The one I'm most looking forward to this year is the debut of the remake of "We Are The World" for the 25th anniversary of the original, which was used to benefit famine relief charities. This time, all proceeds will benefit the Haiti earthquake relief fund. Among the artists involved are Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Kanye West, Celine Dion, Fergie, Mary J. Blige, Rob Thomas, Carlos Santana, Sugarland, Zac Brown, Tony Bennett, Josh Groban, Pink, Snoop Dogg, Akon, Jordin Sparks and dozens more.
You can find out more about the song, the artists, and the charity on the official website.
I'm always moved when people of means, people with more money than they need, step up to do something for the betterment of those without means. It makes me feel like they've earned their fame and fortune if they're going to use it for the greater good, if they're going to pay their advantage forward. To enter today's contest, I want you to answer this question: What celebrity do you applaud for publicly supporting a worthy cause?
For my part, I applaud actress Susan Sarandon for her support of Heifer International, one of my favorite charitable organizations. Heifer is working to end hunger and poverty through self-sufficiency and education. By teaching individuals and families and villages how to support themselves.
Like I said before, every day of the COOP you'll have a chance to win at least one more book in addition to mine. So what's today's bonus prize?
Since details about the Opening Ceremonies are kept so top secret until the night of the performance, then what better book to pair with the hush-hush party than a signed copy of Ally Carter's latest, HEIST SOCIETY? Here's the blurb:
When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.
Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.
For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.
Gah, I am so dying to read this book! (And kicking myself for not writing it!) If you want a chance to win Oh. My. Gods. and Goddess Boot Camp and HEIST SOCIETY just enter the contest in comments below.
OPENING CEREMONIES CONTEST
Answer this question: What celebrity do you applaud for publicly supporting a worthy cause?
PRIZES
(1) copy of Oh. My. Gods.
(1) copy of Goddess Boot Camp
(1) copy of HEIST SOCIETY by Ally Carter
Enter below and check back tomorrow (and the day after that and the day after that) for a new contest. Winners of all contests will be posted after February 28th. And don't forget to enter the Gold Medal Contest.
Hugs,
TLC
79 comments:
Count me in! My school raised about more than 60 thousand dollars for Haiti! We held concerts, bake sales, and we gave donations! It was all for such a great cause!
so pumped <333
I'm stopping by to wish everyone good luck!!!
Please don't enter me in this giveaway b/c I already own the books. (((BTW they are all GREAT READS!))
I just wanted to answer your question- I think Ellen DeGeneres does a great job supporting worthy causes, along with George Clooney...
I applaud Jennifer Anniston, Antonio Banderas, Marlo Thomas, and all the other celebrities that support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. St. Jude's is a really important place because they are trying to cure children and that's so important. The commercials always give me goosebumps and make me tear up.
Woooooh! This is exciting. =)
I admire J.K. Rowling for all of her charity work. It always makes me happy to see someone go from rags to riches and still remember the people they left behind. Plus, she's just amazing altogether.
I would have to say that I applaud Peter Facinelli the most on his charity efforts. He has continually used his celebrity status to raise money for many different organizations, including Alex's Lemonade Stand. He has recently started a twi-fan charity organization encouraging fans of the Twilight series to get involved in charity work. He has raised so much money over the years, and he's not using it to get rich himself. He's using it to help others, which is an awesome thing to do. :)
OMIGOSH, I LOVE your books! They're my favourite read, especially for Greek myths, I figure out new stuff. Thank you for having such a fantastic, tremendous, sensational (need I go on?) idea! Count me in, please!?
This charity work thing is awesome! My school and class are doubling efforts for the needy, like people the Haiti. We keep them in our morning prayers! Just yesterday my friends and I lugged stuff to help with all the way down to the office :)
Jade
[ legally_write@hotmail.com ]
What celebrity do you applaud for publicly supporting a worthy cause?
Juanes, who is a Colombian singer very famous over here. He has "Fundacion Mi Sangre" which helps Colombian people hurt by mines, and "Paz Sin Fronteras" which promotes peace in latin america and the world.
http://www.juanes.net/
http://www.fundacionmisangre.org/
http://www.pazsinfronteras.org/
I admire Sandra Bullock's generosity in many areas, from Hurricane Katrina to Haiti.
