So what exactly is “The Good Life Experience”? It’s a series of celebrity events to which the general public will have limited access. Each unique event or party will feature a star studded guest list and top notch entertainment and hospitality. Oh, and they will benefit a good cause.

Joining Diddy to host the January 29th Tampa event is boxing champ Winky Wright, who has just launched his new Winky Wright Foundation. The Tampa event, which has a “Vegas Fight Night” theme will donate a portion of the proceeds to Wright’s charity as well as The Charity for Women.

January 30th and 31st, events will be hosted by Diddy and football legend Deion Sanders, and, of course, each night will have a different theme. Ticket prices start at $200 (and go way up from there) — get yours at the Good Life Experience website.

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Over the holiday season, Oprah donated $365,000 to the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. The private school was founded by Ron Clark and is in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Atlanta. He’s also been on Oprah’s show a couple of times.

You might have heard about the Ron Clark Academy earlier in 2008 — the school became “internet famous” after creating a video — “You Can Vote However You Like.” The video showed a bunch of animated young people rapping about voting.

This large donation comes shortly after Oprah was named Peta’s 2008 Person of the Year for her promotion of eating vegan (even though she only did it for 21 days, she certainly brought attention to it and undoubtedly encouraged countless people to rethink their conception of vegan food). Additionally, Oprah took on puppy mills, doing an expose on the cruelty and horror that goes on within them.

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So where did all the money go? Madge gave a quarter million to Mobilization Against AIDS, as well as $15,000 to the TJ Martell Foundation for Leukemia and Cancer Research. Madonna also contributed $23,000 toward setting up playgrounds in Russia and she helped out churches and religious groups in California.

By far, however, the Kabbalah Center had the biggest year, receiving $2,626,529 from one its most famous members. The singer donated another $4,025 in royalties from her children’s books to Spirituality for Kids.

It’s always nice to hear the other side of the story, isn’t it?

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• The Jane Goodall Institute, where the funds will help sponsor environmental education and youth based humanitarian programs;
• Roots and Shoots, where the money will provide clean, safe drinking water to a developing nation by distributing thousands of portable water purifiers;
• American Red Cross, where the donation will offer relief services for the victims of the Southern California Wildfires; and,
• Kauai Humane Society, where the funds will provide care for numerous stray animals while also supporting the spay and neuter shelter program on the island of Kauai.

Brosnan and his wife Keely Shay aren’t new to giving — they’ve been helping environmental causes by offering their time and money for years. However, it’s always great to hear about how our favorite stars make donations, and I think Brosnan made some great choices this year.

Did you make any donations this year? If so, what charity did you choose?

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One source described the visit, saying, “He really spent time bonding with each of the children and their families. The kids were smitten and beaming from ear to ear. Some of the kids couldn’t even speak, but they had the widest grins and would sit as close to him as possible. Zac was super gracious and could not have been more kind and truly happy to be there.”

Zac isn’t the only Hollywood do-gooder this holiday season — not by a long shot. John Mayer headlined a special early morning concert for kids in a New York hospital, raising more than $250,000 in the process. He was joined by Rob Thomas, and the must-hear new talent on the block, Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles. And, Adam Sandler did his part, too, by sharing the red carpet for the premiere of Bedtime Stories with more than just co-stars Courteney Cox and Keri Russell — they used the opportunity to support Marine Toys for Tots.

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The uber-green Entourage hottie braved the blustery New York City weather to ride along in City Harvest’s new hybrid truck to pick up unused food from NYC bakeries and restaurants. After spending the day picking up goodies, Adrian stopped at the Yorkville Common Pantry where they left the food. The Yorkville Common Pantry’s mission is to “reduce hunger while promoting dignity and self-sufficiency. YCP champions the cause of the hungry through food pantry and meal distribution programs, nutrition education, basic hygiene services, homeless support, and related services.”

Adrian was doing this good deed on behalf of Feeding America, which is the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, providing food assistance to over 25 million low-income, hungry people in the States, including over nine million children and almost three million seniors.

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I know what you’re thinking — a garden shed? But this isn’t just a garden shed. If this shed could talk, it would have some unbelievable stories. Snoop explains, “I’ve had this shed since tha turn of tha century. I’ve beaten over 1,000 people in Madden in it, watched football game tape, seen the Lakers win championships, and, most of all, written hits in it.” Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars have spent time in the shed, and many of them have autographed the door and walls.

Snoop founded the Snoop Youth Football League as a way to keep kids active and out of trouble while helping them learn team building and leadership. The kids practice, have games, and even get to play in the Snooper Bowl.

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Bono was, understandably, incredibly honored. “This is a very big award for me, because let’s be honest — this is as close as I am going to get — as close as a rock star is ever going to get to the Nobel Peace Prize. I am an over-awarded, over-rewarded rock star,” he told a crowd including fellow Nobel laureates.

He went on to say, “You are the people who do the real work. So I am very, very pleased to be in such esteemed company.”

I don’t know about you, but I just became an even bigger fan of U2.

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His first stop was a gala to help out KidsCan, a charitable trust dedicated to meeting the basic physical needs of financially disadvantaged children, helping them have the same chances to reach their potential as any other child. The gala event was also attended by several members of New Zealand’s All Blacks, the country’s rugby team which just happens to be a big supporter of KidsCan.

Beckham was sure to do his part to raise money for the worthy cause — he gave up $9,000 in an auction for a print of President-elect Barack Obama, and then donated it back to the auction in order to raise more funds.

He then joined his LA Galaxy soccer team for a charity game against the Oceana Allstars (LA won), which raised money for the New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Earlier that day, some New Zealand celebrities played an exhibition game to benefit a few New Zealand charities, including the afore-mentioned KidsCan.

Good to see that Becks isn’t just relying on his celebrity status — he’s obviously intent on giving back, and he looks awfully good doing it.

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He was recently honored for his charity work, but says he doesn’t deserve it. In fact, although he was awarded the Golden Heart award at the Ein Herz fuer Kinder gala, he was more interested in giving that award to aid workers who risk their lives every day.

While you probably know a little about George’s work — he’s traveled to Darfur in Sudan, Chad, and Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — you might not know who else is helping him out. In addition to his famous Not On Our Watch buddies, like Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and Don Cheadle, his dad has traveled with him. Actually, his dad even pushed for the trip to Chad, even after fighting broke out and others ditched the the trip (much to George’s mom chagrin).

So what keeps George involved, even though it’s so dangerous? He knows he can make a difference, and now that he’s seen the devastation in person, he’s committed to spending his free time helping those in need all over the world. The thing that bothers him the most is “[t]he systematic violence towards women. Or also the fact that a village won’t ‘only’ be destroyed, no — the wells will also be poisoned, so that life there is impossible. It is not about land, it is about race hate.”

Gorgeous George had plenty more to say in a recent interview with Bild — read it all here.

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