Nicole and Joel find the meaning of Christmas

In their first major charitable outreach since announcing the launch earlier this month of the Richie-Madden Children's Foundation, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden on Saturday hosted a holiday party for children and families from L.A. homeless programs. More than 200 children and their family members enjoyed a "winter wonderland" on the Paramount Studios lot featuring teddy bears, cookies, cupcakes, face-painting, clowns, holiday music, Santa Claus and his elves. Children, selected from the L.A. homeless program Beyond Shelter, were able to choose from a teddy bear mountain of 500 "Cuddle Cub" stuffed bears. "It was a no-brainer for us to pull this party together for them for the holidays," Richie, who is pregnant with her first child, said. "We want to do much more to address the homeless issue, especially where it puts children at risk. But for now, we can at least try to help them have a merry Christmas by giving them teddy bears and getting them fitted for shoes. That's something we can do right now, today."

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Clooney, Cheadle awarded for Darfur work

Hollywood actors George Clooney and Don Cheadle received an award from Nobel peace prize laureates on Thursday for their campaign to help the people of Sudan's Darfur region after 4-1/2 years of war. Together with Brad Pitt, Clooney and Cheadle - co-stars in "Ocean's Thirteen" - have used their celebrity status to raise money for refugees through their "Not On Our Watch" charity, and make sure Darfur's "continuing carnage" is not forgotten. Experts estimate 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million uprooted in the conflict pitting mostly non-Arab rebel groups against the Khartoum government and Arab militia since 2003. Ceasefires have been agreed only to fall apart, and plans to send 26,000 United Nations peacekeepers have been thrown into doubt because of restrictions imposed by Khartoum and the failure by Western states to provide helicopters. "Don and I... stand here before you as failures," Clooney said, comparing his efforts to the achievements of the Nobel laureates attending the Peace Summit Award ceremony in Rome, including former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and the Dalai Lama. "The simple truth is that when it comes to the atrocities in Darfur those people are not better off now than they were years ago. The murders continue, the rapes continue and some two and a half million refugees are yet to go home," he said. "Some day this will all end, and whether all of us succeed or not it will end some day. And when they write about this, the question will be asked: where was the rest of the world? And the answer will be: it just wasn't a priority." Earlier this year Clooney, Cheadle and Pitt raised $10 million for Darfur at the Cannes film festival. Clooney and Cheadle also feature in a recently released documentary on the conflict, "Darfur Now."

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Gwen helps wildfire victims

Gwen Stefani is taking a detour from entertainment into charity, starting a college-scholarship fund for students affected by this fall's California wildfires. "When I heard about the devastation of the fires, at first I felt I should cancel my [San Diego] show out of respect," Stefani, 38, said in a statement, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. "But then it occurred to me there might be a more useful solution." That led to the Gwen Stefani After-the-Fires Scholarship, which will benefit students who lost their homes or sources of income in the fires. Details of the fund are still being worked out. Stefani also donated about $160,000 in proceeds from her Oct. 30 concert in San Diego to the San Diego Foundation fire-relief fund. The wildfires raced through Southern California in late October and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.
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Nicole and Joel donate $200,000 in baby gifts

Not many kids have a foundation launched in their honor before they're born. But that will be one of the many privileges bestowed upon Nicole Richie and Joel Madden's baby, due in January. The couple hosted a surprise baby shower Monday for 100 expectant and new moms at the Los Angeles Free Clinic in Hollywood, where they handed out more than $200,000 worth of gifts. "The looks on their faces were priceless," Richie told reporters after the shower. "Some of them didn't even believe us [when they saw the gifts]. They thought we were joking." The Richie Madden Children's Foundation (at richiemaddenfoundation.com), Madden said, was an idea the couple had when they found out they were expecting. "We grew up in Los Angeles," he said, "and we want our child to be a part of the community, and to know that there's a responsibility to help the community." And it's a family affair. "We named it the Richie Madden Children's Foundation because we each have families and our families are close, and our family is involved," Richie said. By her side with his arm stroking her back during moments in the conference, Madden quipped, "We're lucky that we have families that get along and love each other," adding, "I think it's great that our child will grow up as a part of that family." Amongst the goodies given to families in need were Baby Bjorn products, cribs, mattresses and toys from Fisher-Price. "Everything they got, we got," Richie says, "so everything that will be in their nursery, will be in our nursery." Madden felt good about the event. "Sometimes people don't want to believe that me and Nicole are just a young couple having a baby and we're really excited. We don't really get to share our lives with people. It's nice to connect with people on a real level."

