Foundation-to support mothers in need. In addition they plan to sell photos from the shower to raise more additional funds. 

In a recent interview Nicole told Diane Sawyer:

 “I want my child to look up to me and be proud of me.” 

It looks like she is on her way to doing just that!  Keep up the great work!

How you can get involved 

The Richie Madden Children’s Foundation will create and promote an online registry to inspire the purchases of items for moms and their families in need. Anyone in the country will be able buy from the registry on her behalf for the clinic. The registry link will be live on the Richie Madden Children’s Foundation website for at least six months and will be updated regularly based on the needs of the LA Free Clinic and other participating clinics.

We can’t find the registry online, so if anyone knows the website let us know.

Emile Hirsch Honored at Oxfam Charity Event

Emile Hirsch was honored at The Oxfam Party  at Esquire North in New York City last night. Oxfam America played a part in the feature film Into the Wild when the main character, Christopher, donates his entire life savings of $24,000 to Oxfam American and then goes on an epic adventure to Alaska.  The movie, directed by Sean Penn is based upon the best selling novel by Jon Krakauer about the life and death of Christopher McCandless and is getting great reviews.

“It is a great honor for Oxfam America to be affiliated with a film of such integrity. ‘Into the Wild’ truly embraces the independent spirit of human nature,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America.

To Get Involved: 

Oxfam America has a variety of ways to get involved from making a donation to attending an event or to just adding a button to your website like the one below.  Visit their site for more ideas:

Heroes Cast Race to Fight Epilepsy

 

The cast of NBC’s Heroes turned out to support the Race To Fight Epilepsy fundraiser event.  Those in attendance included Greg Grunberg (whose son has epilepsy), Hayden Panettiere, Kristen Bell and Milo Ventimiglia.   The party took place on Wednesday at the Skirball Centre in Calabasas, CA. 

Milo and Hayden put an end to their relationship rumors when he told People magazine:

  “She and I are close friends. It’s only natural that people are going to couple us together.”

Richard Gere Wins Humanitarian Award

Richard Gere, who was terric in The Hoax, accepted an award for his humanitarian efforts toward the Tibetan independence and HIV/AIDS cause.  The award was given by the city of Philadelphia and included a $100,000 honorarium.

“I’m not worthy of this award in any way whatsoever,” Gere said. “I can’t tell you how this makes me feel. My heart is so wide open.”

The devout Buddhist has been an advocate for Tibetan freedom since 1978.  Some of his accomplishments include co-founding the Tibet House, serving as board chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet, establishing a public charity called Healing the Divde, that improves care for HIV/AIDS patients.

Hollywood Goes Green

Ed Begley Jr. will be hosting the first ever Hollywood Goes Green conference.  The purpose of the gathering is to specifically address environmental issues in entertainment and related industries.    Learn more

In other celebrity green news:

Darryl Hannah drives a freaky biodiesel car

The Independent Spirit Awards are going green from head to toe

Mr. Big (Chris Noth) says fight global warming, not wars

Will there be a Live Earth Part 2? Nope, just a concert honoring 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore.  Hosted by Tommy Lee Jones and Uma Thurman, the lineup for this year’s Dec. 11 concert honoring Nobel Peace Prize laureates includes Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox, KT Tunstall and Melissa Etheridge, who won an Oscar for the song I Need to Wake Up, which was featured in Gore’s environmental documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.

Ben Affleck and Rachel Bilson Show Some Holiday Spirit

 

No, this isn’t a new couple alert.  Ben is still happily married to Jen as far as we know and we’re not sure about Rachel’s love life.  Alas, that isn’t the point of this post.  The reason they were photographed together is because they came out to show support at the Cartier holiday celebration to benefit The Art of Elysium at NYC’s Cartier Mansion on Wednesday.  The pair got into the holiday spirit with the children making crafts and visiting with Santa.  The Art of Elysium, a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization founded in 1997, encourages working actors, artists and musicians to voluntarily dedicate their time and talent to children who are battling serious medical conditions. 

Killers New CD Goes Red

The Killers have announced that their second Christmas single, “Don’t Shoot Me Santa”, will be a part of the (RED) campaign. They are joining with brands such as Apple, Converse, American Express, Motorola, Hallmark, Gap, and more to help those affected by AIDS in Africa.  All of the proceeds from the sales of the cd will benefit the Global Fund, for investment in African AIDS programs.

The new song will be begin playing on the radio on November 26th, and digital copies will be available for purchase starting November 27th.  On December 1st, the video will debut as part of World AIDS Day activities. The single and video package will arrive in stores on December 4th.

How It Works

Buy a (RED) product or service at no additional cost to you and the company will give some of its profits to buy and distribute anti-retroviral medicine to our brothers and sisters dying of AIDS in Africa.  

For more information and to join (RED), visit their website.

Correction: Paris Does Not Want To Save Drunk Elephants

It is a sad day for elephants.  We reported last week that Paris Hilton wanted to save drunken elephants.  Now the story is being retracted by the Associated Press.   According to her publicist, Lori Berk, Paris Hilton never made any comments about helping the drunken elephants in India.  It looks like elephant alcoholics will have to get a new spokesperson. 

Matt Damon Is Sexiest Man Alive 2007

People named Matt Damon the Sexiest Man Alive.   He responded humbly saying,

“You’ve given an aging suburban dad the ego-boost of a lifetime.”

Of course, we find him sexy for other reasons.  Damon, 37, supports many charities including the OneXOne Campaign, Not on Our Watch, H2O Africa, and many more.

The issue hits newsstands Thursday.  Congratulations Matt–this award is well deserved!