Do I have to choose one? I love celebrities that support any worthy causes. Like Keanu Reeves, Angelina Jolie etc... They could do anything they wanted, and they chose to help needy people! Granted, there are normal people like us who already do that, but I think they make more of an impact because the public is both directly and indirectly influenced by them.
I also think Heifer International is a great charity, and have seen Jane Kaczmarek promoting it many times.
My favorites are all the celebrities that take the time to make commercials and ads for St Judes. They do such more good work there and its nice to see people with influence talk about it publicly.
I like how Selena Gomez works so hard to get information out about Unicef. She does a lot of good work for them in spite of the fact that she's at an age when a lot of kids wouldn't be thinking much about charity work.
That's a difficult one, I think John Travolta becouse he flew over Haití to give them food and other things.
i would definately say Ellen DeGeneres...100 percent
she reaches out to her viewers
she raised money for haiti along with many many other charities...i look up to her very much. =]
Have you heard the lion sleeps tonight song? The person who sings the really high part on that is my singing teacher (no joke) and she's going to go to Haiti next week and help rebuild an orphanage AND (i am not joking! she is amazing!) adopt two teenage children (wait till u hear this!) who have either lost an arm or leg!I know that this sounds like I'm joking, but im not! She is so nice and an amazing person :) she's not a seriously famous celebrity, but she's pretty famous :)
I really admire Nicole Kidman. She's not only a GREAT actress, but she campaigns for woman rights and against woman abuse. :)
George Clooney, I didn't expect him to sponsor the Haiti charity.
i would also have to say Peter Facinelli. i follow him on twitter and he is always talking about the charity he supports (alex's lemonade stand). he's even starting his own charity for twilighters. it's awesome that he cares so much about people. his fans included.
Awesome contest! Such amazing books =) I'm not sure if this is open internationally, but I'd love to be entered if so.
I have to agree with another commenter above - I admire J.K Rowling the most. Not only is she an absolutely brilliant author, but her own personal journey is so inspiring. And she's used her experiences, her heartaches and downfalls combined with a heck of a lot of money and resources to truly make a difference. She has her own foundations up and running, supports worthy causes and continually makes me proud to be a fan!
I have always admired Betty White's dedication to animals.
I applaud Jennifer Anniston for supporting St. Jude's Hospital. Also, I saw an article recently about how Rihanna supported this little girl with cancer by going to meet her and helping out, and that really made me applaud her for being so caring. Sadly enough, the girl lost her battle last year.
I have so many celebrities whose causes I appreciate.
However, I really love Hayden Panetierre and Save the Whales.
I think that her passion is totally contagious and admirable. I think it was so courageous how she went to Japan to protest the dolphin killings. She then saw whales being slaughtered, and she decided to take up that cause as well.
She doesn't just SAY she believes in something. She actually lives it out. It's nice to see people who are not only talk.
Michael J. Fox supporting Parkinson's Disease research - very inspirational. He's living with it and a very visual reminder of why the research should be supported.
Just one celebrity? Well I guess I have to say all of the actors and celebrities that help with St. Jude's Children Hospital. Antonio Banderas and all of these others. Those commercials always make me tear up.
Just finished heist society. It was SO good. OMG perfection.
I'm impressed with the way Aniston has made smart water cool and supports their clean water cause!
I don't have a specific celebrity that I support. I know a ton of celebrities have been performing, doing ads, etc. for Haiti, and I appluad each and every one of them. :)
And thank you for the awesome contest!
I'm applauding Isaac Slade. He is the lead singer of the band The Fray and he also contributed to the new We Are The World version that you mentioned above. He also helps give back to the community by helping mentoring troubled teens.
I applaud Kirsten Dunst, Amy Smart, Kat Von D, Dallas Bryce Howard, Ethan Embry and Sophia Bush for helping The Art of Elysium because it helps kids who have serious medical problems. I always feel for the kids so there work made me smile.
I would give Tera Lynn Childs a standing ovation for telling us about certain national goings-ons and encouraging us to take part in them. I would also give Jennifer Aniston a round of appluad for the work she does for St. Jude's.
I would applaud any celebrity that would donate for a worthy cause. Or anyone who might not donate, but would help make the world a better place.
