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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Drew named as UN ambassador

Drew Barrymore is following in the footsteps of Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts as a U.N. ambassador. Barrymore has been named as an ambassador against hunger for the World Food Program after a recent trip to Kenya, where she toured WFP-supported school projects. "I can't think of any issue that is more important than working to see that no schoolchild in this world goes hungry," the Lucky You actress said in a statement. "Feeding a child at school is such a simple thing, but it works miracles. I've seen it with my own eyes." Barrymore was in Washington this week advocating legislation in Congress to increase funds for school meals from $100 million a year to close to $300 million a year over the next five years.
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Brad, George and Matt shine spotlight on Darfur

Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon and Don Cheadle have agreed to use the publicity for their upcoming film Ocean's Thirteen to draw attention to the genocide in Darfur. The foursome have partnered with the International Rescue Committee to launch www.notonourwatchproject.org, a website dedicated to raising funds to help the thousands of people uprooted by the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region. "All the guys have been to the Sudan this year. They saw this huge genocide and nobody doing anything about it," said the film's producer on Thursday. "Clooney got attention earlier, but it faded. What we are trying to do here is bring our celebrity to raise money and bring a spotlight on Sudan again. We decided to dedicate ourselves to this. The thing I am most proud of by far is that these events will benefit a cause that is very important to me and my colleagues."

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Natalie endorses loan programs

Natalie Portman is lending her star status to support microloans. The Star Wars actress has been working with FINCA International, an organization that provides small loans to people in developing countries. Portman described meeting young mothers who only had access to low-paying jobs working in poor conditions and says, "And then they're able to get a loan and start their own business out of their house and be with their children. It changes the whole system... If a woman can't tell her child, 'I can feed you tomorrow, I can pay for your school,' then where do they go? What do they do? What do they choose? It's really trying to reach the poorest of the poor and offering banking services to them."
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Angelina in Washington

Angelina Jolie appeared in Washington yesterday in support of an orphans advocacy group pushing for more U.S. aid for education in developing countries. Looking a little tired, the mother of four helped open the Washington headquarters of the Global Action for Children advocacy group. "This is a happy day because it is not often enough that these children are represented in this town," Jolie said. "The best solution for anyone who is abandoned or displaced is to be home [in their own countries]. I would support that first and foremost." The advocacy group wants the government to commit another $2.5 billion a year to education and aid for orphans in developing countries.
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Celebs donate auction items for Oxfam

Oxfam is hosting a celebrity and public auction to help raise funds for people suffering in Chad and the Darfur region of Sudan. Sienna Miller has donated a pair of shoes, Elton John has parted with a tailor-made Versace suit, and Helen Mirren has donated her script from her Oscar-winning performance in The Queen. "Try to imagine living in a tiny shelter made out of straw, dry branches and plastic sheeting with the sun baking down on you at 45 degrees. For most of us that's beyond imagination," John said of his support of the event. "I'm delighted to donate this suit that was custom-made by Donatella Versace for me to wear to the white tie and tiara ball in 2000 and hope it raises lots of cash for the people of Darfur who have already suffered so much.
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Hilary's kindness gets her out of traffic ticket

Hilary Swank's recent good deed helped her get out of a speeding ticket. The Oscar winner was learning lines at an LA bakery and helped a woman with her groceries when she noticed all the staff were busy. Days later, Swank was pulled over for speeding on the Pacific Coast Highway by a cop who had witnessed her efforts. "He goes, 'Hey, Ms. Swank... You know what, you were speeding...but I'm gonna let you off for being a Good Samaritan,'" Swank said of the incident. "I said, 'What? What did I do?' and he said, 'I was at that bakery a few days ago when you got behind the counter and helped that woman, that actually happened to be the judge of Malibu.' The moral of the story is, if you're in a bakery and they're short-handed, get behind the counter - you never know when it's gonna help you out."

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Brangelina donate funds for Sudanese hospital

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are continuing their humanitarian efforts by donating $100,000 to build a medical clinic in Sudan. The superstar couple gave the funds to the Duk Lost Boys Clinic through their Jolie-Pitt foundation after learning about the clinic and its director, John Dau, while working on the documentary God Grew Tired of Us. "Words cannot express my gratitude and the gratitude of the people of Duk County," Dau said in a statement. "Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt demonstrate the American spirit of generosity. Hopefully, their donation will inspire others to join with us to rebuild southern Sudan."
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Naomi to turn punishment into charity

Naomi Campbell plans to donate the scrubs she will don while mopping floors in NYC next week to raise money for a children's charity. Campbell will begin her court-ordered five-day sentence of mopping at NYC's Sanitation Department next Monday. "They'll go straight to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund," said the supermodel of any monies she collects.

