CHARITY PROJECTS ENTERTAINMENT FUND TEAMS WITH FOX, FREMANTLEMEDIA NORTH
AMERICA, 19 ENTERTAINMENT AND “AMERICAN IDOL” FOR “IDOL GIVES BACK” SPECIAL TO
BENEFIT CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN POVERTY
IDOL GIVES BACK Donations Will Support Charities Including America’s Second
Harvest, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Children’s Health Fund, The Global Fund
to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Malaria No More, Nothing But Nets, Save
the Children and UNICEF
The Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF), a new organization established
to raise money and awareness for people living in poverty and at risk in the
United States and throughout the world, is teaming up with FOX, FremantleMedia
North America, 19 Entertainment and “AMERICAN IDOL” to present “IDOL GIVES
BACK,” airing April 24 and April 25 on FOX. The historic television event will
bring together world-renowned artists and celebrities including Celine Dion,
Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Josh Groban, Pink, Michael Bublé, Annie Lennox, Il
Divo, Borat (aka Sacha Baron Cohen), Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Forest
Whitaker, Helena Bonham Carter, Teri Hatcher, Brad Garrett, Brian McKnight,
Daniel Radcliffe and Rowan Atkinson.
The two-night star-studded “AMERICAN IDOL” special will raise awareness and
funds for organizations that provide relief programs to help young people in the
United States and Africa. The funds raised by the event will benefit children
and young people living in extreme poverty in the United States and Africa, with
half of the funds dedicated to support programs in the United States and half
dedicated to programs in Africa.
“I have always been passionate about the issue of eradicating poverty,” said
Richard Curtis, co-founder of the UK’s Red Nose Day charity and renowned
writer/director of such films as “Love Actually,” “Notting Hill” and “Four
Weddings and a Funeral.” “’AMERICAN IDOL’ is the perfect forum to help spread
the word about such a noble cause and I am grateful to be working with them on
this endeavor.”
CPEF was established to raise awareness of poverty conditions and issues facing
the poor and disadvantaged across the United States and throughout the world. In
keeping with their mission, CPEF will allocate funds collected through “IDOL
GIVES BACK” to the nominated beneficiaries that have been selected by the CPEF
Board for their excellent track records on issues related to extreme poverty.
In the United States, CPEF has selected America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s
Food Bank Network, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Children’s Health Fund and
Save the Children as beneficiaries. These organizations deliver support to
children in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the United States, providing
poor children with medical care, food and grocery products, health and life
skills, literacy programs and obesity prevention, among other important
initiatives.
In Africa, funds will be dedicated to The Global Fund, Malaria No More, Nothing
But Nets, Save the Children and The U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Each organization will
receive funds to support their efforts to battle poverty through various health
and education programs, including delivering medical supplies and providing
clean water. These organizations also aim to control and prevent malaria through
practical resources and programs, including providing life-saving bed nets and
other activities tied to Africa Malaria Day on April 25.
“CPEF has selected charities that work tirelessly day in and day out to deliver
much-needed support to children and young people living in extreme poverty all
over the globe,” said Simon Fuller, creator and executive producer of ‘AMERICAN
IDOL.’ “I am so pleased that FOX, ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ and CPEF were able to
collaborate to support the important efforts of these dedicated organizations.”
"One of my priorities was that ‘IDOL GIVES BACK’ benefit children and young
people in both the United States and Africa," said Simon Cowell. "I'm especially
pleased that CPEF has selected such effective, extraordinary organizations to
help carry out this important mission."
The CPEF Board will meet shortly after “IDOL GIVES BACK” airs to conduct the
first round of grant-making to the selected charities, with the aim of
disbursing all grants by the end of 2007. Viewers will have the opportunity to
learn about some of the programs they helped to fund through future “AMERICAN
IDOL” shows and updates and reports from CPEF. Both the CPEF and “AMERICAN IDOL”
web sites (www.cpefund.org and www.americanidol.com/idolgivesback) will also
provide details and information to viewers about the progress achieved through
“IDOL GIVES BACK” fundraising efforts.
CPEF was established through Richard Curtis’ and Simon Fuller’s shared passion
for tackling the problems of extreme poverty in the United States and throughout
the world, and is supported by the team behind the Red Nose Day charity in the
U.K. Aside from its work with “IDOL GIVES BACK,” CPEF plans to develop and
distribute educational tools and initiatives for school children and teachers to
help individuals better understand how poverty is perpetuated and the steps that
can be taken to eradicate it.
Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF)
www.cpefund.org
CPEF is a new charitable organization established to raise money and awareness
to help combat extreme poverty in the U.S. and throughout the world,
particularly in Africa. CPEF’s mission is to use the power of entertainment to
drive positive change to achieve its vision of creating a just world free from
poverty. CPEF is inspired and supported by the UK charity that invented Red Nose
Day.
America's Second Harvest – The Nation's Food Bank Network
www.secondharvest.org
America’s Second Harvest is the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief
organization in the country with a Network of more than 200 Member food banks
and food-rescue organizations serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia
and Puerto Rico. The America's Second Harvest Network secures and distributes
more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually; and
supports approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies operating more than
94,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters,
after-school programs and Kids Cafes. Each year, the America's Second Harvest
Network provides food assistance to more than 25 million people at risk of
hunger in the United States, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA)
www.bgca.org
Boys & Girls Clubs of America comprises a national network of some 4,000
neighborhood-based facilities annually serving more than 4.6 million young
people, in all 50 states and on U.S. military bases worldwide. Known as "The
Positive Place for Kids," the Clubs provide guidance-oriented character
development programs on a daily basis for children 6-18 years old, conducted by
a full-time professional staff. Key Boys & Girls Club programs emphasize
leadership development, education and career exploration, financial literacy,
health and life skills, the arts, sports, fitness and recreation, and family
outreach. National headquarters are located in Atlanta.
