With the issues of community development and conservation close to his heart, Norton voiced hope that he can channel the attention he receives for his work in Hollywood towards raising awareness of the UN’s ideals and activities.

“I think that [Goodwill] Ambassadors in many ways can play a role in highlighting the models of success that the UN is promoting around the world,” he told the UN News Centre.

Norton’s family has long been involved in sustainable development issues, with his father being a conservation advocate and his maternal grandparents having founded an organization to help provide affordable housing in the United States.

For his part, the new Goodwill Ambassador is very active in garnering support for conservation efforts, serving as a board member of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust and taking part in launching an innovative social networking platform called Crowdrise to boost participation in charitable work.

Last year, he ran in the New York City Marathon, helping to raise more than $1 million for local communities in Kenya.

In his new role, Mr. Norton said he will work with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity to spotlight the “crisis of biodiversity” and ensure world leaders take appropriate measures to protect the environment.

One of his top priorities as Goodwill Ambassador will be to increase “people’s focus on the fact that human well-being is intertwined fundamentally with biodiversity,” the actor, twice nominated for an Academy Award, said.

It is vital that “people realize that they are not separate from the web of life,” he added. “Our ability to thrive as a species and as a civilization totally depends on that web of life.”

At his designation ceremony, Mr. Norton told the Secretary-General that biodiversity is an issue that “transcends national boundaries,” with people “having lost sight” of the need for environmental protection.

Referring to one of Norton’s most famous movies, Mr. Ban voiced hope that the Goodwill Ambassador will help to move the world from “Fight Club to a peace club.”

Addressing reporters in New York, the new Goodwill Ambassador said environmental issues will “incontestably” be the “defining challenge of this era.”

He added that “when people look back on this era that we’re living in… they will not assess many of the things that we consider political hot buttons of the day. They will assess this era based on how we responded to this particular crisis,” referring to biodiversity loss.

At the same press conference, Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the CBD, pointed out that the rate of extinction of some species is 1,000 times higher than the natural rate. “We are reaching the tipping point where irreversible damage is going to be done and therefore we need an urgent call for action.”

The official said that the Secretary-General could not have chosen “a better advocate, a better ambassador than someone who is [taking action], not only through statements and speeches, but doing it in reality” than Mr Norton.

Last week’s appointment comes as the UN marks 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, with heads of State set to discuss the issue at a high-level meeting at UN Headquarters in New York at the start of the General Assembly’s 65th annual General Debate in September.

http://www.looktothestars.org/news/4722-edward-norton-named-as-united-nations-ambassador

Sparks is currently on her first headlining tour through mid-July in support of her second album, “Battlefield,” before heading to Broadway to star in “In The Heights.” Yet despite her busy schedule, Sparks relentlessly uses her name for good.

While maintaining a strong connection with her fan base, she’s using social media networks such as Twitter to inspire fan involvement with a number of causes including Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer, the X The TXT campaign and the Sparks Charities Foundation. And if you listen carefully, you’ll hear Jordins heartbeat pulsating within an entire generation of fans out there making changes within their own communities.

It’s hard to image that – at only 20-years old – a mega-star her age is more interested in Tweeting about causes rather than the color of her shoes, which makes her not only relevant, but important. And this is just one reason why Look to the Stars was pleased to speak with this inspirational icon.

Jordin Sparks is just so… Good.

Hi Jordin. Well balanced 20-year old celebrities, interested in giving back, are a rarity. You are passionately involved with a number of causes. How is it that you’ve remained untainted by fame and can best be described as, well, Good?

Oh thank you. I love being able to do something and give back and use my name for something bigger than myself, essentially for the greater good. I hope that doesn’t sound too cheesy! I actually take things day by day and give a lot of credit to my mom, my dad, my family and the people that I surround myself with. My family is so amazing, but when they’re back home in Arizona I definitely have to give credit to my fans and the people I’m touring with – they are really good people who will tell me if I’ve done something stupid or if it’s a bad idea, it’s really cool to be around people who are so good.

You are also very active in your support of Allstate’s X the Text campaign. Tell us about it.

Allstate and I teamed up last year to show everyone – including my mom’s generation – that it’s very dangerous to text and drive. There are hands-free driving laws and I just don’t understand why more states haven’t passed this law. I was actually just in North Carolina, and they passed the law which made me very happy… I’ve been really fortunate to have Allstate on tour with me. We have a booth at my shows where my fans, friends and their parents can take the pledge to ‘X The Text’. It’s really great to see everyone at the end of my concert raise their hands when I asked if they took the pledge. And if you can’t make it to a concert, you can take the pledge at Facebook PLEGDE page.

