“They are a population that has lost everything, and even hope is starting to fade. Darfur United gives them a sense of being part of something greater than being what they are now labeled: a refugee.” ~i-ACT Founder/Director Gabriel Stauring
Since 2005, the Founder and Director of i-ACT, Gabriel Stauring has visited Darfur 11 times, namely-the refugee camps along the Chad/Sudan border. The non-profit’s volunteer arm, Stop Genocide Now, has garnered international attention and now, i-ACT is essentially creating a soccer team made up of the best players from the refugee camps along the border.
The team is called Darfur United.
In addition to his numerous visits to Darfur, Stauring has spearheaded campaigns such as the 100-Day Fast for Darfur, Darfur Freedom Summer Vigils, Camp Darfur, Darfur Fast for Life, and is featured in ‘The Enough Moment’ by John Prendergast and Don Cheadle.
Athlebrities was thrilled to interview this amazing man about issues related to Darfur, the refugees in that area, how the beautiful game can change lives, and what we can do to help. I opted to run the interview, unedited, in its entirety because, quite frankly, every word is important. Continue reading →
“I feel I’m doing as much as I can possibly do to try to make the world a better place.” `Jamie Gold
Some of you may recognize the name, Jamie Gold, as the 2006 World Series of Poker Champion. His first place prize of $12M was the largest in the history of the ‘sport’ and didn’t come without controversy. Controversy that led this curious writer to follow the career of the ‘Poker Philanthropist’, on and off the felt, for the last few years.
Is Jamie Gold misunderstood? Greatly so. Many have been asking where the poker champ has been for the last few years, and from my perspective, he’s been lying low on the pro-poker circuit for a very good reason. Humanity.
Gold was kind enough to allow me to pick his brain about philanthropy, poker, stereotypes, humanity, the misconception surrounding the gambling industry and his love for helping others. (The full interview will be posted on Look to the Stars later this week and linked up HERE.)
Gold recently attended the ‘Get Lucky for Lupus’ celebrity Poker event in Los Angeles where he admittedly was a bit star-struck when meeting rocker Slash.
“I’ve always wanted to meet him and I couldn’t believe he said he was a fan of mine,” Gold told me, “I don’t think about myself other than how I am, so I don’t see myself in that way (as a celebrity). When you respect and admire someone so much and they’re interested in meeting you, it’s incredible.”
The incredible thing is, while most poker players don’t see themselves as celebrities, most celebrities are the ones star-stuck when meeting pro-poker players. As they should, Gold has co-hosted, emceed or played in over 100 celebrity charity poker events which have raised over $170M.
And he’s just getting started. In addition to his non-stop support towards making this world a better place, he has just launched his own free legal on-line poker site-(FreeGoldPoker) with a twist. Using a platform created by Zen Entertainment, donations are garnered through profits.
“What we are in the process of doing now with my free poker site, we are pledging ten-percent of all of our profits to charity. This new aspect of site allows us to be more productive for the causes that need my help the most and those that are more personal to me.”
One personal pet project Gold had been heavily involved with is the Global Creative Forum, an involvement that aims to help effect positive change in the world.
“We can all raise as much money as possible but to effect real change, I think its important to do what we’re doing,” he said about the Global Creative Forum, “Which is taking this large number of superstars, people who can really get something done when there’s a problem in the world and then bring together some of the smartest people, the best scientists, and put them together with the wealthiest people we know and really try to create and effect change in the world.”
In fact, Gold was the first to successfully host a fundraiser for the Global Creative Forum- the Global Creative Forum Fundraiser for United Nations-which marked the first time ever that the UN Nations has allowed a poker event to be associated with the organization.
“What I find beautiful and wonderful about the poker community, that doesn’t exist in all communities-it would be great if it did but it doesn’t-you can be the wealthiest person in the world, a homeless person, any race or religion and you can all be equals and sit down at a poker table together. There is no where else where you could have that kind of group working together like that.”
A partial list of what Gold has been up to for the last few years (as emcee, host or participant): Big Slick Charity Tournament; Dallas Superbowl Charity Event for Troops; The Global Creative Forum Fundraiser for United Nations; 4th Annual Monte Carlo Night; Foundation Charity Event at Poker in the Park; Sunflower Children Charity Poker Night at Cannes Film Festival; Children Uniting Nations: Oscars After-Party; Ante Up For Africa; Michael J. Fox Foundation Celebrity Poker Tournament; Montel Williams MS Foundation Pro-Celebrity Poker Challenge; Operation: All-In, Randy Couture Charity Poker Tournament; and many others.