For example, celebrities who have donated to help Haiti.
I would have to go with Hayden Panetierre. She went proactive for Save The Whales and even got arrested. How cool is that?(Not that she got arrested, but that she stood up for what she believed in no matter what the consequence)
I can't wait to read this book, it sounds so good!
I really applaud Brad Pitt and what he's done with the shelter less after Hurricane Katrina. I don't see what else he could've done to boost morale, then by giving them a fresh new start with a fresh new home.
Book~Adorer
i applaud all the celebrities that helped George clooney with the hope for Haiti telethon on t.v.
My vote is Angelina Jolie because to me she seems genuinely interested in the humanities cause unlike some of the other celebrities who seem to do it for the publicity.
Celebrity support seems to come and go sometimes but one who has been very consistent and vocal over the years is Brigitte Bardot who has always been a supporter of animal rights.
John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting. He is very active in the fight to find a cure for ALS. Someone very special to me has this horribly cruel disease so this is an issue that really touchs my heart.
There are so many celebrities who vocally support multiple charities, Ellen DeGeneres is one of the most visible & active ones and I love her for it. But the first that came to mind for me is Bob Barker, who actively encouraged people to spay & neuter their cats and dogs, helping to decrease the number of animals euthanized in local shelters each year.
I applaude all the celebrities like Jennifer Aniston who support St. Judes.
Angelina Jolie. I don't love her as an actress, but she does put her money where her mouth is!
I have to say Angelina Jolie. She's all about the humanitarian movement and that's pretty cool. Also all the celebrities who have re-recorded We Are the People for Haiti. It sounds really good and it's just great. I just love how people get together for such cause, it only sucks that it takes such tragedies.
There are a ton of celebrities that do some great work with charities but I have to say that I agree with some other commenters about all the people who help St.Judes such as Jennifer Aniston and Antonio Banderas. =]
Oh there are so many celebs. I would say Angelina Jolie, I also love those Broadway and soap opera stars whenever they do Broadway Cares for AIDS.
This is great- I think Angelina Jolie, Antonia Banderas, Hayden Panetierre and deffo JK Rowling ;)
Everyone has already mentioned most of the people I would: Selena Gomez, Angelina Jolie, JK Rowling, Hayden Panetierre etc.
Not sure anyone has mentioned all of the musicians that support To Write Love On Her Arms, but I think they're awesome and I love the cause.
I don't how far a cricketer is considered a celeb (though he is a celeb in my part of the world) but I applaud Brett Lee for lending his support to Make A Wish Foundation. In fact, he has supported numerous charitable causes (one of the reasons I like him so much) but I won't be able to name them all.
What celebrity do you applaud for publicly supporting a worthy cause?
I admire EVERYONE that donates and supports charity, and when celebrities do it, they draw great attention to the cause! One person that did donate lots of money, and really cared about the world and the people in it was Michael Jackson! So I would applaud him :)
I'd say the only celeb that comes to mind right away is Angelina Jolie, I think it's great that she gives back as much as she does.
I'd have to say that I admire the team on Extreme Home Makeover. They may not be making an international difference, but they are making a difference nonetheless. I love when they work with small organizations to raise money or awareness for good causes.
I really want to say Bill Gates though he may not be a celebrity, but to the computer fanatics he may as well be lol. We just read an article about the GATES FOUNDATION that helps Africa.
The celebrity I applaud is Jennifer Aniston. Honestly, I don't really know how she contributes to charity, but I do know she does because I've seen her St. Jude's commercial quite a few times. Plus, I really love her as an actress. :O)
This is an awesome book! I can't know this for sure
though... not until I read it. However, I love her Gallagher Girl series, and I'm confident Heist Society turned out even better. I just can't believe I haven't bought a copy yet! (I'm broke. No surprise though, because it's not like I have a job!) :O)
Love, Hannah
What celebrity do you applaud for publicly supporting a worthy cause?
I applaud Ellen DeGeneres, Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie for all their amazing support in worthy causes.
I applaud George Clooney. He really uses his celebrity and makes bold moves like setting up the Haiti telethon, Not on Our Watch against the genocide in Sudan, AIDS research...if there's a cause, George Clooney is on it, and he does it without really promoting himself. I'm a huge believer in his talent and his charitable work.
