Nicolas Cages Gives $2 Million to Former Child Soldiers

Charity News Online

Actor Nicolas Cage has donated $2 million in aid to former child soldiers worldwide, the Associated Press reports.

The donation by the Oscar-winning actor will help provide shelters and medical and psychological rehabilitation services, said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA. Cox accepted the donation Wednesday at a United Nations Conference in New York. Amnesty International will administer the funds.

"I understand that this pledge is not a solution for the problem," Cage, 42, said when he announced the contribution by video. "It's my hopeful wish that today's discussions on this tragic subject at the United Nations conference may bring us closer to eradicating the nightmare of child soldiers." Cage said he has worked with Amnesty International for more than two years.

The United Nations estimates there are at least 300,000 child soldiers participating in armed conflicts in the world today.

Nicholas Cage, United Nations,charity, donation

Charlize Theron Hosts Charity Auction to Help South Africa Children

Charity News Online

The Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron hosted an auction to raise money for children in her native South Africa, and clearly had a little help from her Hollywood friends, ITV.com reported Friday.

As a result, the star's African Outreach project now $140,000 richer. Charlize explained why the Africa cause is so important, saying: "It's my home, it's in my blood, it's who I am and you can't change that". Other big names who turned up in the name of the good cause were Nicole Richie and American Idol winner Taylor Hicks.

Lindsay Lohan skipped her London premiere to attend the event. Auction items included a jacket sent by Will Smith, some signed DVDs from Tom Hanks and an original Scarface poster donated by Al Pacino.

charity, Charlize Theron

Former U.S. Presidents Bush, Clinton Honored for Charitable Efforts

Charity News Online

Former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who put politics aside to help raise more than $1 billion for disaster relief efforts, will share the 2006 Liberty Medal, officials said Thursday.

Bush, a Republican, and Clinton, a Democrat, joined forces last year to aid Gulf Coast victims of Hurricane Katrina through the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. Earlier, they formed the Bush-Clinton Tsunami Partnership to help survivors of the December 2004 tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people in Southeast Asia.

The award annually honors an individual or organization that has "demonstrated leadership and vision in the pursuit of liberty of conscience or freedom from oppression, ignorance, or deprivation."

Bush and Clinton will accept the medal and its accompanying $100,000 prize on Oct. 5 at the National Constitution Center, in what will be the first Liberty Medal given under the center's management. First awarded in 1989, the Liberty Medal was previously administered by regional civic groups including the Philadelphia Foundation and Greater Philadelphia First.

charity, Bill Clinton, George Bush, Hurricane Katrina

Afghan Child Soldiers Will Take Up Arms Again, Unless Aid Continues -UN

Charity News Online

Afghanistan's former child soldiers will return to fighting unless the United Nations is able to keep operating training projects to bring them into civilian society, the UN Children's Fund and the World Food Program said.

“Instead of self-sufficient tailors and carpenters and mechanics helping to boost the development of their communities, and the nation as a whole, there will be thousands of poor hungry and frustrated former child soldiers,'' Richard Lee, a WFP spokesman, said Thursday in the Afghan capital, Kabul. They will be the “perfect recruiting pool for insurgents and other armed groups.”The WFP will be forced to end its support for young trainees in the second half of this year unless it receives additional donations, Lee said.

Afghanistan emerged from more than two decades of civil war, involving war lords and militia groups, with the ousting of the Taliban regime in the U.S.-led war on terrorism in 2001. Taliban fighters have stepped up their attacks in recent months as forces of the U.S.-led coalition and the Afghan army expand their operations into southern and eastern provinces. More than 60,000 former militiamen surrendered in Afghanistan under a UN-supported program that began after 2001.

