Celebrity Gives Back: Taylor Swift Supporting UNICEF Tap Project

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

The UNICEF Tap Project was created in 2007 based on a rather simple concept: restaurants would ask their patrons to donate one dollar or more for the tap water they usually get for free, and all funds would support UNICEF's efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children globally. 

Since then, the project has raised almost $2.5 million in the United States and has helped provide clean water for millions of children around the world. 

Taylor Swift has recently expressed her support for the UNICEF Tap Project, bottling up water from her own house to help. Other celebrities, such as Selena Gomez, Adrian Grenier, Dwight Howard and Rihanna have also joined in to support this importance cause. 

The celebrity water collected will be packaged, and anyone who donates five dollars to UNICEF can enter to win the Celebrity Tap Pack sweepstakes.

It is so easy to conserve water in your everyday life. For some water conservation tips, visit http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/actionguide/ways-conserve-water.

To donate to UNICEF or to enter for the Celebrity Tap Pack sweepstakes, visit http://www.tapproject.org/.

Celebrity Gives Back: Prince William Working with Centrepoint

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

It is easy to get distracted in all the recent Royal Wedding hype, but don't forget that the United Kingdom's Prince does his fair share of charitable acts.

Prince William has been working with the UK homeless charity, Centrepoint, since 2005. He even hit the streets of London to spend a frigid night outside in order to really understand what it's like to be homeless in his homeland. After the experience, the prince explained that "I cannot, after one night, even begin to imagine what it must be like to sleep rough on London's streets night after night. Poverty, mental illness, drug and alcohol dependancy and family breakdown cause people to become and then stay homeless."

Anyone can help with poverty. Helping food pantries stock up with food is a very easy place to start! For more information providing ways to help with homelessness, visit http://www.dosomething.org/whatsyourthing/Poverty/Homelessness

To help end poverty by shopping, visit Uptown Liz. 

Celebrities Gives Back: Beyonce and Michelle Obama Want You to Work That Body

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

First Lady, Michelle Obama, has created the Let's Move campaign, which strives to move America to raise a healthier generation of kids.

According to letsmove.gov, "Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. The numbers are even higher in African American and Hispanic communities, where nearly 40% of the children are overweight or obese. If we don't solve this problem, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives. Many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma."

Talented singer, Beyonce Knowles, has recently expressed her support for this organization. She even created a video for the campaign:

According to the singer, "It's all about the benefits of healthy eating and exercise and what we want to do is make it fun by doing something we all like to do and that's dance."

To learn more about the Let's Move campaign or to get involved, visit http://www.letsmove.gov/

Celebrity Gives Back: Nicole Kidman Supporting Women's Rights

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

Oscar-winning actress, Nicole Kidman, does more than just entertain her fans with her profound talent and elegant presence. The Australian native is very involved with the fight for women's rights. She works with UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

UN Women focuses on bettering peace and security, leadership and participation, violence against women, economic empowerment, national planning and budgeting, human rights, and millenium developmental goals.

Kidman has been involved in helping women all around the world. Kidman recently told dosomething.org about her trip to Haiti last July. "I visited the only shelter for survivors of violence. It is a temporary camp with plywood cabins, since the earthquake destroyed the building in which it was housed. Even so, it is a safe haven for underage girls who have been subjected to abuse. Some of them became pregnant as a result, and their little ones are living with them. One of the girls was abducted and abused by strangers a year ago and has since lived in the shelter. Despite her traumatic experience, she has found the strength to continue her education. She goes to school and hopes to become a pediatrician one day. Stories like hers will stay with me forever. To me, they are incredible testimonies of resilience, strength, dignity, and ultimately of hope," explained Kidman.

Kidman advises everyone to make a difference and offers advice about how to get started. According to the well-known actress, "Young people can start by learning about what violence against women is and what we all need to do to stop it. Go on the Internet and become part of Say NO–UNiTE to End Violence against Women, a global call for action on ending violence against women and girls for which I am the spokesperson." 

At saynotoviolence.org, over five million people, including Kidman, have signed on to urge governments to make ending violence against women a top priority. You can go there to simply learn more or to become inspired to take action. Every action counts, whether big or small.

For more information, visit saynotoviolence.org. To support women's rights by shopping, visit Uptown Liz.

Kids for a Cause: Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor's Children Raise Money for Project A.L.S.

