(Friday, November 13, 2009) NBC Nightly News “Celebrities Making a Difference” special week long series. Country singer Tim McGraw talks about his charity founded with wife Faith Hill to help communities in need and it’s special focus in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina with NBC’s Amy Robach.
Faith Hill and husband Tim McGraw (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)
Tim McGraw and wife Faith Hill have long been giving back to charitable organizations but were looking for a way to make a direct impact. Raised with similar values where neighbors helped each other out, together they founded Neighbor’s Keeper in 2004. Concerts called “red and water shows” are among the many ways the organization raises funds to assist communities with affordable housing, recreational activities, and more. In light of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Tim describes a special focus they took on via Neighbor’s Keeper to help children deal with the trauma of the natural disaster through art therapy.
The embed code provided on msnbc.com does not work with my WordPress page so I’m placing the link to the interview for you to watch below. Continue to read my reaction, and I encourage you to comment with yours.
NOTE: If the links do not work, go to the Making a Difference website and you’ll find links to each celebrity about 2/3 down the page under a heading “Celebrities Making A Difference.”
Amidst the current controversy swirling around Tiger Woods and his wife Elin, it’s nice for me personally to turn the focus back for a moment to a celebrity couple who are in the news for doing something positive- Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. As this special series closes out with Tim McGraw, I’m inspired by his willingness to leverage his notoriety in a positive light through giving back. Neighbor’s Keeper gave $1 million to Sister Judith Brun’s art therapy and family counseling program in Baton Rouge. Seeing the children’s artwork as they process something horrific touched my soul in the already soft spot I have for Hurricane Katrina.
I recognize it probably makes business sense for all of these celebrities to do some charitable work, but watching the featured interviews with Tim and the other celebrities from the week allowed me to see how much passion they had for their specific causes. As Tim reminds us, charity begins at home.
(Thursday, November 12, 2009) NBC Nightly News “Celebrities Making a Difference” special week long series. Halle Berry shares her dedication to working with domestic violence survivors with NBC’s Natalie Morales.
Karen Earl, Director of Jenesse Center poses with Halle Berry, Ambassador for Jenesse Center (David Livingston / Getty Images)
Halle Berry is no stranger to domestic violence having grown up in a household where her own mother was a victim of domestic violence. During the interview, she shares that even some of her own dating relationships in the past became at risk of repeating the same pattern from her mother, but she was able to recognize the early warning signs and end those relationships. Over the past 10 years, Halle has been working very closely with the Jenesse Center in Los Angeles, serves as the Ambassador, and provides both financial and hands-on support. The Jenesse Center has grown to 6 different shelters in the Los Angeles area for over 8000 battered women a year and their children who need a safe place to stay and assistance dealing with the emotional trauma, legal aspects, and vocational assistance.
NOTE: If the links do not work, go to the Making a Difference website and you’ll find links to each celebrity about 2/3 down the page under a heading “Celebrities Making A Difference.”
I’m watching this series in order as I write, so I haven’t seen Tim McGraw’s feature yet, but I have been most impressed by Halle Berry’s involvement. I can only imagine that there was a similar sentiment when recording her interview because there is more video footage available online than the others. I say that not to diminish the work of other celebrities featured but to applaud Halle Berry. To hear that she is willing to roll up her sleeves and stuff envelopes and get to know the women and children at the shelter is truly inspiring. At the same time, she’s used her celebrity status to rally support financially for Jenesse Center even starting an annual golf event and fundraiser. Additionally, I liked that Jenessee Center offers unconditional assistance to women who may decide to leave before completing the program but then return at a different time. I was also impressed by the director of Jenesse Center Karen Earl particularly her drive to make the facility the best it can be.
It was interesting that they touched upon the fact that domestic violence was not about class, briefly highlighting Rihanna and Chris Brown as an example. I think Natalie Morales did a fantastic job with this interview. After seeing this, I am adding Jenesse Center to my personal list of organizations to support financially. I don’t take that notion lightly, but I was really touched by Halle Berry’s work and the Jenesse Center as a whole. I have listed some specific pages on the Jenesse Center website, but I encourage you to surf around to read about various events, volunteer, and sponsorship opportunities.