Unicef's programs include teaching and training young people in skills such as carpentry, weaving and sewing, the UN said. The WFP's monthly food aid ration for trainees and their families is a ``powerful incentive'' for Afghans to attend classes, it said.

donation, United Nations, World Food Program, children

Lunch With Billionaire Sells at Charity Auction for $620,100

Charity News Online

A unanimous bid has paid $620,100 in an online charity auction to dine with the billionaire investor Warren Buffett in New York. In last year's auction, the winning bid was $351,100.Five individuals placed 29 bids in the eBay Inc. auction that ended Thursday evening. The winner of the auction was identified only by the eBay user name "fastisslow."

Proceeds from the auction go to the Glide Foundation, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco. The winning bidder will be able to take seven friends to lunch with Buffett, who is chairman and chief executive of Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The owners of the Smith and Wollensky restaurant in New York contributed $10,000 to Glide and will host the lunch.

Bidding on the lunch topped $500,000 Monday, the day after Buffett announced his plans to give nearly $37 billion worth of stock in his investment company to five charitable foundations over time, with the largest share going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This year's lunch with Buffett is the second-most expensive charity item ever sold on eBay, said Catherine England, a spokeswoman for the site.

This is the fourth year Buffett has auctioned a lunch on eBay and donated the proceeds to the Glide Foundation. Buffett began auctioning the lunches for the charity off-line in 2000.

The most expensive charity item ever sold on eBay was a Harley Davidson motorcycle autographed by celebrities that Jay Leno offered last year. England said that bike raised $800,100 for the American Red Cross' tsunami relief effort. The next highest-priced charity item was a lunch and golf outing for four with Tiger Woods that sold in 2001 for $425,000, England said.


charity, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates

Belarus Children From Chernobyl Hit Areas Invited to U.S.

Charity News Online

Four U.S. families from the New Hope Presbyterian Church are hosting Belarusian children for six weeks this summer through the American Belarusian Relief Organization (ABRO). This summer marked the first time a group of Belarusian children came to Maryland through ABRO, a nonprofit Christian relief organization with locations in America and Belarus. The organization’s mission is to help Belarusian children in the areas of the country contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear explosion in 1986.

During their stay with host families in Maryland, from June 13 to July 25, the Belarusian children have the opportunity to rest and receive medical and dental care if needed, the local media reported. The six children are from Mogilev, a region that was exposed to radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear accident. The Ukrainian city of Chernobyl lies about 12 miles from the southern border of Belarus. According to ABRO’s Web site, the southern third of the country received the most radiation.

This summer the group is mostly healthy and busy with fun activities, checkups and dental and eye exams, said Frederick ABRO organizer Betsy Lalley. Among its planned activities, the group expects to visit Washington, D.C. and to pick berries at local farms. Lalley started the Frederick chapter of ABRO last March and within a couple of months, organized a base of support and sponsorship at the New Hope Presbyterian Church. ABRO uses local churches to sponsor the summer host programs.

The New Hope Presbyterian Church is the main sponsor and has arranged many of the medical appointments and activities for the children, Lalley said. Through fund raising, the church has raised 75 percent of the $1,500 cost per host family. American host families are responsible for providing food and any medical prescriptions and clothes. The program is of no cost to the children and their families in Belarus. Many of the Belarusian children come from different economic and social backgrounds and find the ABRO program through their community, church or local orphanage.

fundraising , Chernobyl,
Belarus

Smaller Charities Under Threat in Britain – Survey Warns

Charity News Online

The wealth gap between Britain's largest charities and their smaller counterparts is so wide that it could threaten the survival of those at the bottom of the sector, fund-raisers have warned. The Charity Trends 2006 report showed that "big name" causes at the top of a list of 1,000 groups were thriving from public donations in comparison to small to medium-sized charities, which were struggling to maintain their position.

Cancer and heart charities fared well, while groups dealing with disabilities and mental illnesses were absent from the top end of a table listing the income of charities gained from public donations in 2004 and 2005. Income from voluntary donations for the largest 500 charities grew by 5 per cent, the survey found, but there was a sharp decline after that, with charities placed in the bottom 100 of the table showing the greatest loss of income at minus 12 per cent.

