Yao Ming and Michael Phelps Help Raise Big Funds at Mission Hills Pro-Am
World Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament Raises US$500,000 for Yao Ming and UNICEF
Mission Hills Group, one of China’s leading golf and tourism operators, announced that the 2012 Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am has raised a total of US$500,000 for the tournament’s charitable partners—Yao Ming and UNICEF.
Some of the biggest names in Hollywood and the international sports scene descended on the tropical island of Hainan in southern China for the three day spectacular.
Billed as ‘China’s top entertainment event of the year,’ Celebs in attendance included: Yao Ming, Michael Phelps, Ronaldo, Stephen Hendry, Pat Cash, Andy Garcia, Adrien Brody, Ryan Reynolds, Minka Kelly, Matt Kuchar, Darren Clarke, Michael Campbell, Simon Dyson, Ian Woosnan, and Tony Jacklin.
Commenting on the donation, former NBA star Yao Ming said, “I’m extremely grateful to Mission Hills and everybody involved with this fantastic event for making this donation. We’ll continue to improve the lives of children both in China and the US and these funds will go directly towards projects we’ve got underway in these countries.” (Yao even received a custom-made golf club for the event) Continue reading
Walking on Water: The Derek Rabelo Story
“We need to live by faith, not by sight.” ~Derek Rabelo
17 year-old Derek Rabelo was born blind, but that didn’t stop him from pursuing his dream of surfing Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu.
“Pipeline is basically the ultimate wave in a lot of ways — just a short, intense, dangerous wave that’s close to the beach,” said Kelly Slater, 11-time World Champion surfer. “Many surfers with sight do not venture out even after they see that others can do it.”
But he DID do it, and after years of training and inspiring the worlds top surfers Rableo’s story is set to be immortalized in film by pro-surfer and film producer Bryan Jennings. Continue reading
Celebrities Join #GivingTuesday Movement
A diverse group of musicians, actors, athletes, artists and the nation’s top creative talents are joining the #GivingTuesday movement to help inspire the first national day dedicated to giving coinciding with the Holiday season. Instead of focusing solely on sales and shopping, these celebrities are supporting some of the most innovative charities, volunteer organizations, global campaigns and community groups as they “get out the give” this November 27.
With more than 1,000 partner organizations in all 50 states, there are many ways these men and women are building awareness and support for issues ranging from Hurricane Sandy relief to children’s education to women’s health to aid for veterans…and myriad causes in between.
A few examples of some of the top stars who are supporting their favorite charities include:
Steve Nash, Los Angeles Lakers point guard is urging fans and friends of the Steve Nash Foundation, which helps children to access critical health and education resources, to support the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign this #GivingTuesday. Continue reading
Tony Hawk: Boards & Bands
Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk and renowned singer-songwriter and musician Ben Harper have come together to create a unique opportunity for professional skateboarders and iconic musicians to raise significant funds for the Tony Hawk Foundation, and raise awareness for the need for positive recreational outlets for at-risk youth.
Inspired by Ben Harper, a member of the Tony Hawk Foundation Board Of Directors and advocate for public skateparks, this fundraising initiative merges the worlds of skateboarding and music. Continue reading
Snoop To Buy Soccer Team and Hire Sir David Beckham?
According to the Daily Record, Snoop Dogg-er, Snoop Lion is ready to shell out big bucks to invest in (soccer club) Celtics after they beat Barcelona in the Champions League this year.
Snoop, in his own words:
“I got a lot of interest in soccer. It’s not a new thing for hip hop stars to invest in sports teams but it is a new thing for hip hop stars to invest in soccer teams…I didn’t catch the whole Barcelona game but I watched the highlights. I know Barcelona are
a big deal, and it shows Celtic are a big deal as well.”
The team, estimated to be worth about $47M, had the highest average home attendance of any Scottish club for 2010/2011 season, and Snoop wants a piece.
