The strollers will be on display at NYC’s Union Square Babies “R” Us, and an auction for these strollers will run over at charityfolks.com beginning at 10 a.m. EST on October 6 and ending on October 13 at 9:30 p.m. The dates are meant to coordinate with SIDS Awareness Month. Bidding starts at $500 with all proceeds going to help the CJ Foundation for SIDS achieve their goal of eradicating SIDS.

The CJ Foundation was started by a couple who lost their daughter to SIDS 15 years ago, and co-founder/chairman Joel Hollander said that, after that tragedy, “[W]e knew it was our destiny to help raise awareness and support research to help eradicate SIDS. It’s an honor to have these incredible celebrity moms join us in our race to end SIDS.”

Photo courtesy of ashlee-star.com

While Newman always wanted the world to be a better place, one of the things that helped him make it so started off as a bit of a joke in his basement — Newman’s Own. It quickly became, as written in a statement issued by the Newman’s Own Foundation, a “highly respected, multi-million dollar a year food company.” Rather than profiting personally, Newman donated all profits and royalties to thousands of charities around the world, totalling over $250 million.

The Foundation’s statement went on to say, “Paul took advantage of what life offered him, and while personally reluctant to acknowledge that he was doing anything special, he forever changed the lives of many with his generosity, humor, and humaneness. His legacy lives on in the charities he supported and the Hole in the Wall Camps, for which he cared so much.”

The statement also offered a quote from Newman’s own lips, that I think is a beautiful way to sum up the way this great man, who we’ll all miss so much, viewed the world and his own circumstances: “I wanted to acknowledge luck; the chance and benevolence of it in my life, the brutality of it in the lives of others, who might not be allowed the good fortune of a lifetime to correct it.”

I encourage you to do something for a cause you believe in today, in honor of Paul Newman. I will.

Photo courtesy of GreenDaily.com

Make them small to fit little hands and to decrease calories for bigger kids like us! These and oatmeal raisin cookies are popular sweet treats at my house…

Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies

1¾ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
8 oz. (1 stick) butter
8 oz. (1 stick) margarine
½ cup sugar
1¼ cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups oats, regular or quick cooking
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix flour, soda and salt together and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugars, butter and margarine until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beat well, then mix in milk and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture until well combined. Sir in oats and chocolate chips by hand, then use a tablespoon scoop to drop the dough onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 7 to 9 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 4 ½ dozen.

Cookie monsters at your house? Remind them that cookies are a “sometimes food”, so freeze extras in small batches for a sweet treat another day…

The idea for Hope North came from Okello Sam, who is a well-known Ugandan dance and theater artist who was abducted, along with his brother, by rebels. His brother was killed, but Sam went on to be released and purchased land for Hope North. He landed a job choreographing Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland and, along with other members of the Hope North community, actually appeared in the film.

After learning about Hope North, Whitaker felt compelled to help. He took a trip to visit the community, and said, “[When] I went up to Hope North, all of the children were either displaced from refugee camps or former child soldiers. I spent time with them, watched these kids have joy, dance and sing … It was a beautiful example of what happens when people truly care, step in and become involved and so I wanted to be involved.”

You can get involved, too — for as little as $10, you can help change the lives of children affected by Uganda’s 22-year civil war. Go here to make a donation.

Photo courtesy of starpulse.com

Bardot shares some words of wisdom in the book, saying, “I think animals help us live; they’ve helped me live. It was only when I began to devote myself to protecting animals that I blossomed completely. Taking care of them, looking out for them, has given my life true meaning, a meaning I hope future generations can experience.”

She goes on to say that she has a lot of faith in today’s youth: “Young people are always a hope. More of them must realize that the animal is not an object for profit, not a toy for our amusement, hunted for sport, not something to be cut up for his fur. They may see that the animal has the right to live, just as we have the right to live. We, the animals, the plants are the whole, and the whole makes a chain, and if we break that chain, all of humanity will pay. That’s it.”

As always, I love hearing about people using their fame and influence for a worthy cause — kudos to Brigitte!

Photo courtesy of perfectpeople.net

Ferrell began the event as one of his most-loved characters, Ron Burgandy (from Anchorman), saying, “It is a glorrrious day here in beautiful San Diego, we’ve got a record turnout. I thought there’d be more media here frankly, for some one of my stature. In fact, I’ll have to say as I look out into the face of the media here, you guys look like a bunch of idiots compared to when I was in the newes game. Have some class, some dignity. I don’t see anyone wearing a suit.”

Cancer For College has long been supported by Ferrell, and for good reason. It was founded by his college buddy, Craig Pollard, who is a two-time cancer survivor. Pollard found strength in knowing that, after getting a bone marrow transplant, he would return to college, and he wants other kids and young adults to have that same opportunity.