As we know, the media places celebrities under a microscope, so it was impressive to see you take note of such a small detail as a pair of earrings, the Wonder Hoops by Lexi Lu, which, by just wearing them, created a ‘charity’ buzz for the company.

Lexi Lu has been so amazing and I just love being able to work with her. She makes all these different types of earrings and some of them go towards different charities or different campaigns. For example, the previous year on the show, she had sent Katharine McFee a pair of earrings she had made for a charity Katharine was involved with. Then she sent me a pair of earring while I was on American Idol, and this past year Lexi came to one of my events and made necklaces for our charity as well. I love being able to meet people and say ‘hey, let’s see if we can team up and do something together’, and it’s been really nice to help be an inspiration and be able to help.

Read more: http://www.looktothestars.org/news/4699-exclusive-jordin-sparks-talks-charity-with-look-to-the-stars#ixzz0sviFooQh

Former US President Bill Clinton spoke at the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Centre of Memory and Dialogue last week in support of Mandela Day on July 18.

Mandela Day is a day of public service when members of the public are encouraged to do something good for at least 67 minutes in honour of more than 67 years that Nelson Mandela dedicated to public service and the fight for social justice.

President Clinton spoke about the need for Nelson Mandela Day and encouraged people to embrace the day of service on Nelson Mandela’s birthday July 18.

President Clinton delivered the first Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in 2003. He has been supportive of the Mandela Day initiative and in 2009 showed his support by attending a Mandela Day gala dinner with Ms. Graça Machel in New York. The event gathered together some of the world’s most influential people for a dinner and an auction, which was used to raise funds for Mandela Day.

This year he is again endorsing the initiative and encouraging individuals to go out and support this day of service.

He said: “We need to build civil society – we can’t do it all with government and the private sector.”

He mentioned that in the US, Martin Luther King Day, which is a public holiday, was redefined as a public service day – “a day on and not a day off” – and he is delighted that the same has been proposed for Mandela Day.

He went on to emphasize the ethos behind Mandela Day: that if people come together to do good, far more can be achieved than by working as individuals.

He said: “If you have one national day of service, what everyone can do together is more than Nelson Mandela could do in his prime.”

http://www.looktothestars.org/news/4674-bill-clinton-supports-nelson-mandela-day

Fittingly, the event was also a graduation celebration for 110 at-risk girls who have completed the GRS Skillz Street curriculum and held at the Football for Hope Centre, Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Ethan Zohn, the American soccer commentator, Survivor winner and co-founder of GRS who has very recently won a battle with Hodgkins disease, also attended the celebration.

In 2009, Sager joined forces with Sting and inventors Tim Jahnigen and Kevin McCarthy to help develop a soccer ball that can withstand anything. Sting and Sager started Hope Is A Game-Changer, funded in part through proceeds from Sager’s book “The Power of the Invisible Sun”, to deliver these balls to children in some of the toughest locations around the world. The ball itself is a symbol of hope – it’s impervious to wear, UV, water chemicals and puncture. According to Sager, “Hope is the most important thing that people need to move forward. The slightest ray of hope can ignite the human spirit’s ability to overcome: the power of the invisible sun.” But this project is not about charity. In line with Sager’s philosophy that there are no handouts, every child needs to earn a ball so Hope is a Game-Changer partners with organizations like GRS which teach life skills and develop team dynamics. Kirk Friedrich, MD and co-founder of GRS commented that “Grassroot Soccer is thrilled to partner with Hope is a Game-Changer to protect and improve the lives of young people around the world. Both organizations focus on developing and implementing innovative strategies to use sport as a tool for social change.”

The Skillz Street league has been a great success so far and the girls are eager to come back each week to participate and complete the program. According to Friedrich, “Skillz Street targets the most marginalized, neglected, and at risk population in Khayelitsha – teenage girls – by providing them with a safe environment where they can learn valuable life skills and experience the joys of soccer.” After visiting the FFHC during Skillz Street, Don MacKinnon from NIKE (RED) described the program as “the happiest thing I have ever seen.” To Sager “women and girls are the backbone of families and societies around the world. To unlock their potential would be truly game-changing.”

Sager presented balls, not available elsewhere in the world, and certificates to the girls.

http://www.looktothestars.org/news/4616-sting-and-bobby-sager-help-charity-at-fifa-world-cup

The PBA Beautiful Humanitarian Award will be presented to Robinson Peete at the 21st annual North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) on Sunday, July 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The PBA Beautiful Humanitarian Award was established by PBA to honor a public figure who exemplifies beauty, both on the inside and out. Robinson-Peete, who co-founded The HollyRod Foundation in 1996 to help improve the quality of life of people plagued with devastating life circumstances, is an advocate for consistent and reliable education, outreach and support of families affected by autism and Parkinson’s disease.