The stark disparity was highlighted in the total income figure for the top 500, which amounted to £5.3bn compared with the bottom 500, which totaled £700,000 to £1m. Cathy Pharoah, the co-author of the report and director of research for CAF, a non-profit organization which commissioned the report, said the "huge skew" could threaten the life of smaller, niche charities, The Independent reported Thursday. She said small to medium-sized charities would have to think about collaboration if they were going to compete with the "big brand" name charities such as Cancer Research UK, which was in first place, followed by Oxfam and the National Trust.

Overall, the public has been gradually giving less each year for the past decade, donating 0.9 percent of the GDP last year compared to 1 per cent in 1995. Richer people continued to donate just 1 per cent of their annual income compared to 3 per cent donated by the poorer sections of society. Donations to religion-based charities for international causes rose by 49 per cent, believed to be due to appeals for disasters including the Asian tsunami.

charity, donation

Australia’s Ex-transport Boss Tops List of Generous Givers

Charity News Online

Former transport magnate Greg Poche was Australia's most generous donor to charity in 2005, handing over $32.5 million for a melanoma unit at a Sydney hospital. While not the biggest sum given to charity last year, Poche tops a list of the country’s top charity makers issued this week, because his donation represented 4.3 per cent of his net wealth.

The 64-year-old founder and former owner of Star Track Express became seriously wealthy in late 2003 when he sold the freight operation to Qantas and Australia Post for $750 million. His donation of $32.5 million to Sydney's Mater Hospital is believed to be the largest to a single cause by a single donor in Australian history.

A larger donation, but a smaller percentage of her net wealth, was the $37million given to charity by Marjory Edwards in her will last year. Edwards, of Adelaide, gave to 12 charities in her will and was recognized for her philanthropy before her death with a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2004. The former pastoralist was known in South Australia for her generosity to medical research and educational and cultural organizations.

But despite the huge sums of money given away by Poche and Edwards, Australia is far from the world's most generous nation, Canberra Times reports. The total amount of money Australians donated to charities in 2005 was 0.68 per cent of GDP, which is less than half that given by Americans. Americans donated 1.6 per cent of GDP last year.

charity, donation

Rock Legends The Who to Webcast Concert for Charity

Charity News Online

Rock legends The Who, gearing up for a world tour behind their first full-length album of new material in 24 years, will make their performance in London on July 2 available via the Internet.

The show will be available as a digital download from TheWhoLive.tv at a cost of 99 cents, and all of the profits will benefit various charities supported by Who guitarist Pete Townshend's Double O charity, including the Teenage Cancer Trust, the Michael J. Fox Foundation (Parkinson's Research), the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation (for underprivileged children) and the Robin Hood Foundation (which funds and supports innovative poverty-fighting organizations in New York City), according to a press release.

"No band has ever committed to webcasting live music from their entire show," Townshend said in a statement. "No band has promised that all profits from webcasting will be passed to charity. ... It is hoped that this world Who tour will generate an extraordinary seven- or even eight-figure sum for charitable organizations, and that Who fans everywhere can feel rightly proud that they are the principle benefactors in this circle of good will."

In addition to its availability on the Internet, Sunday's show--which is part of London's Hyde Park Calling Festival--will also air live at "select Hard Rock Cafes around the world," according to event sponsor Hard Rock International.

charity, The Who, Pete Townshend, Michael J. Fox

Putin Portrait Fails to Win Hearts of Russian Moneybags at Charity Auction

Charity News Online

A charity auction held recently in an upscale Moscow suburb offered Andy Warhol-style portraits of leading Russian politicians and tycoons painted by a young artist Veronika Ponomaryova but failed to raise much cash.

The collection featuring portraits of Vladimir Putin and German Gref, as well as tycoons Roman Abramovich, Boris Berezovsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Vladimir Potonin was put up for sale at the auction hosted by Ksenia Sobchak, Russia’s most famous party girl and daughter of the late mayor of St. Petersburg.

Oligarchs’ portraits were offered at the initial price of $5,000 each. Putin’s portrait was put up for sale at $10,000. Bidders, their identities concealed behind sun glasses, failed to show much interest in the lots.

