Philanthropy

Although she made her name as Posh Spice in the Spice Girls, Victoria Beckham was in anything but posh surroundings earlier this month during a two-day trip to Clay County, Kentucky. Visiting on behalf of Save the Children USA and accompanied by her 10 ½-year-old son Brooklyn Joseph, Victoria was on hand to gain a better understanding of childhood poverty in the United States.

By her own account, the trip was both eye-opening and inspirational. The 35-year-old fashion designer and songstress explains that what she saw in Clay County — among the poorest counties in America, with a median household income of $19,728 and a childhood poverty rate of 47.8 percent — only served to reinforce for her “the hope and promise inherent in every child.” She adds,

“That’s why we have to make sure every single child has a fair and equal start in life. Seeing Save the Children’s innovative programs in action, I know that we can begin to reverse the childhood poverty crisis. I’m pleased Brooklyn is learning that, by helping and joining other children, he can play a role in making his generation the greatest yet.”

While in Kentucky, Victoria and Brooklyn visited homes where they shared information on literacy and nutrition with parents. At two elementary schools, mother and son took part in a book bag exchange, handing out tote bags filled with books, as well as a soccer lesson where they distributed shoes and backpacks donated by Adidas. Later, they read to a group of toddlers and even met with teachers and principals to learn more about the unique challenges being faced by poverty-prone school districts.

Courtesy Save the Children

A member of the International Save the Children Alliance, Save the Children USA serves 50,000 children with programs designed to teach healthy lifestyles while simultaneously boosting academic performance. As the organization notes, poverty all too often brings with it a litany of other problems, including poor cognitive and emotional development, illiteracy and obesity. Save the Children’s comprehensive approach works to ensure the overall physical and emotional well-being of those children who are most at-risk within the United States.

For information on how you can contribute, click here.

In addition to Brooklyn, Victoria is mom to Romeo James, 7, and Cruz David, 4 ½, with husband David Beckham.

– Missy

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It’s every expectant mom’s worst nightmare, but sadly each year in the United States more than 500,000 babies will enter the world prematurely. Because they aren’t yet ready to be born, babies delivered prior to 37 weeks gestation can and often do suffer from a litany of health problems, including mental retardation, cerebral palsy and respiratory distress syndrome.

The March of Dimes has been working to raise awareness of — and funding for — premature babies since 1938. November marks Prematurity Awareness Month, and the organization kicked it off at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills last weekend.

Alex J. Berliner/BEImages

In attendance was Halle Berry, sporting a purple band as part of the March of Dimes’ banding together campaign.

More than 15,000 virtual bands have been created thus far, celebrating, honoring and remembering preemies around the world.

Halle’s support — and the support of other celebrity moms like Julie Bowen, Nicole Richie and Kellie Martin — couldn’t come at a better time.

Prematurity has been escalating “steadily and alarmingly” over the past two decades, according to the organization, and everyone pays a price.

Whether or not you have delivered prematurely, in 2005 alone the United States paid at least $26.2 billion in economic costs associated with preterm birth.

The March of Dimes notes that although a premature delivery can happen to anyone and that in 40% of the cases the cause is unknown, there are some steps that an expectant mom can take to minimize her chances of a premature delivery.

They include establishing quality prenatal car as early in the pregnancy as possible, quitting smoking, eliminating alcohol, going over prescription medications with a doctor, eliminating the use of herbal remedies and supplements, reducing stress, and keeping a watchful eye on infections.

Other risk factors include a previous preterm delivery and a multiples pregnancy. Learning the signs of preterm labor is also crucial, for the earlier it is detected the better the odds that doctors can work can treat both mom and baby.

To learn other ways you can help, click here.

Halle is mom to 19-month-old Nahla Ariela, her first child with partner Gabriel Aubry.

– Missy

Motherhood star Anthony Edwards is no stranger to marathons, having run the Chicago 26.2-miler three times since 1999. On Sunday he completed in his first New York City marathon, however, and crossing the finish line was momentous in more ways than one. Not only was it his first race in six years, the 47-year-old former ER actor and dad-of-four raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Shoe4Africa along the way — money that is earmarked for a pediatric teaching hospital in Kenya.