During the event, scheduled for June 10-12, participating restaurants will be donating to the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund. Restaurants that are able to, also will feature seafood from the Gulf.

“It’s good that we establish a conversation on the meaning of something like this,” says chef and restaurateur Jose Andres, who is participating in the event at all his restaurants, including The Bazaar in Los Angeles and Jaleo in Washington.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37515145/ns/us_news-giving/

“If you can’t dig deep in your pockets, than dig in your closet!” said Scarlett Johansson, who has donated over 2000 shoes to the charity. “Americans can make a huge difference with Soles4Souls by donating shoes. Souls4Soles gives away a pair of shoes every 13 seconds in over 120 countries, with over 55 percent donated to fellow Americans.”

Over the course of the entire week, Soles4Souls will be distributing more than 50,000 pairs of new shoes in the United States while it also collects much needed donations support shoe drives at schools, churches and community centers.

“Whether it’s a child struggling to go to school in Kenya, or an American who needs a pair of work boots, Soles4Souls is there to answer the simple requests of millions of people,” says Brittany Snow. “We hope you will participate in Barefoot Week and help change the world, one pair at a time.”

“I am thrilled to support Soles4Souls and…Barefoot Week in order to help spread their mission to ‘Change the world one pair at a time’,” adds Kellie Pickler. “Their commitment is inspiring and I hope that thousands of people join me in support of the fantastic work they are doing across America.”

On “Barefoot Wednesday,” June 2, Soles4Souls Founder & CEO and staff will go barefoot as well as challenge all members of the press to go barefoot for at least four consecutive hours during the week and report on its effects to their viewers.

“It’s an honor to donate shoes to help Soles4Souls as they do incredible things for the less fortunate people in this world,” said Jessica Simpson. “I encourage everyone to lend support.”

You can also go barefoot online for Soles4Souls! Change your Twitter Avatar, Facebook Profile, etc. to a picture of your bare feet. You will be helping to bring about awareness that more than 300 million children and 1.5 billion adults worldwide do not have footwear. Be sure to post a caption about why your picture is of bare feet! Something like: My feet are bare for Soles4Souls’ Barefoot Week. Learn more on giveshoes.org. Send a screen capture of your barefoot profile to barefootweek@giveshoes.org and you will be entered to win one of ten celebrity autographed pairs of shoes.
Read more: http://www.looktothestars.org/news/4508-stars-celebrate-national-barefoot-day-for-charity#ixzz0pdOn5iUH

The university presented Wyclef with a check for $9,500 for his Yéle Haiti Foundation and the crowd cheered as he encouraged the students to create a vision for their future and chase their dreams.

“Yesterday I gave the commencement speech at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Conn,” wrote the star in the Huffington Post. “I’ve spoken at lots of places before — the U.N., the White House, awards shows where hundreds of thousands of people were watching. But this was my first commencement gig. I felt a big responsibility. I wondered what words of wisdom I could give to those young adults, about to start a whole new life.

Read more: http://www.looktothestars.org/news/4474-wyclef-jeans-words-of-wisdom-for-young-people#ixzz0p4Wcz3cL

Funds raised by the shop will be supporting Oxfam’s women’s projects across the world including Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of Congo, West Africa and South Africa. These projects protect, support and empower vulnerable women: campaigning against violence, empowering them to fight HIV and AIDS and offering the poorest girls the chance of education.

Read more: http://www.looktothestars.org/news/4373-annie-lennox-introduces-celebrity-charity-shop#ixzz0nYHSMwWS

Wilmer Valderrama and Camilla Belle have launched a new website and star-studded PSA to encourage fans to donate to charities such as AmeriCares and Habitat For Humanity and their relief efforts in Chile.

True Blood star Alexander Skarsgård joins famous faces such as Sean Astin, Rosario Dawson, Demi Lovato and Topher Grace in the PSA, entitled I Am Chile.

“We are joining forces to bring light to and raise awareness of the many ways YOU can help the country of Chile in their moment of desperation…” say the organizers. “This inspired us to produce a PSA to use as a platform to show the simple ways we can all help the organizations that are providing assistance to the people of Chile.”

February’s earthquake in Chile has lefted more than 1.5 million people displaced.

To watch the PSA and learn how to help, click here.

Read more: http://www.looktothestars.org/news/4320-sean-astin-and-friends-launch-charity-psa-for-chile#ixzz0mccXaXAp