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

Ben Stiller and wife, Christine Taylor, have always encouraged their children to give back, which recently inspired their eight year old daughter, Ella, to start her own lemonade stand in order to raise money for Project A.L.S. Five year old younger brother, Quinlin, helped with the lemonade stand as well.

The two ended up raising $120 for Project A.L.S., an organization that attempts to recruit the world's finest scientists and clinicians to work together to find the first effective treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

According to Project A.L.S., "ASL is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects adults of all ages. It is closely related to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s. It targets large brain cells residing in the brain and along the spinal cord called motor neurons. In ALS, as motor neurons get sick and die, a person progressively loses the ability to move: to walk, speak, swallow, and breathe. ALS is usually fatal within 2-5 years of diagnosis."

Project A.L.S. has already raised $53 million, directing over 82% to research programs. But there is still no cure for this disease, and project A.L.S. could always use more support. 

If these young children were able to help, so can you. For more information or to make a donation, visit http://www.projectals.org/support-us/contribute-now.html.

Celebrities Give Back: Rihanna, Eva Mendes and Leighton Meester Support DKMS

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

There are numerous people all around the world that support the fight against leukemia every day. Last Thursday, well-known celebrities Rihanna, Eva Mendes and Leighton Meester attended the annual gala for DKMS, an organization that connects bone marrow and stem cell donors with patients in need.

During the gala, Rihanna received an award for her recent involvement in the fight against leukemia. "It is the number one disease children in the U.S. die of and we can change that," the talented singer said. "If we have more donors, we can save more lives."

DKMS is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world, and their hope is to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors for leukemia patients. 

The gala helped raise money to add nearly 40,000 bone marrow donors, but that only does so much. DKMS is always looking to add more people to the registry. It only takes a swab from inside of your mouth to be added, so host a bone marrow drive and help save the lives of those battling leukemia.

For more information or to register, visit http://www.dkmsamericas.org/

Celebrity Gives Back: Lady Gaga's Relief Efforts in Japan

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

When Lady Gaga isn't seen entertaining a crowd with her unique style and impeccable talent, she is partnering with charities and giving back in a variety of ways. 

Most recently, the celeb raised $1.5 million for relief efforts in Japan through the sale of her Japan prayer bracelets. Along with gaming site Zynga, Gaga is donating the proceeds to Save the Children and the American Red Cross to help those in Japan struggling from the recent earthquakes and tsunamis.  

Gaga was recently named as one of the Top 20 Celebs Gone Good on Dosomething.org for her efforts.

To help with Japan relief by purchasing one of these bracelets, visit http://www.ladygaga.com/news/default.aspx?nid=34654. For more ways to shop for a cause, visit Uptown Liz.

Celebrities Give Back: Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher's Foundation, DNA

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

The DNA, Demi and Ashton Foundation, was created by one of Hollywood's hottest couples. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher created this organization to "raise awareness about child sex slavery, change the cultural stereotypes that facilitate this horrific problem, and rehabilitate innocent victims."

Sex slavery is a taboo topic, and most celebrities don't want to talk about this uncomfortable subject. Moore and Kutcher wanted to create an organization that can help decrease the high rising number of slaves. 

According to their website, "the global sex slavery market generates $32 billion in profits annually. Two million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade. In just the United States, between 100,000 and 300,000 children are enslaved and sold for sex." Furthermore, the average age of entry into forced prostitution in the United States is 13. 

There are many ways you can get involved and help. The DNA organization recently created a "Real Men Don't Buy Girls Campaign", a campaign that encourages you to make and share a "real man video" that works to raise awareness of this issue. Many celebrities are already taking part in the campaign, including Ben Stiller, Gerard Butler, Sean Penn, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel, Zachary Quinto, Eva Longoria, Justin Timberlake, Ludacris, Bradley Cooper and Simon Baker. To see some of these celebrities' videos, visit http://www.facebook.com/dnafoundation?sk=app_204244879599379. 

You can also take action by reporting any suspicious activity you see on the internet. Seventy-six percent of transactions occur on the internet, so by reporting this you can help put an end to online child exploitation. You can also make a donation to the DNA by visiting http://demiandashton.org/donate.

To support human and children's rights by shopping, visit Uptown Liz.

Celebrity Gives Back: Ke$ha Against Clubbing

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

Music artist, Ke$ha, is passionate about more than just her songs. She has recently joined PETA in order to protest the hunting of Canadian baby harp seals. 