“I see how passionate Celtic fans are about their team and I could see myself making an investment if any of the board wanted to sell…I haven’t really thought how much. I don’t need to run a soccer club but enough of a percentage to get me on the board so I can be heard…I want to bring a bit of Snoop to things…I am passionate about my sport. The boxes at Celtic would never be the same once I have hosted a party there.” (True dat: Snoop was once banned from coming to the UK after a series of drug and firearms offences but now he’s allowed back.) Continue reading
Professional Soccer Player Jozy Altidore and KYCK Partner to Raise Money for Generosity Water Clean Water Initiative in Haiti
KYCK Will Donate $1 to Generosity Water for Every User “Check-In” On Soccer Social Platform
Professional soccer player, member of the U.S. Men’s National Team, and humanitarian Jozy Altidore has teamed up with KYCK.com, a digital media startup providing a personalized soccer social experience, to raise money for the people of Haiti through Generosity Water, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending the water crisis in developing countries. Starting today, Monday, November 12 through Wednesday, November 14, KYCK will donate $1 to Altidore’s cause for each user who “checks-ins” to the Generosity Water special events page on KYCK. (http://kyck.com/#/GenerosityWater)
The global water crisis in Haiti, which affects thousands, is near to Altidore’s heart as both of his parents were born in Haiti. All funds raised by KYCK and the Jozy Altidore Foundation, a non-profit organization to help underprivileged children and those in need of assistance, will go directly to Generosity Water to help create a new water well in Haiti and provide clean water to those in need. Continue reading
Rob Machado Foundation Benefit Concert at The Belly-Up
Rob Machado Foundation Benefit Concert at The Belly-Up
Zen master, wave dancer, humanitarian, pro-surfer Rob Machado will be hosting his first ever benefit concert November 12 at The Belly-Up in Solana Beach, California to benefit the Rob Machado Foundation.
The event, which costs only 40 bucks to attend, will feature one-of-a-kind surf memorabilia and merchandise, surprise musical performances, lots of celebs, and acoustic sets from John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, and Jon Swift.
The Rob Machado Foundation does an amazing job at teaching children that our resources are precious.
“We need to respect our water and land,” says Machado via his website, “Each one of us can make a difference. From turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth, to eliminating single-use plastic bottles, to understanding your watershed, we can all work together to make an impact. We can’t keep operating the way we do or we’ll pay a price. So, I hope to encourage people to take a look around and realize that there is an issue but ultimately, we can make it better.”
Last month, Machado went back to his high school, the San Dieguito Academy, where he kicked off Hydration Nation with his foundation and Hurley’s h20. Thanks to Global Tap the kids now have a clean water fountain that they will actually use to refill water bottles. No plastic needed. Continue reading
Waves for Water Seeks Help to Rebuild East Coast Surf Community
SURFERS MOBILIZE FOR POST HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF EFFORT
Humanitarian and former professional surfer Jon Rose is leading an effort to help rebuild post-Sandy devastation.
As a first responder to the surf-community, Jon’s non-profit organization, Waves For Water, will lead a focused effort to remove storm debris and assist with other basic survival needs associated with the catastrophic storm.
The team is currently gathering the intelligence of his friends and colleagues in the North Carolina, New Jersey and New York coastal areas for immediate support.
“Many of our favorite East Coast surfing epicenters are completely wiped out and under water,” said Rose, who’s spearheaded previous relief efforts to countries like Haiti, post- tsunami Japan, North Korea and Afghanistan. Continue reading
Djokovic and Sir Richard Branson to Host Pro-Am on Necker Island
Novak Djokovic, Bob and Mike Brian, Mark Philippoussis and other tennis hotties have confirmed their participation in the forthcoming shin-dig/Pro-AM Sir Richard Branson is throwing on his private island-home, Necker Island, (British Islands) December 9-13.
Fans can play the pros or you can just go for the parties…The tennis event will use a handicapped scoring format to make it competitive for all tennis levels. Teams consist of one pro and up to two amateurs. Teams compete to win their Bracket and earn a chance to play in the Necker Cup Final!
Each evening will end with a unique cocktail and dinner experience concluding with an “End of the World” awards dinner, party and auction on Dec. 12 at Rosewood Little Dix Bay where the Legends Tennis Camp participants will have a chance to meet with Sir Richard and mingle with the past and current tennis stars. One hundred percent of all donations from the auction will directly benefit the local BVI community, Virgin Unite, the National Tennis Foundation, Novak Djokovic Foundation and other ATP and WTA player charities.’
