The Daily Tell

Earlier this summer, celebrity chef Art Smith – known for his role on the hit reality competition Top Chef – and his fiancee, artist Jesus Salguerio, offered companies a chance to sponsor gift bags at their summer nuptials.

A flier distributed to top public relations companies offered commercial underwriting to the tune of $2,500 for the privilege of donating 350 items for guest gift bags. In addition, a donation of $20,000 and 350 products would get four tickets to the celebration, whose invitation list included the Obamas, the Bidens, Oprah Winfrey and Jessica Simpson.

According to the flier, part of the proceeds would go to Smith’s charity Common Threads, which teaches healthy living to impoverished and disadvantaged children. The charity helps more than 750 children and served 2,000 healthy meals in 2006.

Smith got the idea of using his wedding for charity when another important milestone – his 50th-birthday party – raised $1 million for Common Threads, he said, including a $250,000 present from Oprah. The talk-show guru is a friend; he was once her personal chef, and he now regularly contributes to O magazine.

"We’re not accepting gifts," Smith told the Washington Post in July, about a month before the wedding. "We’re only asking that our guests think of the charity, if they wish to."

The ceremony took place this previous weekend in Washington, D.C., less than a year after the city approved same-sex marriage. Guests who watched the two long-time partners tie the knot have contributed more than $20,000 to the charity so far.

"So far, we’ve received $21,800," Linda Novick O’Keefe, executive director of Common Threads, told the Post. "We’re expecting more to come in the next few days, even weeks."

Bill and Melinda Gates recently joined fellow billionaire Warren Buffet in urging the superwealthy to donate their fortunes to charity. And the Gates are practicing what they preach: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently announced a grant of $3 million to the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University.

The grant is intended to help the institute develop College Readiness Indicator Systems that schools can use to identify students who are in danger of dropping out of high school. Research has found a number of factors, including attendance patterns, suspensions and course failures, can predict which students are on track to graduate and which are in danger of failing out or repeating a grade. The money will also be used to help develop ways to reduce the number of high school students who are graduating unprepared for postsecondary education or a job.

The Annenberg Institute has been working to address these issues since 1993, when an anonymous $5-million gift helped the program get started. A year later, Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg gave the institute $50 million as part of his $500-million Challenge to the Nation to improve public education in America. The new funds enabled the institute to considerably expand the scope of its work, and it was subsequently renamed in Annenberg’s honor.

"Ideally, high school completion and college readiness would be one and the same, but they aren’t," said Ellen Foley, clinical assistant professor of education and principal associate at the Annenberg Institute. "That’s what we’re trying to address with this grant. We want to build similar systems that are just as practical and just as useful, but put the focus on college readiness."

The institute will select six school districts to participate in its College Readiness Indicator System program.

In a unique tribute to law enforcement officials who lost their lives in the line of duty, dozens of motorcyclists took part in the annual Ride for Fallen Officers last week in Salt Lake City, Utah, rumbling into town against a backdrop of gorgeous mountains and a clear blue sky.

The ride, which covered the distance from the small town of Lindon to the steps of the State Capitol, is meant to show support for the men and women who have lost loved ones in the law enforcement profession. One such woman is Jessica Yazzie, who lost her husband, Josh, in a rollover accident earlier this summer. The organization for fallen officers immediately provided her with emotional and financial aid, she says.

"They’re here for me and my family and all the other officers’ families. No other reason but support," Yazzie told KSL. "It’s amazing that this many people come and do this."

Like Jessica, the families and relatives of the fallen officers were also deeply moved by the show of support, which included hundreds of motorcyclists sporting American flags and shirts emblazoned with the names and faces of the fallen.

One officer, Millard County Deputy Josie Greathouse Fox, was given a special tribute at the ceremony. Fox was tragically gunned down by two men – who were arrested less than 24 hours after her murder – several months ago during a routine traffic stop.

"She had such a positive impact on our community, and because of this reputation, numerous people would ask for her when an officer was needed," said Sandi Greathouse, Fox’s sister. "She’ll always be remembered, along with the other fallen officers."

Similar charity rides take place all around the country, including one in Georgia which takes place in the spring.