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Brad's eco-friendly good deed

Brad Pitt expects the foundations to be built for at least 150 eco-friendly homes in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward by the end of next summer. "I'm hoping we can expand here and expand over into the rest of New Orleans," the 43-year-old actor said Monday morning in an interview on NBC's "Today" show, as he walked through the devastated neighbourhood. The initiative, called Make It Right, is Pitt's latest effort to help the area recover from Hurricane Katrina. Pitt has also worked with the environmental organization Global Green USA to build five single-family homes and an 18-unit apartment complex and community centre; earlier this year, he and Angelina Jolie purchased a mansion in the city's French Quarter for US$3.5 million. Pitt has pledged $5 million of his own money toward the project and - calling himself "not much of a salesman" - was campaigning for more donations for the cause. "I mean, this is really an adopt-a-house campaign," he said. "I'm asking for foundations, for high net-worth individuals, for church groups, for corporations to come in and adopt a house - basically, $150,000 will get a family back in their home." Pitt has teamed up with 13 architects for the project, and explained that each home will be built on stilts as a precaution against the threat of flooding. He said design requirements for the homes were "affordability, sustainability, safety - and that they be beautiful."

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Nicole Kidman backs U.N. campaign

The United Nations women's agency launched a campaign Monday backed by actress Nicole Kidman to gather signatures on an internet petition rejecting violence against women and urging action to stop it. The launch of the petition titled "Say NO to violence against women" is part of a 16-day U.N.-backed campaign to raise awareness about the issue and urge governments to make it a priority. Kidman, a goodwill ambassador for UNIFEM, did not attend the launch at U.N. headquarters but said in a statement she was among the first to sign, calling violence against women "an appalling human rights violation."

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Stars get into the holiday spirit

Kirk Douglas, Harrison Ford and other celebs shared the Thanksgiving spirit Wednesday by serving hot meals to homeless people on Skid Row. Wearing red aprons and plastic gloves, they stood alongside volunteers at the annual feast at the Los Angeles Mission, doling out turkey drumsticks, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, vegetables and pumpkin pie. Actresses Nia Long and Calista Flockheart and the Hills star Spencer Pratt were among others passing out almost 3,000 plates of food to lines of men, women and children. "It's very grounding," said Long, who dished out vegetables and rolls with her 7-year-old son. "I feel grateful for all the things I have." The air of festivity sparkled in contrast to the harshness of Skid Row, where hunger is the norm and sleeping bags dot the sidewalks. "[The celebrities'] involvement will help their souls as much as it helps the guest being served," said Douglas in a mission press release.

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Nicole and Joel's good deed

Nicole Richie is using her Wizard of Oz-themed baby shower to benefit charity. Richie and boyfriend Joel Madden will donate baby gifts to 100 expectant families in need through the newly-formed Richie Madden Foundation via the LA Free Clinic. "It's really sweet," says shower guest Rashida Jones of The Office. "With all the swag these days, we're given so much stuff it's almost wasteful, and it's kind of nice when we're giving to each other to give to someone else." While many friends at Sunday's shower in Beverly Hills donated gifts to the charity, they also brought gifts for Nicole and Joel to keep - including one children's book from every guest to help build the baby's library.

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Clooney donates cash to striking writers

George Clooney has opened his wallet for his fellow artists, donating $25,000 to writers hurting from the recent strike. The actor gave the money to the New York-based Actors Fund, which provides emergency relief for workers in the entertainment industry. He said he plans to make periodic donations to the fund and asked other stars to do the same. "My hope is that people who can afford it will take responsibility for this and help out," Clooney said of the deed.

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Nicole and Joel's new charity

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden are planning a baby shower at a private home this Sunday. Instead of guests bringing them gifts, however, the soon-to-be mom and Madden are asking pals to give cribs, strollers and stuffed animals to the new Richie Madden Children's Foundation, which supports mothers in need. Next month, their charity will also donate 100 Mom-to-Be kits to the LA Free Clinic.

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Renee's sweet gesture

Renee Zellweger has a big heart. Wendy Faracino, a Bobbi Brown makeup artist at Saks Fifth Avenue in Southampton, was on her break and looking at a pair of Manolo Blahniks when Zellweger strolled up and the two began talking about shoes. Barely 15 minutes after she went back to work, Faracino was approached by the shoe department's manager with a gift-wrapped box. "These are compliments of Renee Zellweger. She wanted you to have them," he said. Inside were the Manolos she'd been admiring.

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Angelina in Iraq

Angelina Jolie is in Iraq to witness firsthand the humanitarian crises there, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR has announced. The actress and UNHCR goodwill ambassador flew from New York to Syria yesterday. In Damascus, she visited a UNHCR registration center and spent hours talking to Iraqi refugees in their homes. Tuesday's journey had her crossing Iraq to meet with 1,200 refugees camped out in a makeshift outpost at the border. She also witnessed dozens of Iraqis crossing into Syria. "I have come to Syria and Iraq to help draw attention to the humanitarian crisis and to urge governments to increase their support for UNHCR and its partners," Jolie said in a statement. "My sole purpose in both countries is to highlight the plight of those uprooted by the war in Iraq."