See you there? DETAILS HERE.
As always,
Thanks for reading.
Delinda
Celebrities Support One Billion Rising
V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls, has announced the escalation of its global campaign ONE BILLION RISING and the launch of OneBillionRising.org to support the rapidly growing campaign activity including video testimonies, event planning and creative actions.
Jessica Alba, Fatou Bensouda, Rosario Dawson, Jason Day, Jane Fonda, Anne Hathaway, Donna Karan, Naomi Klein, Dr. Denis Mukwege, Thandie Newton, Yoko Ono, Laura Pausini, Ai-jen Poo, Robert Redford, Gloria Steinem, Monique Wilson & more have already pledged to “Rise” to end violence against women and girls on February 14, 2013 in support of V-Day’s global movement. Continue reading
Ballers Give San Diego Youth A Chance
SDSU Graduate, and NBA All-Rookie of the San Antonio Spurs, Kawhi Leonard, is hosting his first Annual Youth Basketball Camp with a percentage of proceeds benefiting the Boys to Men Mentoring Network, (August 7-9) in San Diego, California.
Athlebrities stopped by the camp to see what this rookie sensation had to say for himself. After all, he’s an SDSU alumni. And although Leonard is notorious for being quite-and perhaps a bit shy-we had no trouble getting him to speak longer than our allotted time.
On College:
“I went for two years and haven’t gotten my degree yet, right now I’m not taking classes but hope to finish in about three-years when I’m established in the league, we’ll see what happens.”
On his role with the San Antonio Spurs next season:
“Pretty much the same guy, probably a little bit more aggressive, I’ll probably get more play since I shot the ball well and you know, you’ll see me being more aggressive and more comfortable on the court.” Continue reading
Interview: Steven Jackson
Earlier this week, I had the privilege of interviewing NFL great Steven Jackson, of the St. Louis Rams about his charity work for an exclusive interview on Look to the Stars.
Without question, Jackson IS one of the good guys. He is passionate and sincere about helping kids stay in school while encouraging them to love and respect each other.
There are lot of athletes who can talk-the-talk, but I’m finding very few actually back it up like Jackson does. He is a stellar example of how all our ‘heroes-celebrities-athletes’ can add substance to the lives of others without letting fame get to their head.
I encourage you to read the interview, it shatters any ‘dumb-jock’ notion you may have about NFL players, cuz what we have here is a (cue-music) mighty-mighty-fine man.
As always, thanks for reading~
delinda@athlebrities.com
Celebrities Take Part in Thirst Project
Last night, celebrities flocked to the Beverly Hilton Hotel for The Thirst Project 3rd Annual Gala presented by Take Part.
TakePart is a digital media organization and cause services agency that provides content, products and services that inspire, empower, and ignite people to take daily action in making the world better…we here at Athlebrities are big fans of the organization. Continue reading
Celebrities Support Freedom for Sea Shepherd Founder Paul Watson
“I have been honored to serve the whales, dolphins, seals – and all the other creatures on this Earth. Their beauty, intelligence, strength, and spirit have inspired me. These beings have spoken to me, touched me, and I have been rewarded by friendship with many members of different species.” - Paul Watson
Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson was arrested in Germany on May 13th in connection with an incident that took place with a Costa Rican fishing vessel back in 2002…its political and if we don’t pay attention, step-up and demand for his release, it may be the most devastating injustice we could have prevented.
Below is part of Our Captains blog post in reference to the incident…numerous celebrities are adding to the outcry for his freedom…Pamela Anderson, Pierce Brosnan, Brigitte Bardot, Michelle Rodriguez, John Paul DeJoria, Anthony Kiedis, Jose Bove, Daniel Cohn Bendit, Rutgar Hauer, Martin Sheen, Ian Somerhalder, Zach Callison, Perry Reeves, Bob Barker, Richard Dean Anderson, Kelly Slater, Xavier Rudd and the former Environment Ministers of Australia, British Columbia and Costa Rica.