The Jenesse Center was the official charity of this year’s 2009 Los Angeles Marathon. Check out the promotional video below…
The Silver Rose Weekend is three days of exciting events that raise support and awareness for the programs and services provided by Jenesse Center. There will be a VIP Reception on Saturday, April 17, 2010 (location TBA), an Awards Gala and Auction on Sunday, April 18, 2010, 12noon at the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Halle Berry Celebrity Golf Classic on Monday, April 19, 2010 at the Wilshire Country Club.
This is a little dated but still helpful to watch.
Information about Halle Berry’s Celebrity Golf Classic benefiting Jenesse Center, Inc.
(Wednesday, November 11, 2009) NBC Nightly News “Celebrities Making a Difference” special week long series. Glenn Close shares her work to bring awareness and eradicate the stigma surrounding mental illness with NBC’s Anne Thompson.
Jessie Close is the younger sister and inspiration to Glenn Close. Jessie has bipolar disorder that went improperly diagnosed (although that detail is not clear in this segment) until age 47 even with their father who is in the medical field. Glenn was motivated by her sister’s life to use her celebrity status to speak out about mental illness through various appearances and public service announcements such as in the Bring Change 2 Mind. Additionally, Glenn has teamed with Fountain House in New York City to provide funding that goes to housing, education, treatment, employment and a variety of other support services to people living with mental illness that need some additional assistance to thrive in society.
The embed code provided on msnbc.com does not work with my WordPress page so I’m placing the link to the interview for you to watch below. Continue to read my reaction, and I encourage you to comment with yours.
NOTE: If the links do not work, go to the Making a Difference website and you’ll find links to each celebrity about 2/3 down the page under a heading “Celebrities Making A Difference.”
I applaud Glenn Close for taking on the subject of mental illness because it is often overlooked, as she’s seen with her own sister, and still holds many false preconceptions. The statistic that played in the public service announcement clip that 1 in 6 people live in mental illness was surprising to me. It’s much more common than many of us would think. Programs like Fountain House provide a loving community for people recovering from mental illness through the work they do together to support the house. It was good to see Glenn doing some hands on volunteer work at Fountain House to show her commitment. It was, however, unclear from the interview alone how active she is with organization and in what capacity. Just surfing the website for Fountain House, I could not find Glenn Close’s name attached to anything which raised some questions about the extent of her involvement in comparison to what I witnessed with Jon Bon Jovi and Alicia Keys so far.
(Tuesday, November 10, 2009) NBC Nightly News “Celebrities Making a Difference” special week long series. Alicia Keys provides “a voice for the voiceless” to HIV/AIDS patients in Africa and India and shares her story with NBC’s Lester Holt.
In her interview with Lester Holt, R&B singer Alicia Keys visits Agape Orphanage in Durban, South Africa and a health clinic that the organization Keep A Child Alive sponsors. It was after witnessing the impact of HIV and AIDS, firsthand, during a trip to Africa in 2003 that motivated Alicia Keys to action. Together, Leigh Blake and Alicia Keys founded Keep A Child Alive providing free lifesaving medical assistance, resources, and support to families all over Africa and India that cannot afford anti-retroviral medication and related care.
The embed code provided on msnbc.com does not work with my WordPress page so I’m placing the link to the interview for you to watch below. Continue to read my reaction, and I encourage you to comment with yours.
NOTE: If the links do not work, go to the Making a Difference website and you’ll find links to each celebrity about 2/3 down the page under a heading “Celebrities Making A Difference.”
We know the statistics of HIV and AIDS are startling in Africa, but to hear, for example as stated in the video interview, that over 10% of the population has AIDS in South Africa. Further, over half of those suffering from HIV/AIDS do not have the means to obtain life sustaining medication just brings the point home all over again. In the US, while HIV/AIDS is still a crisis and at epidemic levels in different parts of the country, we are largely fortunate to have medication widely available so that people can actually live full lives with HIV now. When you step outside of the Western world, that is not always the case. My heart bled for the orphans in Durban who looked up to Alicia Keys as their own sister with sincere heartfelt gratitude for the contributions from Keep A Child Alive. If you look at the Keep A Child Alive website, you’ll read that it just takes a US dollar a day to make an impact. Think about that as we enter the holiday season. Sometimes, I’ve made charitable contributions in lieu of gifts. I’m definitely adding Keep A Child Alive to my list.
p.s. Didn’t Alicia just sing to our souls at the end with her a capella rendition of “Prelude to a Kiss?” What a beautiful song!