Children’s Health Fund (CHF)
www.childrenshealthfund.org
The Children's Health Fund (CHF) is committed to providing health care to the
nation's most medically underserved children and their families through the
development and support of innovative primary care medical programs, response to
public health crises, and the promotion of guaranteed access to necessary health
care for all children.
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria www.jointheglobalfund.org
The Global Fund is the world’s leading funder of programs to fight AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria, which taken together kill over 6 million people per
year. Created in 2002, the Global Fund has approved 450 grants worth $7 billion
to programs in 136 countries. Of this, $2.3 billion has been committed to AIDS
programs in Africa. As of December 2006, Global Fund-financed programs had put
770,000 people on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment; distributed 18 million
insecticide-treated bed nets to combat malaria; and detected and treated more
than 2 million TB cases – which are rising sharply due to co-infection with HIV.
All Global Fund-financed programs support 2 million orphans around the world.
Malaria No More www.malarianomore.org
Malaria No More’s mission is simple: to end deaths due to malaria. The world has
known how to beat this disease for more than a century, yet it remains the
number-one killer of children under five in sub-Saharan Africa, claiming more
than 1 million lives a year. Malaria No More engages individuals, organizations
and corporations in the private sector to provide life-saving bed nets and other
critical interventions to families in need. Together, these investments will
significantly reduce malaria infections and make malaria-related deaths a thing
of the past.
Founded in 2006 by leading non-governmental institutions, Malaria No More works
in partnership with the President's Malaria Initiative, UNICEF, American Red
Cross, The Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Millennium
Promise, United Way of America, United Nations Foundation, Global Business
Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and others.
Nothing But Nets www.NothingButNets.net
Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing
malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Inspired by Sports Illustrated
columnist Rick Reilly, thousands of people have joined the campaign that was
created by the United Nations Foundation. Founding campaign partners include the
National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, The People of the United Methodist
Church and Sports Illustrated. Other partners include VH-1, The Mark J. Gordon
Foundation, AOL Black Voices and Rotarians’ Action Group on Malaria. It only
costs $10 to provide an insecticide-treated bed net that can prevent this deadly
disease. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches donations dollar for
dollar.
Save the Children
www.savethechildren.org
Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating real and
lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world.
The agency transforms children's lives, providing families and communities in
some of the poorest, most unstable parts of the world with the tools needed to
break the cycle of poverty, poor health and illiteracy. Beginning in Appalachia
75 years ago, Save the Children continues to help children in remote, rural
areas of our own country with programs to improve literacy and improve healthy
lifestyles. The agency is a member of the International Save the Children
Alliance, which is a worldwide network of 28 independent Save the Children
organizations working in 120 countries to ensure the well-being of children
everywhere.
U.S. Fund for UNICEF www.unicefusa.org
For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been the world’s leading children’s
organization, saving more young lives than any other humanitarian organization.
Working in over 150 countries and territories, UNICEF knows how to save the
lives of children with low-cost, high-impact programs. From child health and
nutrition, water and sanitation, education and protection, UNICEF’s experience,
resources, global presence and perspective are unsurpassed in helping save
children’s lives.
Visit www.cpefund.org for more information
about CPEF and www.Americanidol.com
for more information on ‘IDOL GIVES BACK’ as well as exclusive videos, photos,
special behind-the-scenes information and all of your ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ news.
For all photo requests, including the ‘IDOL GIVES BACK’ logo and photos of Simon
Cowell and Ryan Seacrest in Africa, please go to
www.foxflash.com .
CONTACTS:
CPEF:
Casey Morse/Freud Communications casey.morse@freud.com (212-582-9795)
Jonathan Bing/Freud Communications jonathan.bing@freud.com (323-866-6065)
FOX:
Jill Hudson jill.hudson@fox.com (310-369-2953)
Alexandra Gillespie Alexandra.gillespie@fox.com (212-556-2519)
19 Entertainment:
Eric Green/BWR egreen@bwr-la.com (310-248-6150)
FremantleMedia North America:
Manfred Westphal Manfred.Westphal@fremantlemedia.com (818) 748-1148
Boys & Girls Clubs of America:
Brian Hill bhill@bgca.org (404-487-5798)
Children’s Health Fund:
Gabrielle Schang gaschang@chfund.org (212-535-9203)
America’s Second Harvest:
Ross Fraser rfraser@secondharvest.org (312-641-6422)
U.S. Fund for UNICEF:
Marissa Buckanoff MBuckanoff@unicefusa.org (212-922-2485)
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria:
Jon Lidén Jon.Liden@TheGlobalFund.org (+41 79 244 6006)
Goli Fassihian goli@theglobalfight.org (202-789-0805)
Save the Children:
Wendy Christian wchristian@savechildren.org (203-241-9722)
Sharon Cohen SCohen@savechildren.org (203-221-4217)
Nothing but Nets:
Katherine Miller KMiller@unfoundation.org (212-697-3315)
Malaria no More:
Martin Edlund martin.edlund@millenniumpromise.org (212-710-5891)
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