Finally, Sobchak’s ex-boyfriend, entrepreneur Umar Dzhabrailov, who ran for presidency in 2000, bought almost the entire collection of the oligarchs’ paintings at the price of $5,000 plus 1 ruble each, and paid $11,000 for Putin’s portrait, but stopped short of buying Khodorkovsky and Berezovsky.

charity,auction,fundraising, Ksenia Sobchak, Umar Dzhabrailov

Nicole Kidman Visits Children's Hospital Before Wedding

Charity News Online

Nicole Kidman paid a visit to a children's hospital ward ahead of her celebrity wedding, taking her son and daughter with ex-husband Tom Cruise along shortly after they arrived in Australia for the weekend ceremony.

Kidman, her mother and the two children spent about two hours visiting the hospital's oncology, hematology and neurology wards, spending time chatting with patients and officials.

Kidman reportedly asked wedding guests to donate to charity rather than buy gifts. Kidman married country music star Keith Urban in a lavish wedding last weekend.

charity, Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, Keith Urban

Brad Pitt Honored for Charity Work

Charity News Online

Brad Pitt was named one of "15 People Who Make America Great" by Newsweek magazine for using his megawatt star power to shine some light on some often neglected causes in Africa.

Pitt, a constant target of the paparazzi, told the magazine that he figured if the cameras were going to follow him and girlfriend Angelina Jolie everywhere, they might as well lure them somewhere that needed the world's attention.

Pitt and Jolie sold the first picture of their daughter Shiloh to People magazine for a reported $4 million, saying all proceeds would be donated to charity.

Also among the 15 people or corporations named were Soledad O'Brien, an anchor on CNN's "American Morning" who the magazine said showed an "inner rage" while reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; and Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose Driven Life," AP reports.


charity, Brad Pitt , Angelina Jolie

8,000 Bra Walkers Hit the Road to Raise Cash for Breast Cancer Research

Charity News Online

Thousands have taken part in a charity campaign aimed at raising money for breast cancer research in Great Britain.

More than 8,000 people stepped out in decorated bras to raise money for breast cancer research this weekend. The participants, which included some men, left the Meadows in Edinburgh at midnight for the first ever MoonWalk in Scotland.

The walkers will travel either 13.1 miles, a half moon, or the full moon, 26.2 miles, finishing back at the Meadows.

charity, cancer, fundraising

Spice Girls May Reunite for Charity Appearance

Charity News Online

Despite previous denials of a reunion, the Spice Girls may get together again for a Children In Need special performance. As well as raising money for charity, the reunion would coincide with the 10 year anniversary of their single “Wannabe” topping the charts and the release of a new Greatest Hits album and documentary, the British media report.

The Spice Girls - who split in 2001 - are considering reuniting to sing this year's Children In Need song, Sunday Mirror said Sunday. A greatest hits CD is being released later this year to mark the 10th anniversary of Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Emma Bunton's rise to pop stardom with their first hit Wannabe.

"Children In Need would love them to do it - and they're thinking about it. After all, it is for charity," a pal said. A source quoted in the Sunday Mirror said: “It was Emma’s suggestion that they should do this after she appeared on the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire special for Children In Need last year.

charity, Spice Girls, Victoria Beckham,
Geri Halliwell

Buffett to Donate $37 Billion to Gates Foundation And Other Charities

Charity News Online

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and one of the world's wealthiest men, plans to donate the bulk of his $44 billion fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four other philanthropies starting in July.

Mr. Buffett will hand 10 million shares in his Berkshire Hathaway firm to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the BBC reported. The donations represent a singular and historic act of charitable giving that vaults him into the top tier of industrialists and entrepreneurs like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller Sr., Henry Ford, J. Paul Getty, W. K. Kellogg and Mr. Gates himself, all men whose fortunes have endowed some of the world's richest private foundations, The New York Times wrote Monday.