Gold spoke at length about his professional poker career, when and if he will return to the tour, what inspires him and what was important about the 2006 WSOP win, all to be posted in my interview on Look to the Stars.
Cue music: Jamie Gold’s perceived theme song when asked, and of course my chosen theme song for him.
Last post was about Lala Vasquez and her ejection from the arena. The amount of attention given to the incident only seemed to incite Melo haters and give some Mav’s fans an excuse to air their hatred. I wondered (again) why we don’t give the same amount of media coverage to the NBA wives who deserve it? And by deserve it, I mean deserve it based on their good acts…and maybe if we did, might we change the world for the better? I’d much rather read about the ‘real’ difficulties of being the wife of a pro-athlete rather than the inability of a woman to keep her cool because her hubby is a supa-star.
Earlier this month, I conducted an interview with an incredible woman…I waited to post it because I wasn’t sure how to tie it in so-to-speak. And I’m glad I waited, because regardless of LaLa’s behavior, none of us are privy to the stress some NBA wives are under- and oftentimes, behind many of our mighty-mighty fine players, there’s an even mightier fine woman who serves as a foundation of strength and inspiration for her husband.
One such woman is Natosha Dooling, wife of NBA player Keyon Dooling (Nets). The couple has three beautiful daughters, and aside from her duties as a mother and wife, Natosha always makes time for charity work.
Her forthcoming book “My Eyes and Hair” chronicles her life and her husband’s struggles, the heartbreaking loss of a child and the adversities she faced while growing up. She aspires to help under-privileged kids, with a focus on girls aged 7-19, to provide scholarships or assist in their education so they can finish college and become successful.
Natosha also interests me because she isn’t what we envision the ‘typical’ players wife to be. She’s never been escorted out of a game or garnered tabloid headlines due to something she did to blemish her husband’s reputation. In fact, she’s actually enhanced it. Obviously, I’m impressed beyond measure with a woman who can raise three kids, write a book and raise money for charity while encouraging others to do the same. And that’s precisely why I jumped at the chance to interview this amazing woman.
Natosha spoke to me about her childhood and what propelled her to get involved with charity work. “Growing up and seeing a lot of unpleasant things in my grandma and aunt’s neighborhood actually inspired me to help others. I saw a lot of teen pregnancy, teens being picked up by drug dealers from school, young girls getting AIDS and dropping out of school. It was so bad that I just felt I needed to do something about it since I am from that same neighborhood and it could easily have been me.” she told me, “The joy of seeing a change in people’s lives, seeing someone come from a worse situation and making it a great situation is what attracts me to charity work.”
Natosha’s strength of character stems from her mother, who encouraged confidence: “I overcame adversities with my mom’s strength. No matter what was going on or what other people would say about me, she always gave me confidence and always told me every day how pretty I was,” she said, “She always encouraged me to make sure I get a man to treat me right. She is always so proud of me. She just gave me so much confidence and that helped.”
Aside from family, Natosha has drawn inspiration from others who’ve touched her life. “My first grade teacher, Mrs. Logan inspired me as a child. I wouldn’t have gotten through 1st grade without her. She was my inspiration and she made sure I stayed on my tasks…My cousin, Kathey Lacount, gave me hope,” she continued, ”Besides my mom, I could always go to her for anything. She took care of me and was there for me way before the money and to this day, she still has never ask me for anything.”
Her forthcoming book “My Eyes and Hair” was partially inspired by the difficulties in her life and the negativity she endured simply for being ‘an NBA wife’: “My book is about my life how it started and what I have been through and how tough it is to be an NBA player’s wife, how good God is to my family and I, as well as my relationships with friends and family. I was inspired to write it because one day I was just playing around with the computer and happened to google my name and a web page popped up about NBA players and their wives/girlfriend. I found Keyon’s page and it was filled with woman’s insolent comments and just talking about me rudely. Saying things that were not true and for no reason, so I thought to myself, I should write a book.”
For those who still think the life of an NBA player’s wife is a cakewalk, think again-especially when children are involved. “The most difficult decision I have had to make is to keep having to move my kids every 3 years. Part of me just wants to give up, say forget it and just live in Florida, let Keyon travel and I’ll see him on holidays. But my kids are still young and they need their dad right now so that’s very difficult for me.”
