Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt and George Clooney are hosting a dinner tonight (squee!) to benefit their charity, Not On Our Watch. Unfortunately for me, but luckily for Italy, the dinner will take place in Venice because the pair is currently there for the Venice Film Festival promoting their latest film, Burn After Reading.

This is not the first time the famous friends have thrown a dinner to raise funds for the Darfur relief organization. Last year, in Cannes, Brad and George were joined by Ocean’s 11 (and 12, and 13) pals Matt Damon and Don Cheadle in throwing a party with which they raised $9.2 million!

There hasn’t been any mention of what the cost to enter today’s party will be, but the price to enter last year’s Cannes yacht party was $25,000 a head. I don’t imagine today’s tickets would be much less, but really, wouldn’t dinner with Brad and George be worth it? And it is going toward a good cause … I wonder if I can get there in time.

Photo courtesy of movies.yahoo.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

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have never been shy about giving money to causes they find worthy, and their love of children is obvious. And so, it’s not really surprising to find that the Jolie-Pitt foundation is making a series of donations totaling $1 million to benefit children who have been affected by the war in Iraq, both stateside and in overseas.

The donations will be given to four different organizations which will help children who have lost parents, homes, and schools in Iraq. Three organizations in Iraq will split $500,000 which will pay for the basics, including school supplies, rehabilitation programs, and refugee aid.

The $500,000 that is staying in the U.S. will go toward the Armed Services YMCA Operation Hero Program. The program assists children who are affected by either a parent currently serving or the loss of a parent who served. Operation Hero knows that children of military families face special challenges, such as feeling isolated and experiencing low self esteem, having a parent deployed (or both deployed) for long periods of time, and problems with school work because they’ve moved around so much.

With Angelina and Brad busy expecting their newest additions, it’s great to see them bringing attention to other children in the world!

Photo courtesy of askmen.com

You probably were already aware that Brad Pitt has an avid interest in architecture and that he’s interested in building sustainable housing. You might not be aware that he’s been asked to help design an enormous eco-friendly hotel in Dubai.

The five-star resort will have 800 bedrooms. Brad will be working as a consultant with one of the architecture firms that is also working on his Lower 9th Ward Make It Right project in New Orleans, Grant LLC.

Brad said (through a statement released by his rep), “Acting is my career, architecture is my passion. As my first major construction project the Dubai hotel will feature environmentally friendly architecture, but also embrace my career in entertainment.”

In a city with as many brand new luxury hotels as Dubai, this seems like a pretty smart move in a couple of ways. For one, whether people would choose to stay in a hotel because of Brad’s involvement or not, his involvement is certainly going to keep this hotel in the news and in the forefront of the public’s mind. Additionally, using green architecture is something everyone is interested in now, and it’s a great way for a five-star resort to set itself apart from some of the others.

Photo courtesy of askmen.com

Earlier this week I wrote about Brad Pitt being one of the Top Five Green Celebrities of 2007, and he’s already making a strong case for himself for the next year. The Make it Right project, which Pitt founded and for which he is now fund raising, was developed after he filmed a movie in New Orleans and saw firsthand the devastation brought upon the city by Hurricane Katrina. After seeing how many people were still without homes, he resolved to make a difference.

A year ago, he brought together a group of experts to determine the best way to go about building eco-friendly, affordable housing on a large scale. It was decided that they would construct 150 homes using an affordable, sustainable building system that could be used over and over again. Pitt opted to center his project in the Lower 9th Ward, one of the most devastated areas in New Orleans.

Pitt spoke to Ann Curry on the Today Show last week about Make It Right, saying that actors like David Spade and Will Ferrell have contributed to his cause (Ferrell sponsoring an entire home), and that 12,000 people have made donations of some sort. On Thursday, an anonymous donation of $1 million was made.

Of the 150 homes Pitt plans to build, 52 have been adopted, giving homes to 52 families. And while that’s fantastic news, there’s only another month left of fundraising, and Make It Right has a long way to go. To learn more about the project, make a donation, or just to watch a video of Brad Pitt talking directly to you (totally worth it, I swear!), check out Make It Right Nola and see how you can help.

Photo environmental-organizations.suite101.com