In a statement, Bill and Melinda Gates said they were "awed" by the donation, thought to be the largest charitable gift ever made in the United States. The foundation aims to fight disease and promote education around the world. News of the donation comes shortly after Bill Gates announced he is to step away from his day-to-day role at software giant Microsoft.

Warren Buffet, known as "the oracle of Omaha" -- after the Nebraska city where he still lives -- for his relentless success in investments, is worth an estimated $44bn, according to Forbes magazine.

Warren Buffet, charity, donation,
Bill Gates, Gates Foundation

Veteran Fundraiser Honored in Queen’s Birthday List

Charity News

A grandmother who has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity over the past 30 years has been awarded an MBE, a special Member of the British Empire award conferred by the Queen to the people included in her Birthday Honors List.

Lulie Webb, 81, of Hartham, near Chippenham, said she was amazed to receive the honor and added it was as much for her family and friends as for her. Over the years Mrs Webb has helped more than 30 charities by organizing different events like balls, dinners, lunches, car boot sales and art exhibitions. Some of the charities that have benefited from her work include Cancer Research UK, meningitis charities, Dorothy House, Wiltshire Air Ambulance, the Eve Appeal, breast cancer charities and Youth Action Wiltshire.

Mrs Webb said the main reason she was able to raise so much money was that every penny went to the charity and not on expenses. "I never pay for a thing. All the printing and posters are done for free," she said.

"I think it is terribly important not to put any of the money towards expenses because it defeats the whole exercise… I spent 20 years raising money for Imperial Cancer Research (now Cancer Research UK).” She said she is looking forward to visiting Buckingham Palace later in the year to receive the award.

charity, cancer, fundraising

Pamela Anderson Honors AIDS Charity

Charity News Online

Hollywood star Pamela Anderson visited Ireland this week to present the Dublin AIDS charity Open Heart House with a cheque for €20,000 on behalf of the MAC AIDS Fund. The cosmetics company also pledged a further €40,000 to the charity over the next two years.

The actress, who believes she contracted Hepatitis C from a tattoo needle, said it was important to remove the stigma surrounding AIDS and Hepatitis C as she said sufferers had nothing to be ashamed of. She also said it was important to take precautions and not to pass them on to others.

charity, AIDS, Hepatitis C, Pamela Anderson

Teenager Starts Blog to Fight Breast Cancer, Raise Donations

Charity News

A 15-year-old American has started a breast cancer blog to raise money for charity and boost awareness of the disease.

Annabelle Nwokenkwo launched Felorese.com, with the help of her brother, as a way to make her own contribution to society. The site which was created as place where females could blog about varying topics, also takes on a second purpose of raising money for women related problems or in this case $2 million for charities.

The goal of the program, which is called FBCI or Felorese.com Breast Cancer Initiative, is to raise the amount through a $5 donation from visitors to the site. Afterwards, the donations raised will be distributed to breast cancer charities. Under the plan, the money will be held in a Paypal account and will not be touched.

Breast cancer “is a disease that affects 1 in 7 females over their lifespan and it continues to kill thousands”, says Annabelle, “but even with the wide reach of the disease, many women are not aware of the reality and do not go for regular mammograms.” Annabelle hopes that the program and efforts will raise awareness to the disease.

charity, breast cancer, donation

Health Charity Calls for Joint Efforts to Fight Plague Outbreak in Congo

Charity News

The health charity Medecins sans frontieres (MSF) has urged leading aid agencies to provide urgent support to fight an outbreak of pneumonic plague in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC.) Reporting an outbreak of the extremely contagious airborne disease in the strife-torn region of Ituri in the north-east, the group called for help from the World Health Organization and the DRC authorities.

"We urgently need all actors present in the field who have the capacity to conduct active searches for suspected cases and identification of individuals in contact with suspected cases to mobilize resources," MSF said in a statement. As of June 19th, 22 deaths had been confirmed while 144 cases have so far been identified, according to MSF.