The talented singer is featured in new campaign ads for animal rights. You can check out these ads at http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2011/04/13/ke-ha-and-iggy-pop-aren-t-into-clubbing.aspx, where the display reads "Canada's Club Scene Sucks," a way to pun on the violent way that these seals are killed for their fur. Also featured in these ads is Iggy Pop, Rock 'n' Roll legend.

PETA, people for the ethical treatment of animals, is the largest animal rights organization in the world. According to their website, "PETA focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory farms, in the clothing trade, in laboratories, and in the entertainment industry."

You, too, can get involved with the battle to stop cruelty to animals. For more information, visit www.peta.org. To make a donation, visit https://secure.peta.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=donatenow&set.custom.Campaign_Code=I11AWAXXXXG&autologin=true.

To support animal rights by shopping, visit Uptown Liz.

Celebrity Gives Back: Ashley Greene is Official Spokeswoman for Donatemydress.org

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

Twilight film series star, Ashley Greene, is proving to be a sweetheart both on and off the screen. For the third time, Greene is the official spokeswoman for donatemydress.org, a national campaign that "encourages girls to donate their prom and special occasion dresses to others who need them."

Greene recently told People Magazine, "In high school, I had to work several jobs to save enough to buy a prom dress... It was so worth it: I had a blast at prom! Every girl should have the chance to have that experience."

Greene will even be donating her own dress that she wore at the Chrysalis Butterfly Gala. 

Donatemydress.org strives to give one night of joy and glamour to those girls who would never dream of such. To read stories about how the organization has made a difference in some girls’ lives, visit http://www.donatemydress.org/real-stories.html. 

To donate your old dress in a town near you, visit http://www.donatemydress.org/donate.html. You’ve already had your dream night, so donate your dress so that someone else can have hers.

Kids for a Cause: Brooklyn Kids Give Back in South Africa

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

Malaak Compton-Rock, avid philanthropist and wife of comedian Chris Rock, has been assisting and funding Bushwick, Brooklyn students to travel to South Africa to help the impoverished and the AIDS orphans.

Compton-Rock is doing more than just assisting the less fortunate in South Africa. You can even say that she is killing two birds with one stone. The kids are sent to South Africa to volunteer in order to help the struggling nation, but what most aren't aware of is that these volunteers are facing their own struggles.

Bushwick, located five miles from Manhattan, is a community of approximately 109,000. According to CNN's Soledad O'Brien, "For years it was a community with a thriving drug trade, severely under-achieving schools, extreme poverty and a staggering rate of teenage pregnancy. It was ravaged by fires and looting during the summer of 1977 and hit hard by the crack epidemic in the 1980s."

The children participating in this program are at-risk youth, meaning they are in greater danger of having babies as teenagers, of never finishing high school or achieving their dreams, or never knowing the world beyond their neighborhood. 

Thirty of these children, ages 12 to 16, were paired with college-aged mentors and brought to South Africa to help with the highest, HIV-infected population in the world. Not only are they making a difference there, but these youth are broadening their horizons and getting a better perspective on their own lives. 

Compton-Rock believes that traveling opens up your life and gives you a sense of confidence. It is her hope that by participating in this program, these kids will rise above the Bushwick stereotypes and statistics, and start to lead positive and fulfilling lives.

To find out how you can help the children of Brooklyn and South Africa, please visit The Angel Rock Project's Web site.

Project for a Cause: LIVESTRONG and URDB World Records Team Up to Break Cancer

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

Each year, nearly 70,000 people ages 15-40 are diagnosed with cancer. Despite this significant number, most young adults don't even think about cancer and often ignore early warnings signs.  

This week is devoted to promoting cancer awareness for young adults. We are now nearing the end of National Young Adult Cancer Week, but it is never too late to educate yourself and others.

Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG foundation has recently come together to support young teens and adults with cancer. The organization has teamed up with URDB World Records to create a project called Break Cancer. According to the LIVESTRONG foundation, "survivors and supporters all across the country are posting videos, pictures, and write-ups of their attempts to set or break a world record to raise young adult cancer awareness.

The goal of Break Cancer is to break down the barriers that keep young people from getting support and services they need, and with every record and post, Break Cancer is getting one step closer to their goal.