Washington, DC – August 17 – Partners In Health (PIH), The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) and Grammy-winning reggae band Steel Pulse today announced the release of Hold On [4 Haiti], a new song composed by lead singer David Hinds and recorded to raise funds for the solar electrification of health clinics for PIH in Haiti. The clinics, operated by Zanmi Lasante, are located in the remote mountain highlands and do not have access to the electric grid. In the aftermath of the January earthquake in Port-au-Prince, the facilities have experienced a rise in demand for health-care services, countered by dangerous fluctuations in fuel supplies needed to operate their generators.

Steel Pulse has launched a new website, www.holdon4haiti.org, where the song is available for download on a donation basis. One hundred percent of donations received will benefit Haiti.

Explained Mr. Hinds: “Because the initial media coverage has waned considerably, we want to revitalize the focus on Haiti’s plight. We wrote Hold On [4 Haiti] to support the people of Haiti through the work being done by the Solar Electric Light Fund and Partners In Health. We’ve got to make a real difference on the ground -that’s what this project is all about.”

“Steel Pulse’s Hold On [4 Haiti] is a song of hope,” said SELF’s executive director, Bob Freling. “Our hope is that we can solar electrify all 12 hospitals and health centers for Partners In Health in Haiti. We were already working on electrifying PIH clinics, but in the wake of the earthquake we’ve been requested by PIH to accelerate our timeline for bringing solar power to all of their sites in Haiti.”

Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners In Health, has been an advocate for the Solar Health Care Partnership between the two organizations from the very beginning, when SELF worked on electrifying PIH clinics in Africa. “We know that solar energy is self-replenishing and sustainable. It works for us in Africa, and we want to use it across all our facilities in Haiti; diesel is already in short supply and will likely become even more difficult to obtain as time goes by,” said Dr. Farmer. “This song by Steel Pulse serves as a reminder that we stand with the people of Haiti in solidarity and compassion.”

About PIH
Partners In Health (PIH) works in 12 countries around the world to provide quality health care to people and communities devastated by joint burdens of poverty and disease. PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti for more than 20 years and is the largest health care provider in the country, working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to deliver comprehensive health care services to a catchment area of 1.2 million across the Central Plateau and the Lower Artibonite Valley. Learn more: www.pih.org.

About SELF
The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit working to reduce energy poverty and combat climate change by bringing solar power and wireless Internet access to remote rural villages in the developing world. SELF has pioneered innovative applications of solar power for drip irrigation in Benin, telemedicine in the Amazon rainforest, vaccine refrigeration in Rwanda, online distance learning in South Africa, and microenterprise development in Nigeria. These successful pilot projects culminated in SELF’s whole-village approach, or Solar Integrated Development model. Since 1990, SELF has completed projects in 20 countries, making it a leader among non-governmental organizations in realizing practical and cost-effective alternative energy solutions for rural villagers. For more information, please visit www.self.org.

About Steel Pulse
For over 35 years, Grammy-winning reggae band Steel Pulse has won the hearts and minds of audiences all over the world. Bob Marley numbered Steel Pulse among his favorite reggae bands when the group had just come up out of Birmingham in 1975. Steel Pulse performed at Bill Clinton’s inaugural celebration, the first reggae band to appear at such an event. African Holocaust, their most recent album, was been hailed as “the rebirth of political consciousness in reggae music” and was received with accolades from fans and critics alike. The band is currently working on a new album and DVD. Visit: www.steelpulse.com.

Following a series of devastating floods, the need for humanitarian aid in Pakistan is enormous – and finally, donors are stepping up to help.

According to the United Nations, nearly $228 million in emergency aid has been donated by governments and humanitarian aid organizations and another $42 million has been pledged. After Massachusetts Democratic Senator John Kerry traveled to the country, the United States announced that it was increasing its emergency support to Pakistan from $75 million to $150 million. Additionally, the Asian Development Bank said it would loan Pakistan $2 billion to help the country rebuild.

Even so, the amount is only slightly more than half of what the UN originally requested in its Pakistan Initial Floods Emergency Response Plan.

"We thank donors for their generosity, and ask them to keep up this accelerated pace of donations," said John Holmes, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also encouraged people to get involved.

"I realize that many countries, including my own, are facing tough economic conditions and very tight budgets," Clinton said at the United Nations General Assembly. "And we’ve also endured an unrelenting stream of disasters this year – from the earthquake in Haiti to the wildfires in Russia. But we must answer the Pakistani request for help."