But what’s not difficult for Natosha, is earning the love, trust and admiration of her mighty-mighty-fine husband. “My wife inspires me in many ways- spiritually, emotionally and mentally- everyday watching her inspires me to want to do better as a husband and a father,” Keyon told me.
And this, my friends, is the kind of piece I personally would like to read more of…Inspirational woman who enhance this lives of those around them and not those who get into silly courtside arguments. I know there are many more NBA wives out there doing good…so hit me up if you prefer love over hatred, because after all, you contribute greatly to your mans success.
You may not recognize the name, but take notice because you’ll want to know this mighty-mighty-fine man. Derek Strong hooped it up in the NBA for ten seasons…laying it out from 1991 to 2001 with the Washington Bullets, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers.
And he did something remarkable after retirement. He became the first NBA player to successfully transition into NASCAR as a driver. He also founded Derek Strong Racing, which is the first team in NASCAR history to have African-American female owners! Dawn Whitaker and Erica Hill (each minority owners) are the first in the sport…Erica also co-founded Peace International, a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to build schools in remote areas throughout the world.
This girls’ interest was piqued when Look to the Stars spoke to Derek from the red carpet at the recent Shane’s Inspiration event. The mission of Shane’s Inspiration is to create playgrounds for disabled/handicapped kids…“I played in the NBA for about 11 years and every year we did something with children’s hospital, we did things to help inner city children and I’ve been around children practically all my life, and I think it’s very important that we do get out there because they are our future,” said Strong from the red carpet.
But that wasn’t enough of a quote for me, so Derek Strong indulged me with a little Q&A….
Delinda: Was there one particular event that made you want to become involved with charity?
Derek: “Yes, when I went to the children’s hospital. It really touched me, seeing these kids hooked up to IV’s all day, confined to their unit, You didn’t know if they would live to see the next day. They are just starting out in life and they have been in the hospital everyday fighting cancer or another illness. And I want to help- help the kids, help the families, help find a cure because they should be outside playing with other kids. They should be on the playground not in the hospital.”
Delinda: I know from our conversation that you were exposed to a lot of charity events and community related activities as part of the NBA. In your opinion, are participating players really interested in helping out, or are they just playing along?
Derek: “You know, almost every employer has an outreach program- it goes beyond the individual. And it really depends on the person’s character, for me it was inspiring. You may have a player going to an event where they kind of just go through the motions and do nothing else, but others can be inspired. It teaches them to grow, plants the seed so to speak.”
Delinda: In terms of Strong Racing, have you had the opportunity to work with any kids?
Derek: “That’s what I’m trying to do now. I want somehow for our racing team to donate a percentage of our wins to the hospitals and organizations that help the kids. As I’ve said, children are our future. As an adult we can guide them in the right direction and help them. As the future generation, they’re our future survival, and the more we give them and guide them in the right direction, they’ll turn out ok.”
Delinda: You founded Strong Racing in 2001, how has it been going?
Derek: “Well we started racing in 2001 and we progress every week. We have potential to do very well. When we started, we declined a bit, but now we’re finding the chemistry and I think we’re going to do well.”
Delinda: What talent would you most like to have?
Derek: “The talent to heal.”
Delinda: What trait do you most admired in others?
Derek: “Resilience. When someone is planning on doing something, and no matter how hard it is, they stay course until they get what they want. I admire that.”
Delinda: What is your most treasured possession?
Derek: “My family.”
Delinda: Do you have any superstitions?
Derek: “No. A black cat can cross my path and I don’t care!”
Delinda: What’s the most annoying question you get asked?
Derek: “I don’t think any of them are annoying, I enjoy when people ask me something.”
Delinda: How do you recommend other people get involved in charity work?
Derek: “First thing is to find what touches you, what moves you. And then research. Find an organization that benefits your cause. Get involved. Follow you heart.”
Delinda: Do you think Hollywood is sort of ‘obligated’ to get involved?
Derek: “I don’t think anyone is ‘obligated’ but I do think there should be some involvement.”
Delinda: Aside from family, who has been a personal inspiration?
Derek: “A teammate of mine from college, he was like my brother and taught me about life and kept me on the straight path.”
And what a better path than one that led him straight into the hearts of children?
Thank you Derek. Thank you for the interview, but more importantly thank you for the compassion to help those who need it most. I’ll be watching you…