Most goals are fun and easily attainable. For example, one participant is the world record holder of "Most Hugs Against Cancer," with 575. 

Anyone can partake in this project. Maybe even you can be a world record holder, all while supporting cancer awareness!

For more information, or to check out some current Break Cancer records, visit http://urdb.org/breakcancer

Celebrities Give Back: Jennifer Aniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore and Patty Jenkins Directing Short Film about Breast Cancer

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

What do Jennifer Aniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore and Patty Jenkins have in common? Aside from their profound talent in the entertainment industry, these women are all taking part in Project Five, a five part anthology series on Lifetime.

The talented group of celebrities are joining together to direct a short film about breast cancer, which will recount the impact of the disease on peoples' lives. 

Aniston recently told US Weekly, "our hope with Project Five is to entertain, inform and inspire dialogue, research and prevention. Otherwise, our goals are small. We want these films to move people and empower those affected by breast cancer to stand tall through this challenge, which impacts all of our lives, no matter who we are."

Support their effort in breast cancer awareness by watching this film when it airs. Until then, you can support breast cancer research and awareness by shopping. Visit Uptown Liz for more information.

Celebrity Gives Back: Ne-Yo Involved in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

Talented singer, songwriter and Grammy winner, Ne-Yo, has been an advocate for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) for quite some time. Recently, he has been involved in their Stop Bullying: Speak Up campaign which strives to stop bullying by speaking up, telling an adult, being friendly to those who are bullied and getting involved in bullying prevention programs.  

Ne-Yo is involved in this campaign through his own non-profit organization, The Compound Foundation, which works to support and create success opportunities for youth in the child welfare system.

The accomplished singer finds it very important to give back to the BGCA, and he credits this to his own personal success. In this Huffington Post article, Ne-Yo speaks about his own experiences of being bullied as a kid, and how the BGCA provided him a place to escape.

For more information about the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, or to make a donation, visit http://www.bgca.org/Pages/index.aspx

Kids for a Cause: Teens for Jeans

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

Aeropostale's fourth annual Teens for Jeans drive has just ended, but the outcome was phenomenal! In just four weeks, 542,411 pairs of jeans were collected by various participants. After four years, over one million pairs of jeans have been collected from the campaign, which is enough to clothe all the homeless teenagers in the United States and Canada combined!

The campaign gets teens involved by offering an incentive for those who produce the most jeans. This year, the grand prize was $5,000 and a party for the winning school. Other prizes included signed jeans by celebrities, a banner for your school and stylish t-shirts. 

There were many celebrities involved in the Teens for Jeans drive, including Matt Lanter, Keri Hilson, Nikki Blonsky, Nigel Barker, Sara Canning, Shailene Woodley and Jay Sean.  

This year's campaign has ended, but you can always start collecting jeans now to get a head start on next year's competition. For more information about how to participate, or to start a jean drive of your own, visit http://www.dosomething.org/teensforjeans/home

Celebrity Gives Back: Matt Damon's Hope in a Bottle

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

Anyone that knows me knows that I am passionate about two things: helping others and recycling. Yes, two very different things, but with the help of Matt Damon, everyone can easily do both of them! 

You can go to http://gift.water.org/ and purchase a unique, environmentally friendly CamelBak bottle that can be reused so you won’t have to buy plastic bottles ever again. By buying just one of these limited edition design CamelBak bottles, you can help a child get clean, safe water. 100% of the proceeds go to support nearly a billion people in the world who lack clean water. 

These bottles are a product of water.org, an organization founded by Gary White and talented actor, Matt Damon, and that “has transformed hundreds of communities in Africa, South Asia, and Central America by providing access to safe water and sanitation.” 

For more information about water.org, to make a donation, or to purchase these trendy water bottles, visit http://gift.water.org/. 

For other ways to shop for a cause, visit Uptown Liz.

Celebrities Give Back: St. Patrick's Day Edition: Ireland's Bono, Colin Farrell and Pierce Brosnan

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This has always been a fun holiday, but it now reminds me of some of my most cherished memories. Last year I lived in Dublin, Ireland for 11 months. I was studying abroad for the year, and can easily say it was the best year of my life.

In spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, I would like to write about Irish celebrities and the good that they have done. These well-known celebrities started their lives in the Emerald Isle and have since been making a difference in the world we live in, with both their exquisite talents and generous charitable contributions. 