Ron Smits/London Ent/Splash News Online

The non-profit organization began with the goal of collecting shoes for African children, but as it has grown, its mission has expanded.

Asked by the Kenyan government to help build a hospital in the town of Eldoret, Shoe4Africa has pledged every dollar raised directly to the effort — with every donor getting their name included on a wall at the hospital.

“[It is] an actual pediatric hospital, that will be a training facility for doctors and nurses,” Anthony explained beforehand to CNN.

“A real teaching hospital [is something] we take for granted in this country. They just don’t exist in Africa, and they certainly don’t exist in pediatric medicine. I hopefully can use a little celebrity to bring attention to it.”

Anthony finished Sunday’s race in a respectable 4:08:20.

“It was good but it was so much harder than I imagined,” he later admitted. “The crowd was a big help, like [my] wings.”

In a separate interview with Runners World also conducted while he was still training for the event, Anthony admitted that no one on his 20-member team was running for personal bests, however.

“We’re running for a cause,” he explained. “We want to spread the word.”

“Running is a great, selfish thing to do. I think by nature, runners love to give back. It’s a perfect thing — I’ll give anybody $50 so I don’t have to run the marathon. I just love the spirit of it, a group of people, the idea of it, we’ll put in our four months of training and do this in the spirit of building something that has never existed before, and will have a huge impact on the health of Africa. It’s just so cool.”

Anthony is dad to son Bailey, 15, and daughters Esme, 12, Wallis, 9, and Poppy, 7, with his wife, Stila creator Jeanine Lobell.

To make a donation to Shoe4Africa, click here.

– Missy

Flynet

When Christy Turlington Burns delivered son Finn, 3 ½, in 2006 without complication, she was acutely aware of how much she had to be grateful for. While still pregnant, the 40-year-old supermodel embarked on her first trip with CARE to El Salvador, where she met with pregnant women who had walked for miles to collect clean water.

“[I] continued to think about those women and wondered how they have fared,” Christy tells the November issue of Parents magazine. “I learned that more than a half million women around the world die giving birth each year, and nearly all the deaths are preventable.”

The experience left a lasting impression, and Christy — also mom to Grace, 6 — continues to work on behalf of the organization and others like it. “My kids know that when I’m away, it’s to help other moms and their families,” she explains. “They seem to appreciate this, which makes leaving a bit easier.”

It’s also made them appreciative of all they have. Christy adds,

“Grace often says we’re ‘lucky.’ I’ve told them about some of the conditions I’ve witnessed, but I balance that by describing the natural beauty of a place like Africa. They can identify the spots I’ve visited on a map including Bangladesh.”

Someday, Christy says she plans to show her children these countries up close. “I look forward to their being old enough to come with me; I plan to take them to Tanzania when they’re 8 and 11,” she reveals. “I think sharing the world with them will be my greatest contribution as their mother.”

Grace and Finn and Christy’s children with husband Ed Burns.

Source: Parents, November issue

– Missy

Teaching kids the importance of healthy eating habits is a priority for most parents, and although Rachael Ray isn’t a mom herself, it’s not stopping her from doing the same. The 41-year-old television chef and talk show host recently kicked off her Yum-o Lunch Program in New York, which partners with the city’s Department of Education to provide tasty and nutritious meals for public school students.

The non-profit organization was founded in 2006 with a stated goal of empowering kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking by teaching families to cook, feeding hungry kids and funding cooking education and scholarships.

Joe Kohen/Wireimage

“[Cooking] helped a lot with my self-esteem and kept me centered and focused through tough times in my life,” Rachael tells the Celebrity Baby Blog.

“It really changed the quality of my life and that’s why I think it’s so important to teach children at a very early age that good food can be fun.”

She adds, “I love being around kids. I like being able to make a change in their lives for the better.”

Yum-o accomplishes its mission with a three-pronged approach: Cook, Feed and Fund.

