Tickets-for-Charity.com has teamed up with 2013 Grammy nominees and past Grammy winners from the past to raise money for more than 100 worthy charities.

Among the list of 2013 Grammy nominees and past winners participating in the charity program are The Black Keys, Carrie Underwood, Usher, John Legend, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, Eric Church, Matchbox Twenty, Linkin Park, Widesspread Panic, Zac Brown, Toby Keith, James Taylor, Katy Perry,  and James Taylor.

Here is how the Tickets-for-Charity program works:

“Fans are able to buy the best seats to concerts in every city of the tour, pay the same or less than sold elsewhere, with a portion of the price going to charity — great seats to help great causes where everyone becomes a Fanlanthropist.

“Any fan can shop at Tickets-for-Charity.com and buy premium tickets — only email sign-up required to become a Fanlanthropist. The ticket prices are the same or less than sold elsewhere — but seats are always in the first several rows so fans can finally get to see their favorite performing artists and bands up-close!  Additionally available are tickets for exclusive VIP events to meet the stars, bands and teams!”

The charity takes money earned from ticket sales and splits the proceeds between 110 charities that are selected by fans and the artists who support the program.

Using proprietary software, Tickets-for-Charity.com is able to show customers exactly how much money they spent on the concert and how much they can claim as a donation for tax purposes.

Visit the company’s website to receive a full list of participating music artists.

Taylor Swift, Usher, And Other Grammy Winners And Nominees Team Up With Tickets-For-Charity is a post from: The Inquisitr

Portland, OR – A 20-year veteran of the Portland Police was seriously injured on November 19, 2012 during an on-duty ATV training at Hayden Island. The accident rendered Officer Paul Meyer, 42, paralyzed. His paraplegia was a result of a 110-foot tree breaking and striking him during the training exercise. Prior to the mishap, Meyer had served as the lead Taser and AR-15 rifle instructor for the bureau.

Meyer, his wife Mary, and their two sons, are thankful he is alive. Mary Meyer, 42, recalls getting the call when the accident happened:

“As the wife of a police officer, you think shooting, stabbing. To hear he’d been hit by a tree. I mean, you don’t prepare for that. It’s unbelievable.”

The Oregonian reports that Meyer was recently released from Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital and moved into a temporary transitional home with his family, until their Tualatin house is renovated for wheelchair accessibility.

An anonymous couple, hearing about Meyer’s unfortunate paralysis on the news, purchased a 2013 Limited Toyota Sienna minivan in cash for nearly $40,000 from Dick Hannah Toyota in Washington, and had it donated to Paul Meyer.

Brian Sanders, the dealership’s general manager said:

“They paid for it and asked us to title it in the name of Paul Meyer. In my more than 15 years in this business, I’m still at a loss of words. This whole thing just has been remarkable.”

Sanders posted on the dealership’s facebook page about his experience with the goodwill couple:

“He and his wife are not wealthy. They were both in the military and recently received a modest inheritance. They decided that a new vehicle would be a great thing to purchase with the money … They paid for it and asked us to title it in the name of Paul Meyer … These are not close friends of Paul’s. When they saw the news of the accident on tv, the husband recognized him as a man he had spoken with briefly once during a traffic stop. Outside of that brief encounter, they had never met.”

Appreciative of their unusual generosity, Meyer spoke by phone with the couple and was overcome with emotion. The station wagon the Meyer’s currently owns isn’t able to accommodate the wheelchair, and Meyer is unable to get into their SUV.

Meyer says the van is a blessing and intends to pay the deed forward.

“This is going to make an incredible impact in our lives. We’ll be able to go visit my wife’s family in Central Oregon and go as a family. We’ll be able to drive to the coast and do the things we’ve done as a family. Right now I have to focus on my health and recovery. But I promised when opportunities arise, I’ll be there for others.”

Anonymous Couple Donates A New Van To Paralyzed Portland Police Officer is a post from: The Inquisitr

WAYNESBORO, Va. — The famous Grinch who stole Christmas could take lessons from Waynesboro, Virginia. The small Virginia city with a population of 21,006 doesn’t seem to care much for the holiday spirit or charities. When local Christmas tree farmer, Christian Critzer, started a fund raising drive for cancer victims, he ran afoul of the gumpy local zoning board, who threatened him with fines and other legal action. As a result, Critzer became fearful of losing his home, closed down the charity drive and turned to legal advocate, The Rutherford Institute, for assistance..

