AIDS

America Ferrera took some time out from being Ugly Betty to join some famous friends in being hot — Hot in Hollywood, that is. Ferrera, along with Katherine Heigl, Jaime Pressly, Ana Ortiz, Jason Biggs, and Neil Patrick Harris helped to raise nearly $300,000 at the third Hot in Hollywood gala, which benefited the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Just three years after its inception, Hot in Hollywood is fast becoming one of the major celebrity charity events in L.A. This year’s event, at The Avalon in Hollywood, had live musical performances, DJs, and an auction. As always, the money raised (including the $8,000 Heigl plunked down for a Jamaica trip) will benefit charities dedicated to the prevention, education, testing, and treatment of HIV/AIDS — this year, it will go to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the Real Medicine Foundation.

Ferrera had a ball playing host this year, saying, “It is such a great space to make a fool out of myself! It was professional chaos!” The past two events were hosted by Pressly, who was honored this year with an award for her dedication toward HIV/AIDS awareness. She shared her reason for being so involved — she had an uncle who tragically died from the disease.

Photo courtesy of askmen.com

Angelina Jolie might have her hands full with her newborn twins (and the other four children she and Brad Pitt) have, but that’s not stopping her from making plans to save the world. The actress told Hello magazine that she plans to travel with Zahara, her oldest daughter, to her native country of Ethiopia to discuss building a TB/AIDS clinic there for the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

It doesn’t stop there — the plan is for Zahara to take over that clinic when she’s old enough. Hey, at least she’ll have job security, right? I joke, I joke — it’s really beautiful to see Brad and Angie not just helping their own children, but also taking a major interest in the countries from which they come.

For example, it’s not just Ethiopia that will be getting a visit from the Jolie-Pitt clan. The family plans to take a trip to Cambodia, where oldest son Maddox was born. Angelina said, “The next trip for our foundation will most likely be to Asia to follow up on the situation in Burma and our work in Cambodia. The boys have been asking to go so we will take them when Knox and Viv are a little bit older.”

Photo courtesy of askmen.com

Former President Bill Clinton and singer Annie Lennox were in Mexio this week for the XVII International AIDS Conference. The conference aims to allow a variety of parties of discuss and present new scientific research and ideas on facing the challenges of a global response to AIDS. This year’s theme was Universal Action Now, stressing the urgency of the situation.

President Clinton expressed the importance of working together to solve the problem, saying, “We know there is so much yet to be done: to expand prevention, treatment and care, to strengthen undeveloped health systems.”

Annie, who acted as an ambassador for Oxfam at the conference, had a slightly different focus — she brought attention to the plight of HIV positive mothers. She told conference attendees, “I feel it is a right of women to be able to give birth safely, and when a woman is HIV positive the baby can obviously have the virus transmitted before being born. I think this is a fundamental human right for every woman to have access to treatment and health care, so this is something I’m actually addressing and talking about while we are here.”

Photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

Alicia Keys threw a charity ball in London and many of her famous friends joined her to raise money for Keep a Child Alive, Alicia’s charity which helps children and families living with HIV/AIDS in Africa by providing them anti-retroviral treatment.

One of those guests was Jennifer Hudson, who said, “I feel like your celebrity is not about the fortune or the fame. Butif you can’t help anyone then it’s in vain, it’s pointless.”

Other celebs who ponied up $2000 to attend were Kelly Rowland, Mischa Barton, and Annie Lennox. Annie got involved in the evening’s festivities by performing a duet of the Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams and REM’s Everybody Hurts with Alicia.

Alicia said that it’s important we remember that AIDS is a global problem. Though the gala raised nearly $700,000, she knows that it’s not enough — stopping AIDS comes down to each person. She said, “It scares me … It really does… We have a lot to really be careful about and it’s such a major thing that we have to be cautious. But we can totally avoid it by practicing safe sex and, if you can, just abstinence. And definitely being aware of what’s going on so that you know that you want to protect yourself every time, all the time.”