The UN estimates that the flooding has affected at least one-fifth of the country, claimed as many as 1,600 lives and left 4.6 million citizens homeless. In addition, more than 3.2 million hectares of crops in the provinces of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa and Punjab alone have been destroyed, while at least 200,000 head of livestock have been lost and many more are expected to die without veterinary support.

The number of people who need shelter, medical care and food is only expected to grow, but the UN remains hopeful that the aid will continue.

"The road ahead remains long," Holmes warned. "We should all also be ready for any increase in requirements … Watching this disaster unfold, the world increasingly understands its immense magnitude. I am glad that we now see a more positive response to the calls of the secretary-general and the humanitarian community for increased and faster funding."

A charity launched in honor of the late DJ AM aims to help former addicts discover the healing power of music.

DJ AM, whose real name was Adam Goldstein, passed away approximately one year ago from an accidental drug overdose – despite surviving a 2008 plane crash that killed the small aircraft’s pilot and crew. Reports indicate that Goldstein was found amidst drug paraphrenalia including a crack pipe and a bag of crack cocaine, and a toxicology report showed that he had ingested at least nine OxyContin pills. The medication had been prescribed to help Goldstein deal with pain and post-traumatic stress following the crash.

The talented musician was only 36.

Following the crash, DJ AM told the Television Critics Association that understanding why he and fellow passenger and musician Travis Barker survived the crash was "something I struggle with every day."

"But I’ve just realized I’m never really going to know. I’m alive, and I’m here, and I have another chance. So I have to do something better with my life this time," he said.

Goldstein may not have been able to make good on his vow during his lifetime, but the DJ AM Memorial Fund, which was created in his memory, is working every day to do good. The charity’s website states its mission to maintain "the legacy of Adam Goldstein and his commitment to helping others struggling with addiction." The charity works to donate turntables and other musical equipment to rehab facilities, in order to help young men and women find a creative outlet that will aid them in staying clear of drugs.

A representative for the charity tells TMZ.com, "We wanted to find a way to continue Adam’s legacy of giving back that would include music as a key component. Making a donation that includes a DJ station helps Adam’s legacy live on."

The fund will be hosting a donation drive that will help provide DJ equipment to drug addicts undergoing rehabilitation at the Phoenix House Academy in Los Angeles.

The stars of Discovery Channel’s "Deadliest Catch" are a rowdy bunch: A group of rough-hewn fisherman who spend the majority of their year navigating the peaks and valleys of the Arctic Ocean hunting for crab. They’re not the most likely candidates for stardom, but that’s what they are – stars.

"All the fame, all that stuff is cool, but you’re trying to keep levelheaded," Edgar Hansen, deck boss aboard the Northwestern, told the Florida News-Press.

Hansen, along with two other Northwestern crew members, will soon be using his fame for good. The three fishermen will be attending a charity event in Fort Myers, Florida, to raise money for Blessings in a Backpack, a nonprofit that works to feed hungry children.

Scott Fischer, chairman of Blessings in a Backpack of Lee County and CEO of Harley-Davidson of Fort Myers and Naples, is a big "Deadliest Catch" fan who was thrilled when the crab fishers agreed to assist the charity.

"The thing that was great about them … was they were kind of like, ‘Whatever you want to do. We want to make it a great event, we want to raise money for charity, we’re flexible," he told the paper.

The appearance is one of several that the "Deadliest Catch" stars have made over the years.

Russ Newberry of the vessel Time Bandit traveled to Galloway Township, New Jersey, to "see if I can make something out of my small notoriety and help kids out." Newberry was a special guest at the all-you-can-eat crab feast at the Carriage House, the proceeds of which benefited the Wish Upon a Hero foundation.

Pop superstar Justin Timberlake has always known how to sell out his concerts. This fall, however, tickets might be even more difficult to get – the former N*SYNC frontman will headline an all-star concert in Las Vegas to benefit a children’s charity.

The hitmaker, who penned such tunes as "SexyBack" and "Cry Me a River," will perform at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino’s Theater for the Performing Arts this October to raise money for Shriners Hospitals for Children.

The star-studded concert will also feature Timberlake’s former Mouseketeer pal Christina Aguilera, T-Pain, Lady Antebellum, Salt-N-Peppa and Sean "Diddy" Combs, among other Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum artists.