Mr. Critzer’s wife is a breast cancer survivor and he wanted to give something back to help victims of the deadly disease. Mrs. Critzer was treated at the Martha Jefferson Hospital Cancer Center Foundation, based in Charlottesville. The hospital was chosen by the Critzer’s to be the recipient of the fund raising drive, with the goal of raising money to buy wigs for patients undergoing chemotherapy.

The grateful husband and father of two decided the best way to raise money for the local hospital would be to use his skills as a Christmas tree farmer, sell trees and donate all the proceeds to charity. Critzer operated the charity from his home and kept the trees in his yard, to the displeasure of Waynesboro City Government.

Despite the success of his charitable activities and the support of the community, a city official showed up at the Critzer home on November 26, 2012 and accused him of running a retail business in an area zoned for private residential use. Mr. Critzer explained he was donating all the proceeds to the cancer charity and he was not running a commercial enterprise. The official was unmoved and gave Critzer a summons as a thank you for his desire to help the local community.

Following the first visit from the city, Mr. Critzer decided to give the trees away and accept charitable donations to the hospital. Instead of selling the trees, he gave the trees as gifts to needy local families who could not afford to buy Christmas trees.

The new plan met with cheers from happy families and another visit from the city. This time the bureaucrats warned Critzer that the landlord who owned the house he was renting would face legal action. Being a kind man and not wanting to make trouble for his landlord, Critzer reluctantly ended his charity drive.

Enter The Rutherford Institute, a private organization dedicated to “the defense of civil liberties and human rights.” Rutherford took up Mr. Critzer’s cause and fired off a strong letter in his defense, citing the Zoning Board’s improper interpretation of regulations and their infringement on Critzer’s civil liberties.

John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, expressed his concerns over the constant interference of over zealous bureaucrats, who go out of their way to stop private individuals from doing charitable deeds:

“This year has certainly been plagued with its fair share of Scrooges and Grinches disguised as government agents, threatening individuals with fines and arrest for such simple acts of kindness and charity as distributing free bottled water to the thirsty, giving away free food to the hungry and destitute, and making thermal shelters available to house the homeless during cold winter nights. It’s our hope that Waynesboro officials will focus on solving the many real and pressing problems plaguing their community rather than creating problems where there are none.”

As is typical of most overbearing government officials, Christmas is almost upon us and the city has not responded to the letter. More than likely, they are hoping the holidays will pass and Mr. Critizer will give up and just go away. Then again, perhaps, he will be back with lawyers at his side when Christmas season in 2013 rolls around.

This is just the latest story in a large volume of sad tales of local governments overstepping all bounds of decency and common sense to impose their will on well meaning private citizens. The role of government is to serve the people, not control the people. Perhaps this latest travesty of justice will serve as a wake up call and voters will begin to pay closer attention to the people they put in office in their villages, towns and cities across the nation. After all, the United States is still supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Waynesboro, Virginia Plays Grinch, Closes Christmas Tree Charity is a post from: The Inquisitr

Jennifer Lopez, also known in certain circles as J. Lo, is currently playing the role of Santa Claus for charity, according to The Associated Press.

Instead of giving her presents this holiday season, the actress is hoping people will make donations to one of her favorite charities. In order to help spread the word, Lopez will kick off “J. Lo’s Christmas Gift.” The contest will reportedly run through next Monday.

“It’s just that kind of doing something nice for somebody, and they do something nice back and kind of paying it forward,” the actress explained during a recent interview with the AP.

According to The Hollywood Gossip, Lopez is using the hashtag #JLOSCHRISTMASGIFT to reach fans across several different social media platforms. The singer said that getting all of her fans to donate at least one dollar would help generate a substantial amount of money for several helpful organizations.

“I thought, ‘What if every person I tweeted and asked for a follow donated a dollar?’ I have [13 million] followers [on Twitter]. We can collect a lot of money for these charities that I work with that are literally close to my heart,” Lopez said.