Pneumonic plague is fatal if left untreated. The disease is similar to bubonic plague except that the bacteria infect the lungs. But pneumonic plague is considered more dangerous than bubonic plague because it can be transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets. The bubonic version is transmitted by fleas or rodents.

charity, WHO, MSF, plague

Russian Telecom Operator Launches $0.5 Million Charity Package

Charity News Online

Russia’s leading mobile phone operator has launched a new package offering unlimited phone calls across the country to people who are willing to make a difference.

Customers will pay 300 to 360 conventional currency units (commonly based on euro exchange rates) per month, for an opportunity to make calls throughout Russia. 100 c.c.u. deducted from each monthly payment will be transferred into accounts of charity organizations on behalf of callers, the Pomogi.Org charity foundation reported on its website.

MTS has said it would add another 100 c.c.u. to each donation on the company’s behalf. The operator and the Russian Aid Foundation expect to raise approximately $0.5 million. The new package was presented at the Red Party, held by MTS in Moscow earlier this month.

charity, donation, fundraising, MTS

UNICEF Reports Loss of Donation Box in Athens

Charity News Online

The leader of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Greece announced this week that a 500-kilo donation box had been stolen from central Athens earlier this year. After receiving no information from police on the matter, the UN officials reported the theft to the media.

Lambros Kanellopoulos told local media that the metal donation box, which was 2 meters high and had a circumference of 4 meters, was stolen in February. It is not known how much money was inside the box, which was placed on the pedestrian area before Christmas. In previous years, UNICEF said it had managed to collect between 8,000 and 10,000 euros.

The box was stolen a few days before it was due to be removed. Kanellopoulos said he immediately informed police but has not heard back from them. UNICEF plans to put a new collection box in the same spot this Christmas, he said.

UNICEF, donation, fundraising

Michael J. Fox’s Charity Awards $800,000 for Parkinson’s Disease Research

Charity News Online

A charity group established by U.S. actor Michael J. Fox, who suffers from the degenerative neurological condition, awarded Australian scientists $800,000 for research, the Australian media reports.

Researchers at the University of Melbourne will use the funds provided by the Parkinson’s disease charity to investigate ways to prevent falls and improve mobility in sufferers.

The disease, which causes muscle tremors and rigidity, affects an estimated six million people worldwide. More than half of all sufferers fall many times each year, many sustaining serious injuries. It is the first time Australian researchers have been awarded a grant from Fox’s foundation.

charity, Michael J.Fox, Parkinson’s disease

Power Lines Increase Risk of Childhood Leukemia – Charity

Charity News Online

A leading British children’s charity has sounded alarm over housing development near power lines, citing a recent survey in Scotland that revealed two out of three people would not buy a house situated near, or under, a power line. The Children with Leukemia charity called for a moratorium on building new houses or schools close to overhead power lines. It said the findings added weight to the Draper Report, published in June last year, which suggested that living too close to overhead power lines appeared to increase the risk of childhood leukemia, the BBC reported.

Eddie O'Gorman, chairman of Children with Leukaemia, said there was growing public support for action. The Draper study looked at more than 29,000 children with cancer, including 9,700 with leukemia, born between 1962 and 1995, and a control group of healthy youngsters in England and Wales. Overall, youngsters living within 200 meters of the lines were about 70% more likely to develop leukemia, and those living between 200 and 600 meters away about 20% more likely to develop leukemia than those who lived beyond 600 meters from high voltage pylons. However, the researchers stressed that there were no accepted biological reasons for the results and that they may, therefore, be chance.

charity, leukemia

Five Charity Groups Closed in Russian Siberia

Charity News Online

Authorities in Russia’s Siberian coal-mining Kemerovo Region ordered temporary closure of five charities, after a probe conducted by local registrar officials detected violations of law on charitable activity by those groups.

A local official in charge of affairs of religious and public organizations, Lilia Serebrennikova, told Regnum news agency, that the checks had been carried out into financial reporting submitted by those groups.

As of January 1, as many as 40 charitable foundations were active in the region.

