Archive for category: Charity

, ,

5 Cool Things Leonardo DiCaprio Has Done for Humanity

Leonardo DiCaprio Humanitarian SOS Childrens Villages
Leonardo DiCaprio is a 38-year-old American actor and film producer. He has received three nominations for Academy Awards, as well as nine Golden Globe Awards. DiCaprio has not only received praise regarding his acting career, but also for his efforts in philanthropy.

First and foremost, Leonardo DiCaprio has a strong passion for environmental activism. His longing to protect the environment is one that heavily influences his everyday life. He owns electric and hybrid cars and has even installed solar panels on his home. His personal life is filled with environmentally friendly alternatives to products that would normally cause harm to the earth. His passion also extends into his career – many humanitarian causes can be seen in the movies he’s been in like Blood Diamond and The 11th Hour, for example.

With that being said, here are five things DiCaprio has done for humanity:

  • The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation – DiCaprio has founded the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. This foundation works to “protect Earth’s last wild places” while also “fostering a harmonious relationship between humanity and the natural world.” Established in 1998, LDF has worked on several significant environmental and humanitarian issues through grant making, campaigning, and media projects.
  • Wildlife preservation – World Wildlife Fund led a tiger habitat conservation effort in Nepal along with DiCaprio’s foundation that turned out to be quite successful. Prior to the event, DiCaprio held an auction which raised $39 million for this effort. This money fueled the effort even more so and allowed WWF to increase the number of tigers in Nepal by 63 percent. Other wildlife conservation efforts focus on endangered shark species and the preservation of rainforest habitats.
  • Ocean Health – Partnering with international funders, the collaborative Oceans 5 marked another great effort in humanitarianism and environmental improvement. Oceans 5 tackles the two highest ecological priorities: stopping overfishing and establishing marine reserves. Thanks to a generous grant, the organization was able to more easily combat these issues.
  • Providing Access to Clean Water – The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation’s grant to Concern Worldwide provided 430,000 people in Tanzania, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Darfur with access to clean water.
  • SOS Children’s Villages – Aside from working with the foundation, DiCaprio also takes interest in humanitarian work in film. In fact, while filming the movie Blood Diamond, DiCaprio worked with 24 orphaned children from SOS Children’s Villages. This independent organization provides family-based care for children with deceased or missing parents. They also support those deemed “vulnerable” through family strengthening programs, which focus on ensuring access to education, healthcare, and psycho-social support. In addition, SOS Children’s Villages offers emergency relief programs.

– Samantha Davis

Sources: Leonardo DiCaprio, Look To The Stars, CCF
Photo: SOS Children’s Villages

, ,

Justin Bieber for Global Education

justin_bieber_pencils_of_promise
Since its founding in 2008, Pencils of Promise has been working towards improving access to education around the globe. The non-profit has set out to identify places most in need of educational facilities and then proceeding to build schools in those locations.

However, the organization’s role does not end there. To ensure the sustainability of their projects, Pencils of Promise also offers scholarships, education programs, and hires and trains individuals from local communities to staff their schools. With a focus on long-term success, schools and curricula are also routinely monitored and assessed for efficacy.

Canadian pop sensation, Justin Bieber, has been an avid supporter of Pencils of Promise for many years. In 2011, the smooth-voiced crooner competed in a Magnum Ice Cream contest against Nelly Furtado, Usher, and Jordin Sparks for $20,000 toward their charities of choice.

Bieber ended up easily defeating his opponents and winning the competition, and split the award money evenly between Pencils of Promise and Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The following year, the teen star went on to join Pencils of Promise’s founder, Adam Braun, in filming a promotional video encouraging adolescents to create personal fundraising pages on behalf of the organization. The incentive (aside from the gift of giving, of course)? Bieber would pay a visit to the three schools that demonstrated the most impact through fundraising for the Schools4All campaign.

With each $25 contribution, contestants would be compensated with one lottery entry. The more entries and donations one collected, the better the chance that he or she would get to meet Bieber.

According to the singer, “”I wanted to give every one of my fans a chance to help others and bring me to their school for just $25. The Schools4All campaign is a way for us young people to make a change, and I’ll get to thank an entire school in person.”

To further magnify the project’s significance, Bieber also partnered with Barnes & Noble and Nook to match the amount of money generated by fundraising participants and to donate 1,000 Nook readers to students enrolled in Pencils of Promise schools.

Thanks, in no small part to Bieber, Pencils of Promise’s reach continues to grow as it gains prominence. To date, the organization has built 146 schools in countries such as Ghana, Laos, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.

From his deep involvement with Pencils of Promise and his commitment to furthering its goals, Bieber sets a prime example of how to use one’s star power to alleviate the ill effects of global poverty.

– Melrose Huang

Sources: Huffington Post, PR Newswire
Photo: PopCrush

, , ,

Sandy River Foundation Aids Nonprofit Efforts

Sandy_River_Foundation
The Sandy River Foundation, founded in 2008, works to bring physical and spiritual wholesomeness to all nations. It achieves this by providing nonprofit organizations with funding in order to focus on their initiatives rather than on fundraising to keep the organization going.