Photo courtesy of askmen.com

Bono’s (RED) Charity has come up with a new way to raise funds — with a new music delivery system. People will have the option to pay $5 monthly for the service, and each week they’ll receive an exclusive (RED) song from a popular artist, a song from an artist new to the music scene, a “Crackerjack surprise” which will be something fun and non-musical, like a video, text, or image, as well as stories of how the money donated is making a difference.

Some of the top brands in the world have created (RED) products, which altogether have generated over $110 million. With the new music download system, half of each month’s membership fee will go directly to the Global Fund, which means that just five subscribers will provide enough money each year to provide antiretroviral treatment for a year to someone living with HIV.

In case you’re not yet familiar with Bono’s (RED) charity and (PRODUCT) RED, let me fill you in. The primary objective is “to engage the private sector in raising awareness and money for the Global Fund, to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.” The companies that take part in (PRODUCT) RED give a substantial portion of sales or profits from a particular product to the Global Fund.

The new music delivery system isn’t actually available until next month, but you can pre-register (and get more information about the (RED) charity) at joinred.com.

Photo courtesy of askmen.com

Each year, Elton John and David Furnish hold a fabulous White Tie and Tiara Party to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and this year was no exception. The party brought out a plethora of famous faces, including Bill Clinton, Liz Hurley, Denzel Washington, Will Smith, and Simon Cowell. About 630 guests coughed up the $4700 ticket price in all.

Guests were treated to dinner and a concert, and an auction was held with prizes like a trip to Africa with Elton John. The auction alone raised $20 million!

The Elton John AIDS Foundation’s strives to fund education programs regarding HIV/AIDS prevention as well as eliminating discrimination against those living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. Additionally, it funds programs and services for people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS. The Foundation recently received its third consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, and considering on 16% of evaluated charities earn more than two consecutive 4-star ratings, this is quite a feather in Elton’s already fabulous cap.

If you didn’t get a chance to attend (you know, because you forgot your tiara), you still have the opportunity to help out this worthy charity by going to the website and making a donation.

Photo courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

Prince Harry is back in military action, but this time it’s not as dangerous a mission as his previous stint on the front line in Afghanistan. This time, the 23-year-old prince will be traveling with other servicemen in his Army regiment to Africa to assist with building and repairing facilities for projects supported by Sentebale.

Sentebale was founded in 2006 by England’s Prince Harry (who is third in line to the throne) and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho. Its mission “is to transform the lives of Lesotho’s orphans and vulnerable children” in order “to help the forgotten victims of poverty and of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.”

Back in 2004, Prince Harry spent part of his gap year as Prince Seeiso’s guest, volunteering on local welfare projects. Harry was touched by the plight of AIDS victims, and along with Prince Seeiso, founded Sentebale (which means “forget me not”). It was a way for him to help the people of Lesotho as well as pay tribute to his late mother, Princess Diana, who was passionate about raising awareness of the AIDS crisis in that country.

It doesn’t look like Harry will have any trouble following in his mother’s footsteps or keeping her memory alive — he’s off to a great start!

Photos courtesy of sentebale.org

I get excited every year for the Cannes Film Festival — everyone always dresses to the nines (or else they dress in something hideous, which is just as much fun), and, of course, the news starts trickling out about what films are must-sees. However, this year several celebrities gave me a new reason to love Cannes — George Clooney, Madonna, Sharon Stone, Natalie Portman, Mary J. Blige, Milla Jovovich, Harvey Weinstein, Kenneth Cole, and others got together at Cannes to raise over $10 million for amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research.

Sharon Stone, as amfAR’s global fundraising chairman, acted as conductor of the auction and started things off with a request for support in honor of her fiftieth birthday after starting with her own pledge of $100,000. She asked the room match her pledge, and over $2 million was raised in just 10 minutes. Additionally, Sharon auctioned off her own vintage Porche 911 Targa for $810,000.

Madonna did her part as well, auctioning off a a private performance of two songs for $560,000, as well as a diamond-encrusted alligator skin Chanel purse including her personal lip gloss, compact mirror, and blotting papers for $486,000.

But the item I’m most disappointed in missing is George Clooney’s — he auctioned off a kiss for $300,000. Next year, I’m totally going!

Photo courtesy of eonline.com