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Brangelina to host Katrina dinner

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are heading for the Hamptons, but it's not for a weekend of fun in the sun. The couple are hosting a dinner of about 50 people this Saturday night to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina. According to a source, the expectation is that the guests will make an extremely large financial commitment to the project. The dinner will take place at the home of producer Jane Rosenthal and her husband Craig Hatkoff. Jolie and Rosenthal are friendly from working together on The Good Shepherd, which Rosenthal produced. Jolie also premiered her documentary, A Place in Time, at the Tribeca Film Festival, which Rosenthal helped co-found with Robert De Niro. The couple is said to be traveling in and out by helicopter and not staying the weekend.

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Brad Pitt's green development

Brad Pitt dropped by the construction site of his environmentally friendly housing project in New Orleans on Tuesday, calling it "a small little victory." "It's hard to claim an overall victory when you see how slowly it's still moving," Pitt said of the project, which is slated for completion next year. "[Hurricane] Katrina was a man-made disaster. This house here is a man-made solution." Eventually, the five single-family homes and approximately 18 apartments will house up to 23 families - all using green building materials and including energy-saving appliances, dual windows and high-efficiency lightbulbs. "There will be a family living here in a year from now, and this is a home that treats them with dignity, with respect, that is conscious of their quality of life," Pitt said.

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Leo behind "green" reality show

Discovery Communications has partnered up with Leonardo Dicaprio to help them launch their Planet Green channel. Dicaprio will executive produce a 13-part series called Eco-Town, which will chronicle the "green" rebuilding of a small town in Greensburg, Kansas that was devastated by a tornado in May. Greensburg will be rebuilt as a "sustainable model of eco-living and one that will save it from future environmental catastrophe." Dicaprio will also serve on the board of advisers for Planet Green, which is set to launch in 2008.

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Hilary helps kickoff clean water fundraiser

Hilary Swank lent her support to a good cause yesterday by helping launch an around-the-world relay to raise money and awareness for the issue of providing safe drinking water for the 1.1 billion people who lack it. About 20 runners will run a whopping 15,000 miles through 16 countries over the next 95 days in the event, organized by the Blue Planet Run Foundation. "What if it were your job to carry in a rusty metal pail all the water you and your family would use for the day?" Swank the crowd at the race kickoff on the lawn of the U.N. "What if the water made you sick? What if you had no choice? I know I will never take a glass of water for granted again." The goal of Blue Planet, together with the U.N. and partly funded by Dow Chemical Co., is to bring safe drinking water to 20 billion people by 2020.

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Nick Carter hopes to do good for the U.N.

Looks like Backstreet Boy Nick Carter is trying to make over his image - with a United Nations gig. Carter will be helping raise awareness of threats to the survival of dolphins in the wild for the U.N. Environment Programme, the Convention on Migratory Species, and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. "People like Bono, Angelina Jolie, and Nicole Kidman have inspired me to put my celebrity to good use," Carter says. "I have the advantage of reaching multiple generations to make a difference... I am really excited, but also a little nervous about this much responsibility...it is an actual job. There are responsibilities and commitments that I must make to be the voice of dolphins, whales and conservation issues, and expectations are quite large."
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Kate puts her money where her mouth is

Kate Winslet has turned something ugly into something good by donating the money she won in a libel case against a British magazine to several eating disorder charities. Winslet won a lawsuit in March after Grazia mag claimed she had visited a diet doctor and suggested the Holiday star was a hypocrite for speaking out publicly against Hollywood's pressure to be skinny. The magazine was ordered to publish an apology, Winslet split the proceeds between three eating disorder charities. "I think she was inundated by charities asking for help," says a rep for one of the organizations. "We were informed last week the money would be split between three eating disorder charities and we were thrilled to be one of them. This is a very thoughtful way of highlighting the issue."

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Natalie Portman's first video diary

The Star Wars actress is working with FINCA to promote microloans in developing countries.

Natalie Portman Video Diary #1



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Brooke rallies for postpartum sufferers

Brooke Shields is campaigning for the bigwigs in Washington to pass legislation to help new mothers with postpartum depression. "There is an entire population of women suffering," Shields said in an interview on Sunday. "And it's time, I believe, for Congress to step in and prevent that, and actually save lives and save potential tragedy." Shields has been open about her own battle with postpartum depression after the birth of her first daughter. "I had gone through numerous attempts to have a baby, and then I finally did have this perfect, beautiful, healthy baby, and it all but destroyed me," Shields said, and added that if Congress passed a bill on the matter, it would be "an easy gift to give to women everywhere."

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