Nonprofits that wish to receive this funding must meet the guidelines of the Sandy River Foundation and complete an application process, but only after being invited by the foundation itself. Some of the organizations that have accepted funding include Heifer International, the Long Island Community Foundation, Oxfam America, and Acción International.

The mission of Heifer International is to end both hunger and poverty by providing families with a cow. This provides a source of food to families from the milk the animal provides. The families can also sell the excess products to gain a reliable source of income, and after saving this income, can start a small business or even join an agricultural cooperative with other families nearby.

By providing small businesses with microfinancing, Acción International hopes to strengthen businesses with both financial and managerial support. Once those microfinance institutions have grown and become financially independent of donors, the economy of the surrounding area will increase and the jobs of those working at the company will be secured. Acción International has provided its support to countries across the globe including India, China, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Colombia.

The Sandy River Foundation donates

to nonprofits in order to create a positive impact across the globe.

– Alessandra Wike

Sources: Accion, Heifer International, Sandy River Foundation

, ,

Serengetee Shirts: Fighting Poverty in Style

Serengetee Shirts Fighting Poverty Style Fashion Africa
What happens when activism and fashion unite? Serengetee, an apparel company with a good-humored name, was created last year by five college students with an innovative goal in mind.

The company’s tagline, “Wear the world,” certainly rings true. Serengetee currently has 32 partners to whom it donates 13 percent of its proceeds for every shirt or pair of shorts sold. Each piece of clothing comes with a unique pattern representative of the country it benefits, juxtaposing the clothings’ all-American style.

For instance, sales of “Azul Calavera,” which feature smiling decorative skulls amid a floral backdrop, go toward Soles4Souls, which collects and distributes shoes to impoverished people around the world.

“Kruger,” meanwhile, showcases sunset hues and adorable sketches of elephants, tribal warriors, and gazelles, and benefits the TLC Children’s Home—an organization that provides free care and support to abandoned South African children.

Other buyers can purchase “Managua,” a popular rainbow-striped pattern inspired by the natural scenery in Nicaragua, which benefits Pencils of Promise, a non-profit group dedicated to improving access to worldwide education.

 

The Future of Serengetee

 

Since its recent beginnings, the company has donated over $30,000 to causes in over 28 developing countries. The company has even been briefly overwhelmed from the support it has received – following immense social media buzz,  orders were backlogged earlier this spring.

Serengetee founders are now prepared for future surges in sales as their public profile continues to rise. They have reached back to their undergraduate roots by employing college representatives from campuses nationwide to promote the Serengentee vision.

With a plethora of trend-setting designs and charitable causes to choose from, it is hard not be charmed by the idea of making the fight against global poverty a primary fashion statement.

– Melrose Huang
Sources: Serengetee, Forbes, Yahoo
Photo: Serengetee

,

Red Nose Day 2013

red nose day
Friday, March 15, 2013 was best spent celebrating Red Nose Day by sitting in front of the television watching Comic Relief – Funny for Money on BBC One. The show was full of comical sketches, musical performances, and celebrity appearances all to help raise money for Comic Relief, an organization working to make the world poverty free. It definitely resulted in a great deal of laughter, which is the point of Red Nose Day, which promotes “having fun and changing lives” as one of its main goals.

Red Nose Day is a day for everyone “to put on their Noses, pull out all the stops, and get fundraising,” according to the official website. Literally, everyone puts on red noses and clowns around, eliciting laughter and donations. Celebrity support of the day came from an array of celebrities – from Rihanna, who donned a Stella McCartney red nose t-shirt, to Ron Burgundy of Anchorman, who performed in one of the comical sketches. And, of course, One Direction, a big supporter of the Comic Relief organization, made an appearance, performing their hit song, and the official Red Nose Day single, One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks). Yet, one celebrity stood above the rest, Jessie J, a panelist for the show The Voice. On live television, Jessie J sacrificed her lustrous black bob in order to boost the amount of money raised, all of which is going to Comic Relief. After shaving her head she said, “It is the weirdest feeling” to have no hair!

The money raised for Comic Relief is going to help support a variety of people and projects in both the United Kingdom and Africa. In the United Kingdom, it will, amongst many other things, help provide shelter to young adults living on the streets and help protect those who have suffered from domestic abuse. In Africa, it will help by providing life-saving treatment for malaria to communities by giving them access to clean and fresh water and much needed vaccines.

Red Nose Day was celebrated throughout the United Kingdom and Africa. As of 6:30pm on Friday night, it had raised over £75 million, setting a new record for the most money raised in the 25 years since its creation. The total amount raised, however, has not yet been released.

If you missed the “the star-studded and unmissable Comic Relief- Funny for Money” show on Friday, don’t worry! You can get exclusive clips on iTunes, with all purchases going to support Red Nose Day.

– Angela Hooks

Sources: UK Yahoo, Red Nose Day, BBC
Photo: Red Nose Day