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Angelina issues plea

In an article for the Washington Post, Angelina Jolie has issued an urgent call for relief funds on behalf of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. After a tour of refugee camps close to the Sudanese border, Jolie warned that the UNHCR and NGO aid agencies are in "a race against time before the rainy season comes" later this month. "There has been a groundswell of public support for action," the actress writes. "People may disagree on how to intervene - airstrikes, sending troops, sanctions, divestment - but we all should agree that the slaughter must be stopped and the perpetrators brought to justice... It has become clear to me that there will be no enduring peace without justice. History shows that there will be another Darfur, another exodus, in a vicious cycle of bloodshed and retribution. But an international court finally exists. It will be as strong as the support we give it. This might be the moment we stop the cycle of violence and end our tolerance for crimes against humanity... What the worst people in the world fear is justice. That's what we should deliver." Read the full article here.

Angelina back in Africa

Angelina Jolie won't be on the red carpet tonight at the Academy Awards - the humanitarian is back in Africa on a United Nations mission. Jolie arrived in Chad today and is scheduled to visit refugee camps near the Sudanese border. The goal of her trip is to continue to raise awareness about the continuing crisis on Darfur.

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Jessica turns swag into sweet charity

Jessica Simpson proved her heart is good recently by turning a car she won during last year's MTV Video Music Awards festivities into a seven-passenger van for an orphanage she sponsors in Mexico. "Last week, someone asked Mama Lupito [who runs the orphanage] if she could use a van..." a source close to Simpson says. "Mama Lupita said, 'Of course we could use it.' So then she was told she was getting a brand-new seven-passenger van from Jessica Simpson for the orphanage." The Public Affair singer won a Chrysler Crossfire at a swag suite last fall. "Instead of the Chrysler Crossfire, she decided to get a minivan for the orphanage instead," confirmed a rep for Chrysler. Simpson has more plans to help out - she is auctioning off the red dress she wears in her new Pizza Hut commercial on eBay, and will donate the proceeds to the orphanage.

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Gwyneth ready to get back to work

Gwyneth Paltrow showed her support for people battling cancer by hosting a diamond jewelry auction in NYC last night to raise money for Hope Lodge, which provides free housing for adult cancer patients undergoing treatment. "My life has been affected by cancer in so many different ways," said the actress, who lost her father to the disease in 2002. "When my father had cancer, he found it so isolating. It's very difficult to empathize with if you haven't gone through it." The mom of two children, Apple and Moses, with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, says she's ready to step back into the acting world. "I haven't done a real part in a long time," she said. "I'm going back to work now... When I had kids, I just wanted to be with them."

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Gore announces Live Earth concert event

Al Gore announced a massive series of concerts to draw attention to the threat of climate change. The 24-hour worldwide Live Earth event will take place on July 7, and is part of the Save Our Selves campaign. Gore drew on star power to help make the announcement, with Cameron Diaz and producer Pharrell Williams on hand at the press conference. "I've been driving a Prius since they came out," Diaz said. "I carbon neutralize when I travel... I recycle. If we can get people to change one aspect of their lives, even do one thing, that's a step closer." Performers expected to take part include Lenny Kravitz, the Foo Fighters, Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Duran Duran, the Black Eyed Peas, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. Concerts will take place in Shanghai, Johannesburg, Sydney, London, and cities yet to be announced in Japan, Brazil and the U.S. Proceeds from the event will go to the creation of a foundation to fight against climate change led by The Alliance for Climate Protection, which is chaired by former vice president Gore. "In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to reach billions of people," Gore said in a statement about the event. "The climate crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement."

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Thandie's environmental pleas ignored by celebs

Crash actress Thandie Newton is hoping to change the world - one celebrity at a time. Newton wrote letters to a host of A-listers, including Madonna, Jack Nicholson, David Beckham, Tom Cruise and Chris Martin in the hopes of convincing them to trade in their SUVs for hybrids. "I didn't get one letter back," the actress says. "I wasn't judgmental. It was like, 'In case you didn't know here are some facts about the environment and reasons why it turns out 4x4s aren't that great to have in the city.'" The actress has also set her sights on persuading Oprah to go green. "I was staying with Oprah recently and I suggested that she switches her whole fleet of cars," Newton said. "I really hope she does. It would do so much good."

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