Although released on bail, Watson faces an uphill battle…we need this man FREE to do what he does best, protect and save our sea life, hopefully most of you have seen his film ‘The Cove” and understand the importance of his freedom. I don’t write about him enough and couldn’t possibly cover each gift he has given to humanity. Again, this man is ‘necessary’ in all aspects of the word. Continue reading
Kick-It or Win It with Jeff Gordon
Jeff Gordon has driven laps around his competition, clearly making him king of motor sports in the US- NASCAR, Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 etc…and off the track-in terms of philanthropy, charity, giving-back or improving lives-Gordon is also running laps around the competition as he seeks to help children gain their own victories over pediatric cancer.
The first thing he wants to do, is give you his car…in support of the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, hot-stuff is offering you his PERSONAL 2011 Corvette Convertible Grand Sport 4LT. For only $100 you have a one in 7,500 chance of winning his car via a raffle which ends Monday September 24, 2012 or when all 7,500 tickets are sold…pretty good odds of winning, count us in.
If owning Gordon’s personal car isn’t enough, you can join the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation and Kick-It who have teamed up on the kickball field by challenging supporters to kick cancer out of every childhood once and for all. Continue reading
Rafael Nadal in Seventh Heaven
Congratulations to Athlebrities’ favorite tapa, for winning his record-setting seventh French Open after defeating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic (6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5) in their rain-delayed final to break a tie with Bjorn Borg for most titles won in the clay court major.
“Having this trophy with me is unforgettable,” Nadal said during the trophy presentation after the match. “It’s one of the most special moments in my career…This tournament is, for me, the most special tournament of the world.’’ Continue reading
Macy Gray Supports Darfur United
Grammy Award winner Macy Gray has been doing something amazing…i-ACT Founder/Director Gabriel Stauring shared the below note this morning…if you are out of the loop, read my interview with Stauring HERE…and mark your calendars for this weekends ‘One Strong Kick’ event to benefit DU.
EVENT: i-ACT, a South Bay-based non-profit grassroots activist organization, will present a fundraising event and exhibit entitled, “ONE STRONG KICK,” benefiting The 2012 Darfur United All-Refugee Soccer Team from Darfur, Sudan, which will compete for the coveted Nelson Mandela Trophy in the 2012 Viva World Cup to be held in Iraqi Kurdistan from June 5 – 9, 2012. The fundraising event will be held at a private residence in Manhattan Beach, CA on Saturday, May 12, 2012 from 6:30 – 10:00 p.m. Continue reading
Tony Hawk: Rad Science Exhibition Premieres May 26 at the Lawrence Hall of Science
Tony Hawk, along with other pro-skateboarders, will perform on a specially designed vertical skate ramp set up outside UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science during the launch of ‘The Tony Hawk: Rad Science Exhibit’ on June 2, 2012.
The event, which begins May 26, demonstrates the important physics principles of skateboarding.
“Tony Hawk is famous for skateboarding, and UC Berkeley is famous for science,” said Gretchen Walker, Associate Director of the Lawrence Hall of Science. “This is a great match, like centripetal force to a kickflip.” Continue reading
Surf Icon to Launch Photo Exhibit
Surf icon, legend, Zen-master, humanitarian, warrior, wave-dancer and all around stud, Rob Machado, will display and sell his photos to benefit his Foundation.
The launch of Machado’s images takes place in Encinitas California at boutique Bliss 101 on May 5th from 6 to 9 p.m. (above photo by Chris Straley but I’m sure Machado could take a self-portrait while surfing…we’ll have to wait and see?) Continue reading
Inspired by Sport – London 2012
The Olympics are approaching and with it, top UK athletes are acting as ‘International Inspiration Ambassadors’, helping highlight how ‘International Inspiration’ is transforming children’s lives around the world.
David Beckham, Sir Chris Hoy, Baroness Grey-Thompson, Colin Jackson, Denise Lewis and Oscar Pistorius, among others, are acting as Ambassadors for the program founded by Seb Coe (above). Continue reading