Serebrennikova said the violations detected were not grave, adding that the groups will be able to resume operations once they take measures to eliminate those violations.

FIFA Offers Football Stars Autographs to Raise Charitable Donations

Charity News Online
Lisa Vronskaya

FIFA is inviting bids from football fans worldwide for a unique book containing the signatures of all the 736 players and head coaches of the finalist teams now vying for the World Cup in Germany, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association reported on its official Website.

The unique collections of footballers’ signatures will be auctioned with the proceeds going to the official charity campaign led by the FIFA, “Six Villages for 2006”. FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter said he was particularly pleased that football will be able to give children especially in poor countries the prospect of a better future as a result of the 'Six Villages for 2006' campaign.

The 32 pages will be bound in precious leather. Top names, including Ronaldinho, Ballack, Totti, Riquelme, Beckham, Drogba, Parreira, Hiddink, Tunisia's Hatem Trabelsi and Paraguay's Carlos Bonet, have all signed the book for a good cause. The proceeds from the auction of the autograph book will go towards building six children's villages.

The six new SOS Children's Villages (in Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, the Ukraine and Vietnam) will afford permanent support in the form of schools, community centers, kindergartens and other related facilities to 5,000 boys and girls. 800 of these children will find a permanent home in these new SOS Children's Villages. Furthermore, 1,000 families will have access to help from the SOS community centres. FIFA has itself donated 321,000 euros to the six villages. By the start of the World Cup, 12 of the targeted 18 million euros had been collected.

Woman Sends Teddies to Children in Need

Charity News Online

Next July a hundred of teddy bears are scheduled to fly to India. A teacher will distribute them among local children, with best regards from a woman, whom most likely they will never meet.

The woman who sends teddy bears to deprived children in developing countries has so far this year sent hundreds of toys around the world. Tricia Gibb, 56, a retired NHS hospital secretary from St Albans, UK, started sending the toys with a group of friends six years ago after hearing about the idea through a minister at her church.

About 30 of her friends stitch the soft bears before they are given to people they know who are visiting a country where children are in need. "In some ways the teddy bears do just as much good as medicine,” Tricia says.

March saw 400 of the soft toys sent to orphanages in Zambia, in April a nurse took 50 of the bears to Kashmir for children affected by the Asian earthquake last October, and, in July, 100 will go with a teacher to India.

Charitable Giving Hits Record High in Disaster-Ridden 2005

Charity News Online
Lisa Vronskaya

In the wake of a series of huge natural disasters across the globe charitable giving grew in 2005, an annual report on philanthropy released in the U.S. said. Individuals and institutions in the U.S. gave away an estimated $260.28 billion in 2005, a 2.7 percent increase on an inflation-adjusted basis from a year earlier, local papers reported.

Giving for disaster relief accounted for about 3 percent of the total, according to the Giving USA Foundation, an educational and research program of the American Association of Fundraising Counsel, which together with the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University publishes the annual report.

From December 2004 to October, an estimated $7.37 billion was donated to address the ravages of natural disasters, with individuals accounting for a majority of the gifts. The American Red Cross alone received $2.4 billion to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, and the Salvation Army took in $363 million, more than three times what it raised through its annual holiday Red Kettle Campaign.

Without disaster-related philanthropy, however, giving would have been flat. The stock market increased only modestly last year, and personal incomes fell for the second year in a row.

U.S. Newlyweds Choose Charity

Charity News Online
Lisa Vronskaya

Charitable donations are becoming increasingly popular among newlyweds who are choosing them over traditional wedding gifts. Many couples in the U.S. raise thousands of dollars for charity through their weddings banking on the generosity of friends and relatives to collect as much money as possible when they get married.

James and Georgia Markarian raised more than $5,000. They, as well as Jen Crane and Tom Frohlich are part of a tiny-but-growing group of couples turning their weddings into philanthropic opportunities. It is a trend that is picking up momentum, industry officials said, with help from a handful of Webbased nonprofits that serve as virtual intermediaries between couples, charities and guests.