The "Justin Timberlake and Friends" benefit concert is an annual event that also features a series of fundraising events, including a golf tournament that will be ongoing through the week. Timberlake is the 14th celebrity to host a PGA Tour tournament, which he calls the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Participants will include celebrities and professional golfers, and proceeds will benefit the hospital.

Timberlake, however, isn’t too jazzed about his own golf performance.

"I’ve performed for half a million people," says the singer, with a laugh. "But if you ask me to hit a golf ball in front of twenty people, all of the sudden, everything changes."

"These guys," he adds, referencing the tournament players, "really are that good."

Past winners have included PGA superstars Tiger Woods and Troy Matteson.

Shriner’s Hospitals for Children is a network of 22 pediatric care centers dedicated to research, teaching programs and the treatment of children up to age 18 for conditions including burns, deformities, diseases and orthopedic problems. The hospitals treat all patients, regardless of ability to pay.

Participants in the golf tournament can also elect to support a number of other charities in addition to Shriners, including the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots, the Rape Crisis Center, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas and the Children’s Fitness Foundation.

Tickets for the concert go on sale August 21.

Folksy rocker Jason Mraz has made no secret of his commitment to charitable causes, and now he’s being recognized for his efforts. This past weekend, the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association named Mraz their 2010 Humanitarian of the Year.

"As a fellow surfer who calls the beaches of San Diego home, Jason is one of our own," said Fernando Aguerre, SIMA Humanitarian Fund president, during the group’s Liquid Nation Ball 7 event in La Jolla, California.

"He not only inspires us and millions of young people around the world with his amazing musical talent, but we are all immensely impressed by his humble and eager heart to help others and make this world a better place," Aguerre added.

Mraz’s dedication to humanitarian effort takes many forms. The charming performer is an advocate for the raw food movement and joined fellow stars Hayden Panettiere, Courtney Cox, Mariska Hargitay, Woody Harrelson and others in speaking passionately about protecting dolphins off the coast of Japan in the fishing documentary "The Cove." In addition, the Virginia native now lives on the west coast where he farms avocados and sticks to a vegan diet.

Mraz made headlines at the 2010 Grammys when he not only won two awards – Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals – but also blogged about his eco-friendly outfit. The singer said he hoped his green get-up – which included a tie made out of 50 percent recycled audio-casette tapes – would help "transform the bling-typical scene into a place of new possibility – where everyone can be a winner." He also sported a lapel pin demonstrating his commitment to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.

And the star’s selfless dedication to bettering the world goes on. When Mraz accepted his Humanitarian of the Year award from SIMA, he sang a short impromptu song – then auctioned off his guitar to the audience.

Most of us remember the CBS hit show "Survivor" for something less than positive – its backstabbing contestants, gross-out challenges and brutal tribal councils, to name a few. But now, one of the show’s erstwhile stars is working on something a little more honorable. Ethan Zohn, the winner of "Survivor: Africa," has convinced the show to partner with Stand Up To Cancer.

Zohn, who also competed in "Survivor: All-Stars," was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma last year. Thanks to early detection and timely treatment, he is now in remission.

"Prior to when I was diagnosed with cancer, I’d [been talking with] CBS because for the longest time people have been using the ‘Survivor’ brand to raise money for a bunch of different charities, which is great," Zohn told Reality TV World. "So I wanted to start a charity that ‘Survivor’ is kind of spearheading and have them really get involved with something and do something that no other program on CBS has ever done before."

The result is a Stand Up To Cancer team composed of former "Survivor" contestants and crew members. The team is planning a number of charity events that will take place throughout 2011, with the first planned for February. The team will also air a series of public service advertisements featuring former "Survivor" stars, including Parvati Shallow, Benjamin "Coach" Wade, Tom Westman and Colby Donaldson.

"They say ‘the Survivor family,’ but we are a family," Zohn added. "Whether you’re on the cast, or you’re a crew member, or you’re CBS, we take care of each other. You’re all somewhat friends and we come together to fight cancer."

This isn’t Zohn’s first involvement with charity. The Massachusetts native also used part of his $1 million winnings on the 2002 season of "Survivor" to co-found the HIV/AIDS prevention charity Grassroots Soccer, which now has more than 300 volunteers in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the United States.

"I think we can make a real difference in this fight against cancer and hopefully outwit cancer and vote it off the planet," Zohn told People magazine.