Kids can visit the Yum-o website to gain tools and resources for making easy, healthy, affordable meals including age-appropriate recipes and tips for the kitchen.

Yum-o partners with organizations such as Share Our Strength (SOS) to make feeding the nation’s hungry children a priority, while also working with organizations throughout the country to raise awareness about and contribute to special projects that address this issue.

Lastly, Yum-o helps kids reach their food-related career goals by funding scholarships and recognizing public schools that are offering food or nutrition programs that incorporate healthy choices.

Rachael — married to lawyer John Cusimano since 2005 — is quick to point out that her organization not only helps others, but herself as well. “[Working with children] helps fill that nurturing need that I think every woman has,” she explains. “It’s very personal to me. It’s my way to have a whole bunch of kids.”

For information on how you can help, click here.

– Missy with reporting by Andra Chantim

Make-A-Wish

More than 60 celebrity parents have signed on to the Stars for a Wish initiative — a joint effort by pediped and the Make-A-Wish Foundation — by signing baby shoes for auction. Beginning today, you can bid on pedipeds autographed by familiar Celebrity Baby Blog faces like Courteney Cox-Arquette, Halle Berry, Tiger Woods and Jessica Alba.

Hurry up and place your bid. Each winner will receive their shoes in their choice of a cherry-finished shadow box or a clear acrylic box complete with an engraved plaque.

Organizers have an ambitious goal of raising $25,000 overall. Each and every dollar will go directly to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which helps grant the wishes of children facing life-threatening medical conditions.

Angela Edgeworth, president and co-founder of pediped, says that the response from celebrities was “overwhelming.” She notes,

“Now it’s all up to the public to bid high for these shoes so they not only receive a beautifully presented keepsake from their favorite celebrity, but more importantly, so they will be helping children.”

The auction runs until Nov. 5.

Pediatric cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children under the age of 18, killing more kids than asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis and AIDS combined. Each day, 36 children will be diagnosed. There has not been a new drug developed specifically for pediatric cancer treatment in nearly 20 years, and survival rates for pediatric cancers continue to lag behind most adult cancers.

Ron Smits/London Ent/Splash News Online

The numbers alarm the mom in all of us — including Joan Cusack, herself a mom-of-two. To that end, she has partnered with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a national non-profit organization committed to raising funds for pediatric cancer research.

How they go about accomplishing their goal is straightforward, simple, and something you’ve probably already done: They bake!

Organize, plan and promote a bake sale for your office or at a high-traffic location in your neighborhood, and don’t forget to recruit your friends and co-workers! Then register your sale with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, and when it’s over send your profits to their headquarters in New Jersey.

It’s an easy, grassroots effort having a direct impact on the fight against pediatric cancer and now that impact can be doubled. During the months of November and December, the Glad Products Company will match all funds raised by Cookies for Kids’ Cancer up to $100,000.

What’s more, since sellers rely on Glad products to keep their treats fresh and delicious the company has also agreed to provide a free package of GladWare for each registered bake sale.

Cookies for Kids’ Cancer does a great job of walking you  through a four-step process for ensuring that your sale will be a success, providing tools like a sample press release, a permission to use location letter, and even a donation jar sign. If you’re looking for baking inspiration, peruse their selection of recipes and menu ideas; If you’re hopeless in the kitchen but hopeful that organization can make a difference, you can also make a secure monetary donation by clicking here.

Joan — who will take part in the Cookie Stop bake sale in New York City on Nov. 10 — is mom to Dylan John, 12, and Miles, 9, with husband Dick Burke.

– Missy

Alpha/Landov

For Matt Damon, philanthropy is a way of life — and it’s the only life he’s ever known. The 39-year-old actor credits mom Nancy for instilling in him at an early age the importance of giving back.

“When I was a boy, my mom had a magnet on the refrigerator with a little picture of Gandhi along with a quote from him. It said: “No matter how insignificant what you do may seem, it is important that you do it,’ Matt recalls in a new interview with PARADE. “As a child, I was raised to believe that, and to this day I do my best to live it.”