While these decisions are largely a reflection of couples’ altruism and other personal values many who are setting up charitable wedding registries acknowledge more practical motivations. For example, as the average age of U.S. newlyweds rises and more couples live together before tying the knot, there is not as much need for cookware and other traditional gifts as in previous generations.

Because weddings are increasingly secular "commercialized" events — Americans spend $26,000, on average — "people are looking for a way to reflect that they are deeper than all that," said Carley Roney, co-founder of the wedding information portal the Knot Inc. Some couples are making donations in honor of their guests while others are donating leftover food to nearby homeless shelters. Couples who have incorporated charitable giving into their events said it helped to keep their priorities in check.

Georgia and James Markarian, of Los Altos, Calif., felt particularly uneasy last year while planning the details of their wedding so soon after the massive South Asian tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people across 12 nations. The Markarians set up an online charitable wedding registry through JustGive.org, a nonprofit that has collected about $850,000 and directed it to various charities on behalf of newlyweds since 2003. The Markarian wedding netted $5,000 for the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children and United Way — all of which were involved in the international relief effort.

Conference Highlighting Role of Charity Held in Russia

Charity News Online
Lisa Vronskaya

A “revival of the spirit of charity in Russia” is the focus of an international conference hosted this weekend by the St. Petersburg School of Religion and Philosophy in Russia’s second-largest city.

Speakers at the conference included local government administrators, business people, welfare practitioners, managers of charities, investment organizations and others connected with charitable work. They discussed American, Asian and Islamic ways of charity, along with what kind of charity Russia needs today and potential legislation regarding charity.

The conference organizers said their goal was “to begin a public discussion about aims and kinds of charity in modern Russian society.”

Natalia Pecherskaya, Rector of the St. Petersburg School of Religion and Philosophy, saw a need for promoting charity in Russia, where charity was forbidden in the Soviet period.

Dr. Pecherskaya’s non-Church, non-State Institute opened in 1990, with the help of small donations from local people. In 1996, the School published a book on Russian Orthodoxy and philanthropy, and the upcoming conference on “Charity in Russia” is the next step.

Bill Gates Logs Out to Focus on Charity Work

Charity News Online
Lisa Vronskaya

Bill Gates, 50, whose estimated net worth is about $50 billion, announced last week he will leave his day-to-day work at Microsoft Corp. in two years and plans to devote full time to charitable work. He says he wants to give most of his money to charity. Gates said on Thursday he was beginning a two-year transition away from his day-to-day role at the Seattle-based software company to spend more time on his charitable work.

Gates, the world's wealthiest man, has said that a sizable portion of his fortune, estimated by Forbes magazine in March to total more than $50 billion, would go to charity and not his three children. The 50-year-old Harvard dropout has described his philosophy as one of "giving back my wealth to society." Last year, the foundation distributed $1.36 billion in grants, an 8 percent increase from 2004.

Among its initiatives, the Gates endowment has committed millions to fighting diseases like malaria and tuberculosis in developing countries and to education and library technology in the United States.

Melinda Gates also plans to increase her daily involvement in the institution, Gates Foundation Chief Executive Patty Stonesifer said in a statement. She added that no other organizational changes are planned at the foundation, which is in the process of expanding its staff and moving into new headquarters. The foundation is also launching a new initiative aimed at fighting worldwide poverty through programs such as small business loans.

AIDS Health Foundation Critical of Corporate Charity Initiatives

Charity News Online

Bill Gates’ announcement of his plans to retire and focus on charitable programs caused criticism on the part of prominent foundations. Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Health Foundation, said that although he approved of the Gates Foundation’s efforts he still felt disappointed by corporate initiatives.

Michael Weinstein said: "The fact that they have given so much money to global health is a great thing and maybe this is a good example to other corporate leaders, but I have been disappointed”.

He also added that the focus on funding AIDS prevention rather than treatment has been a disservice to developing countries. "People won't get tested until there is a promise of treatment. It has got to be an integrated approach," Weinstein said.