Photo courtesy of askmen.com

Scarlett Johansson visited Rwanda recently on behalf of the (RED) organization. She wanted a better understanding of what exactly the health crisis there entailed, and, in addition, she drew more attention to the country’s fight against AIDS. She wasn’t just there to look on, either — the starlet worked with volunteers to help those who were sick and needy.

She said, “I came here with an open mind, wanting to listen, understand and learn; I leave with the overwhelming understanding that the small action of making a (RED) choice in your purchases in the West has an enormous impact on the lives of people in countries like Rwanda.”

Johansson knew that seeing this health crisis first hand was the only way to truly understand what she was fighting for and supporting, saying, “It’s not until you’ve had the privilege of meeting healthcare providers who are fighting the daily battle, heard from people who are now getting antiretroviral drugs to stay alive, and met mothers whose babies are born healthy because they received treatment that stopped the transmission of HIV, that you understand that we absolutely can do something to reverse the AIDS crisis in African countries.”

Maybe we can’t all see it first hand, but Johansson’s passionate plea will certainly be in my mind the next time I have the option to purchase a (RED) product. How about you?

Photo courtesy of askmen.com

Win-win? Not exactly. Homemade or not, pies, cakes and cookies can still pack a hefty number of calories. My delicious choco-chini cake is certainly lower in fat and healthier than a zucchini-free equivalent, but it is still a dessert…

Can we indulge in sweets without too many extra calories? Yes! Try these tricks to incorporate sweets into a healthy diet…

• Serve individual portions. When I talk with my young patients about sweets, I often tell them to “eat one cookie, not five cookies”. That may seem obvious, but it is not so easy when the serving plate is piled high. 
  

• Smaller servings. Of course, smaller portions have fewer calories. So measure cookie dough with a tablespoon scoop for smaller and more uniform cookies and they will also bake more evenly.

• Special times. Save fancy desserts for special occasions and special meals. The only “dessert” that most of us can afford to have every day is fresh fruit.

• Just enough. I made cookies for my son’s scout meeting today, but I baked only half the batch. I’ll freeze the remainder of the dough (or refrigerate for up to a week), then bake just a few cookies at a time.

• Out of sight, out of mind. Avoid temptation by keeping sweet treats out of sight. Store extra cookies or baked goods in the freezer, or better yet, share extras with neighbors and co-workers. They will love you for it!

• Add fiber. Fiber-rich ingredients make healthy additions to dessert recipes because fiber can decrease the absorption of fat! (Hmmm…like oatmeal cookies! ) Fruit and veggie ingredients (like applesauce, carrots and zucchini) add moisture that can replace some of the fat in a recipe…another calorie saver.

Tip of the day…Next time you make chocolate chip cookies add 2 cups of oats along with the 2 cups of chips (and decrease the flour in the recipe by ½ cup). I love the texture of chocolate chip oat cookies so much better than plain. You might never make plain chocolate chip cookies again!

According to their website, “Kitten Rescue is devoted to rescuing cats and kittens from the streets and shelter euthanasia.” The majority of their cats are rescued right before they are scheduled to be euthanized. Fischer is well aware of the good work Kitten Rescue, the area’s largest no-kill animal rescue group, does — she’s not only a long-time supporter, but also a former volunteer.

As a matter of fact, the feline-friendly celebrity even ran her own kitten crisis line for a year. Additionally, she has fostered nine cats. Sounds like she was a good choice for hosting this event!

The evening featured cocktails and dinner, live entertainment, a Kitten Rescue film presentation, silent auction, and awards for certain Kitten Rescue members, including Burn Notice‘s Tricia Helfner. Other celebrities celebrating the saving of over 9,000 lives over 10 years were Bones’ Emily Deschanel, Reno 911‘s Wendi McLendon-Covey, and General Hospital‘s Kent King.

Photo courtesy of ecorazzi.com

It looks like I’m going to have a couple more years to enjoy this coupling — Ripa will stick around for two more years and just announced that she will work with them to raise $500,000 over that period of time for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

They’re raising money in a couple of different ways. First, starting this month (which is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month), whenever someone buys one of Electrolux’s turquoise (the color of the blue ribbon symbolizing the fight against Ovarian Cancer), the company will donate $100. Second, you can purchase a limited edition t-shirt (with all proceeds going to the cause) or send a virtual t-shirt to friends through Kelly Confidential, for which Electrolux will donate $1. What’s even better is that the t-shirts are cute. As in, if you buy it, you’ll totally wear it!

Photos courtesy of kelly-confidential.com