Madonna is putting her money where her mouth is. The adoption advocate is teaming up with Gucci to raise money for orphans in Malawai. The impoverished southern African nation is where the Material Girl and her husband Guy Ritchie met their 2-year-old son David Banda. (The couple has not officially been named the boy’s parents, but he has been living with them since last year.)
According to the 49-year-old singer, she will host a star-studded fundraiser – including a dinner, musical performance and party – on February 6, 2008 to open Gucci’s new store on New York’s Fifth Avenue.
“I am grateful that Gucci is joining forces with me to bring attention to a country with millions of children in desperate need of our help,” Madonna said in a statement released to the media. “Raising Malawi has already done tremendous work in helping these children. But we have much more to do and this event will surely bring us closer to our goal.”
The celebrity extravaganza is expected to raise at least $2 million to benefit UNICEF and Raising Malawi, the charity Madonna co-founded in 2006. The mom of three created the charitable foundation to aid the country’s one million orphans, many of whose parents died of AIDS.
Joining the singer/actress/fashion designer for the fundraiser are a slew of her A-list friends including Adrien Brody, Salma Hayek, Tea Leoni, Lucy Liu, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Another star digging deep to help future generations is Hugh Hefner.
The Playboy founder just donated $2 million to the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.
According to school administrators, the money will fund a new exhibition space and an archival repository for student films and historic documents.
The 81-year-old bunny-loving millionaire has a history of making large donations to the famed college. The school’s existing repository, bears Hefner’s name and holds more than eight decades of student films, including some by A-list alum George Lucas. Back in 1992 Hefner gave $100,000 to USC to create a course, Censorship in Cinema and in 1995 he donated $1.5 million to endow the Hugh M. Hefner Chair for the Study of American Film.
Hefner says his latest contribution was made to help students follow their dreams.
Related Articles:
Hollywood Do-Gooders Making Headlines
A Growing Group of Hollywood Do-Gooders
Hollywood Do-Gooders Donating To Darfur
Even More Hollywood Do-Gooders
Gimmie, Gimme, Gimmie—Give, Give, Give: Charitable Celebrities Lend a Helping Hand