(Monday, November 9, 2009) NBC Nightly News “Celebrities Making a Difference” special week long series. Jon Bon Jovi talks about the power of “we” with Brian Williams on the eve of his group’s album release for “The Circle.”
As I mentioned in my post “NBC Nightly News hosts special week long series ‘Celebrities Making A Difference’” the week beginning November 9, 2009 expanded the regular “Making A Difference” segment to include celebrities and their philanthropic efforts. Rock star from one of the few groups of any music genre with a lifeline spanning several decades Jon Bon Jovi of Bon Jovi was the first to be featured with his organization that provides affordable housing called the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. It started out as a charitable extension from the days when Jon Bon Jovi was part owner of the the Philadelphia Soul arena football team, league now defunct, that was called Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation.
Unfortunately, the embed code provided on NBC Nightly News is not compatible with WordPress, so I’ll just offer you the link instead to watch while reading this post:
I personally haven’t listened to Jersey native Bon Jovi since the 80s, but after watching this feature about his work with the Soul Foundation, I’m a fan all over again. The first thing I had to shake was this perception that rockers who have been in the game all end up looking and speaking like Ozzy Osbourne from a lifetime of sex, drugs, and rock n roll. He’s far from that image, a family of his own, a sharp sense of business savvy, and an incredible passion to give back to others. It is so true that charity begins at home, and I liked seeing that Jon Bon Jovi has invested in the communities in his home state of New Jersey and bordering Pennsylvania.
Bon Jovi’s latest album entitled “The Circle” was released on November 10, 2009.
“NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” regularly airs a “Making A Difference” segment whose focus is to showcase the “extraordinary efforts of ordinary people.” Beginning on Monday, November 9, 2009, NBC Nightly News hosted a special edition of this segment “Celebrities Making A Difference” highlighting philanthropic efforts from celebrities each night this week. Today (Friday), will close out this series, but I wanted to bring this information to you through my blog to encourage viewership and discussion.
Here’s a schedule from this week’s “Celebrities Making A Difference”…
MONDAY
(Bill Pugliano / Getty Images)
Jon Bon Jovi speaks to NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams about his Soul Foundation (www.jonbonjovisoulfoundation.org) established to help create affordable housing in the Philadelphia and New Jersey region where he grew up.
TUESDAY
(Kevin Mazur / WireImage)
Alicia Keys speaks to NBC’s Lester Holt about her Keep A Child Alive foundation (keepachildalive.org) aimed at providing lifesaving medication for those in Africa and India who have succumbed to HIV/AIDS.
WEDNESDAY
(Bryan Bedder / Getty Images)
Glenn Close tells NBC’s Anne Thompson about her ongoing work supporting New York’s Fountain House (www.fountainhouse.org) a place that assists the mentally ill.
THURSDAY
(David Livingston / Getty Images)
Halle Berry is interviewed by NBC’s Natalie Morales about her continued support of the Jenessee Center (www.jenesse.org) in Los Angeles that serves women who have been victims of domestic violence.
FRIDAY
(Larry Busacca / Getty Images)
Tim McGraw closes out this special series in an interview with NBC’s Amy Robach about the organization he co-founded with also famous wife Faith Hill called Neighbor’s Keeper Foundation (www.neighborskeeper.org) that provides ongoing aid to survivors from devastating 2005 Hurricane Katrina.
Each of these segments will follow in separate blog posts.
Who can EVER forget? Take a moment of silence. Light a candle. Say a prayer. Do not forget what the cities in the Gulf region went through in late August 2005.
Where were you? What did you do? What have you done? How were you affected?
This is an excellent video that’s about 27 minutes of runtime narrated by Brian Williams from NBC Nightly News.
50% of your donation (less Pay Pal fees) will go to Emerge Global charity (http://emergeglobal.org/). The other 50% funds the sweat equity I put into my work for your enjoyment. My hope is that one day I will be able to donate 100% to charity.
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