Bono has been the lead singer in the well-known band, U2, since 1976. He is also known for being the biggest Irish philanthropist and activist for international development. Bono helped found the HIV/AIDS awareness foundation, Debt AIDS Trade Africa (DATA) and the anti-poverty campaign, Make Poverty History. He also cofounded ONE, an organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.

Colin Farrell is the handsome Dublin native that can be seen in films such as Ordinary Decent Criminal, S.W.A.T., Phone Booth and American Outlaws. Farrell is passionate about stopping bullying, and recently released a statement in support of BelongTo, a youth organization in Ireland that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. He also read personal testimonies from bullying victims on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last year.

Pierce Brosnan is another talented Irish actor, best known from his role as James Bond. Since 2001, Brosnan has been the Ireland ambassador of UNICEF, the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. Brosnan is so passionate about his beliefs that he once boycotted his own GoldenEye premiere in France to support Greenpeace's protest against French nuclear testing practices.

I would like to leave you with a visual of Ireland. These are a couple pictures I took last year:

Battle for the Bands: Keri Hilson and Amber Riley are Ready to Battle

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine

According to dosomething.org, the month of March is "Music in our Schools" month. Dosomething.org currently has a Battle for the Bands campaign that strives to keep schools across the country from losing their music education programs. There are two ways you can get involved:

1. "Create a music video about music ed. with your orchestra, garage band, jazz band, hip hop group, best friend, etc. Include a message about the importance of music education."

2. "Launch an advocacy project in your community. The best way to keep music in your school is to show students, administrators, and your school board how important it is."

Once you have uploaded your video or project, share it on facebook and twitter and get all your friends to check it out. If you reach more than 100 shares, you will become a finalist. Judges will then pick the winners. Two runners up will receive $1,000 for their school's music program, and the grand prize for the video and advocacy project will receive $5,000 for their school's music program.

Glee actress, Amber Riley, already joined the campaign, producing this video. And singer, Keri Hilson, produced this video for the same cause.

It is time to raise your voice about the importance of music education in schools! For more information, visit http://www.dosomething.org/battle

Celebrity Gives Back: Zooey Deschanel Hosts Charity Cocktail Party to Raise Money for DKMS

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine
 

Zooey Deschanel not only excels at acting, singing and dancing, but the talented performer does a phenomenal job fighting for leukemia patients.

Deschanel recently hosted a swank charity cocktail party in Beverly Hills that benefited DKMS, the world's largest bone marrow donor center. The party combined Deschanel's two passions, saving lives and great jewelry. The jewelry featured at the party was designed by the well-known Solange Azagury-Partridge. All proceeds were donated to DKMS and their mission to recruit bone marrow donors. 

Less that half the people living with leukemia receive a life-saving bone marrow transplant. It is a painful procedure, but the benefits far outweigh the costs. By donating, you have the opportunity to save a life.

To support DKMS or to find out how you can become a donor, visit http://www.dkmsamericas.org/

Celebrity Gives Back: Matthew McConaughey's Just Keep Livin Foundation

Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine 

Matthew McConaughey has always been one of my favorite actors. His good looks, charm and outstanding acting abilities are enough alone to sweep me off my feet. But when I found out about his non-profit organization, Just Keep Livin Foundation, I knew I had fallen in love. 

The Just Keep Livin Foundation was created “with hope of encouraging children to make positive and healthy changes in themselves and in the world around them.” It targets teenagers, with hopes they will start to lead active and healthy lifestyles that will carry through to their adulthood. 

The JKL Foundation has set up fitness and wellness programs in public schools, working with children who may not be able to experience these important skills otherwise. Not only does this foundation promote physical and mental well-being, but it teaches them these things through exercise, teamwork, gratitude and positive life choices. 

The phrase “just keep livin” was created by McConaughey, who was struggling with his father’s death while filming Dazed and Confused in 1992. McConaughey lived by this phrase, claiming that it helped him through the good times and the bad, and to make the best out of life. Realizing that "just keep livin" applies to all aspects of life, McConaughey founded Just Keep Livin Productions, which has since expanded to a record label and lifestyle brand.

This non-profit organization has already made a tremendous difference in the lives of many teenagers in the United States. With your help, JKL Foundation can continue to make a difference to those who will be responsible for our future. To get involved with the JKL Foundation, or to make a donation, visit http://jklivinfoundation.org/just-keep-givin/.