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 NBC’s Amy Robach.

(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.

(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.

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.

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.

“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.

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?