He’s also doing his best to pass that mindset on to daughters Alexia, 11, Isabella, 3, and Gia Zavala, 13 ½ months. “I can’t think of any more important value to instill in our children than the desire to help others,” he explains.

“I feel strongly about setting an example for them. Real problems can be solved by the next generation if we instill in them the right values. I’m not a politician, and I don’t want to tell anybody how to live. But I must say, all these years later, I still think Gandhi had the right idea: No matter how small the contribution we make may seem, it’s crucial that we all do our part.”

While the girls are still young, Matt says that they’ve been staying behind with mom Luciana during his visits abroad. Someday, however, he says he’s looking forward to having their company as he comes face-to-face with those he’s working to help with Water.org and the ONE campaign. “It’s really powerful when you get to meet the people and shake their hands and listen to their stories,” he says.

“We don’t like to be separated, but we both feel it’s so important to learn about these things. There’s so much I don’t know. In the future, I know these trips are something we’ll do as a family.”

Source: PARADE

– Missy

For most newborn babies the world is full of limitless possibilities; For millions of children in conflict countries, however, their future at birth appears bleak indeed. There are life-threatening illnesses and diseases to overcome, poverty to contend with, and a general lack of educational opportunities.

With regard to the latter, the international non-profit organization Save the Children in 2005 launched Rewrite the Future which seeks to provide supplies, books and uniforms to those who need it most.

Their efforts are succeeding. Rewrite the Future has thus far assisted ten million children in receiving a better education and has enrolled 1 million children into school — the equivalent of opening two schools every day.

UPI Photo/Landov

Celebrity dad Ben Stiller has signed on to the cause, and recently made his first trip to Africa to witness firsthand how Rewrite the Future is working.

In Karamoja, Uganda Ben visited several different projects funded by the charity and spent time with the schoolchildren who have benefited as a result.

“[The] aim is to integrate [an educational framework] into the fabric of what’s going on there, from the inside out…it’s about helping people to help themselves,” he explains. “It’s different from delivering a shipment of grain. It’s really about connecting with people.” He adds,

“As a person, and seeing what’s going on in the world, there’s only so much you can take before you go ‘I’ve just got to try to do something,’ whether it seems cynical or not.”

Another way Ben is trying to help is with Help Me Spread Goodness. The comedy, which Ben is directing, tells the tale of a Nigerian email scam victim who travels to Africa to track down the man who scammed him and who along the way learns about the struggles of those who live there.

Produced by Participant Media — a studio which requires its films to carry a message of social change and awareness — Help Me Spread Goodness is due in theaters in 2011.

The need for greater educational opportunities is particularly acute in conflict countries like Haiti, which Ben has also visited, and the Middle East. To that end, Save the Children has enabled over 60,000 children in Afghanistan to go school for the first time — many of them girls. Noting that education can contribute to economic growth and stability, Save the Children says that every additional year of formal schooling reduces the chance of males becoming involved in conflict by 20%.

“With education, children have the opportunity to break the cycle of war and poverty.”

Although global aid to educational initiatives is on the rise, there is much work yet to be done. Over half of the 75 million children out of school — 40 million — still live in countries affected by conflict, Save the Children estimates. To find out how you can help, click here.

Ben and wife Christine Taylor are parents to Ella Olivia, 7 ½, and Quinlin Dempsey, 4.

– Missy

Actress Melissa Joan Hart, who’s currently competing on Dancing With the Stars, along with her husband, Mark Wilkerson, and kids Mason, 3 ½, and Brady, 19 months, partnered with 77kids by American Eagle for the launch of Operation Warm.

Albert Michaels/Startracks

Operation Warm provides new winter coats to children in need through a variety of donors and community organizations around the country. The partnership with 77kids by american eagle consists of $7 donations for every coat purchased on the 77kids website,  and will continue through tonight at midnight. Following that, consumers are encouraged to make donations to the Operation Warm organization directly through their website.

Both Melissa and Mark were dressed in American Eagle — Melissa wore the Artist Jean paired with a plaid tunic and ballet flats. Both Brady and Mason wore 77kids graphic thermals and corduroy pants, available on 77kids.com.

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