Michael J. Fox is very inspirational for Parkinsons research. I also highly respected the late Christopher and Dana Reeve for all of their work dealing with Spinal Cord Injuries.
nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
I think that would be All Gore, because he really uses his fame for trying to change the climate problem and create more awareness for this important issue
marjoleinbookblog at gmail dot com
there are so many celebrities that support a good cause, but i especially want to applaud for Hanna Jansen, a not quite famous but well-known German author, who did not only adopt 12 (!) children, mainly from Africa, but also wrote a wonderful book about the story of one of them, who was a vistim of the genocide in Rwanda (Over a thousand Hills I walk with you - very recommendable) and therefore was one of the very first persons to put a spotlight on what had happened there and what effects it had on the people.
oops, that was supposed to be "victim", not "vistim"
I think I would have to say JK Rowling.
One celeb that I really applauded for something she did was Katherine Heigl. She donated money to help transport chihuahuas across country to help them get adopted instead of being killed in California animal shelters. It wasn't a big move, but it just makes me tear up thinking of all those dogs who will have loving families now thanks to her.
Also, the Bill Gates Foundation has helped my library a few times to purchase computers for the public that we could not have otherwise afforded.
I'm afraid I'm a bit too cynical to pay much attention to which celebrity is supporting which charity.
But I do think Melinda Gates deserves a shout out for convincing the richest man in the world to cough up a large chunk of change for charity.
They are actually giving money from their own pocket, though I doubt they feel the loss :0)
Their foundation seems well organised with a lot of thought given to which charities they support.
I applaud Angelina Jolie and Ellen Degeneres.
Anyone who puts their time or money on the line to make a difference is my hero!
I'll say Tippi Hedren for all her work she's done for several different animal species.
angelina jolie & brad pitt not only for there donations & work with charities but also for adoting! i think thats awesome that they took in all of those children <3
I applaud Reese Witherspoon for her work with domestic violence charities. I don't the names, but I've seen her being interviewed about it on TV several months back. I think it's awesome if any celebrity helps out a charity, but it's the charaties that help those we don't generally know need help that I think are just so important. It's great of Reese to put her name to them.
Well, the supporters of charities that I admire the most are actually the people from Campbell's, (the soups) 'cause whenever there is a disaster - like Haiti, Katrina or the Tsunami - they always make big donations in species and money to relief efforts, but they never make a fuss.
They have helped a bunch of times where I live, with earthquakes and a couple of floods.
As for actors and such I guess I do admire Leo DiCaprio who seems really committed to the ecological causes.
Katherine Heigl! She is so amazing!
Songbird203
Angelina Jolie is so kind to all those hurting children in other countries.
~Joy P.
I publicly applause hayden panetera for her inspirational work in promoting awarness for the wildlife especially the whales, protecting them. She is a strong woman and she put her heart in making sure that people new about the issues surrounding whales and wildlife. I thought it was amazing.
Peter Faccinelli for his tireless work with Alex's Lemonade
Angelina Jolie for helping all those countries ravaged by natura diasters.
Selena Gomez is pretty inspiring for young adults especially. Ellen is amazing, of course.
I respect Paul McCartney, and the charities he supports. Not only does he support more than one cause, he also has a significant reason for it. For example, he supports the Adopt-A-Minefield because his wife lost part of her leg in a car accident in 1993. Therefore, I respect him for that. Also, he doesn't support just one type of disease or cause, like some other celebrities.
I think I support Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig for their involvement in Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
I have to applaud Sarah McLachlan for her work with the ASPCA. While I hate watching those commercials because they make me want to run out and adopt like 50 animals, I have to admire someone who will help raise awareness for the animals and for their better treatment.
I love the ASPCA commercials with Sarah McLachlan. We looked at them in my English class and I just fell in love with all of the animals. They were so sad and cute looking. It is a great and worthy cause.
I support Robin Williams and Jennifer Aniston for promoting St. Jude's Children Research Hospital. I think it's great they're trying to help sick kids who haven't even had a chance to live yet. It always makes me so appreciative of my own health
I support Peter Facinelli as well for supporting the lemonade stand cause.
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