The Christian Post reports that Lopez is asking her fans to make donations to any one of her favorite charities, specifically Boys & Girls Club, the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and the American Red Cross.

J. Lo is asking for people to donate to the Red Cross in support of those who are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Her ex-husband Mark Anthony was reportedly affected by the storm that worked its way through the Northeast last October.

“Just knowing how so many people were affected by it and when you really hear the stats of it … there’s not enough you can do,” she remarked.

When she’s not helping out those in need, Jennifer Lopez still finds time to act. Her next big project is the action thriller Parker with Jason Statham. The film is presently set to open in theaters on January 25, 2013.

Are you a fan of J. Lo? What do you think about the actress playing the role of Santa Claus for charity?

J. Lo Plays Santa For Charity: Actress Wants Donations Instead Of Gifts is a post from: The Inquisitr

Last year, Curtis Butler, III was homeless. He slept in his car, and twice overdosed on pills and alcohol, trying to take his own life. This week, he is giving money to those less fortunate.

Butler, 45, is a veteran who served two tours in Iraq. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. When he returned home, he was initially denied benefits. Soon, he lost contact with his children, and had no income. He had no home, no money, and no hope.

“I figured nobody cared about me,” Butler recalls. “I had to worry about paying bills. I didn’t love myself or anyone else.”

Butler did eventually get his benefits and turned his life around. So on Monday, when he heard a fellow Georgia Power customer talking about how hard it was to make ends meet, Butler had the opportunity to pay it forward.

Butler was standing in line, waiting to pay his utility bill, when he overheard the other customer talking about the difficulties of getting by in this economy. Butler paid the couple’s $230 bill — and just couldn’t stop.

He paid power bills for 20 people, not stopping until he had doled out about $2,000.

“This was the anniversary of me being homeless and now I am putting smiles on other people’s faces,” Butler reported.

One woman’s power had been turned off at her home because she didn’t have the money to pay her bill. Butler not only paid the bill, but gave her more cash for her children, saying “your kids can’t open their presents on Christmas morning with no lights on… And now, they have more money for food or presents.”

According to Georgia Power clerk Genice Harris, everyone at the office was stunned. “I could tell it was spontaneous and he was smiling and people were like, ‘I can’t believe this.’ They actually started taking pictures with this guy,” Harris said. “There really is a God and…. He does send people to help others that are in need,” Harris said.

“I have been there and done it, been close to eating out of trash cans….I was the one on the street with my hand out asking for some change,” Butler told ABC News. “God put me in that predicament, so that one day I could help others.”

Butler has written a book about living with PTSD and he has a website to promote his efforts advocating new programs for disabled veterans. In his book, “PTSD: My Story, Please Listen!” he writes about returning home and falling on hard times.

“Just because we have PTSD, doesn’t mean we are not good people,” Butler said. “We come back from fighting in a war and we can’t get a job… It is hard to tell your kid that ‘I can’t support you because I am homeless after fighting for our country.’”

Butler has now gotten the help that he needs. He gets counseling through his church, has reconnected with his kids, and owns his own home. He is even about to get married.

“One night I prayed and I asked God, ‘can you reveal to me my wife?’ And he said, ‘Yeah stupid, you sit next to [her in ] church every Sunday’….God works miracles and wonders every day,” Butler said.

Butler has shown his Good Samaritan heart before. He once bought haircuts for 200 homeless vets and the people of his community.

So what will Butler’s next good deed be? “Me and God are going to talk about that,” he said.

[Image from ShutterStock]

Former Homeless Man Pays It Forward is a post from: The Inquisitr

Russell Brand and his Range Rover had a run in with a homeless guy on Thursday. Brand was driving around Hollywood at 9 am when he missed the homeless guy and smashed directly into his shopping cart.

The homeless man was fine, but his shopping cart filled with recyclables and other items was toppled to the ground.

Brand was quick to jump out of his Range Rover and help the homeless man collect all of his belongings from the street where they were strewn.

Russel Brand has a history of hanging out with homeless people, perhaps because he looks like a confused homeless guy. You might recall that, back in September, Brand took a group of homeless guys out to a nice breakfast at the Newsroom Cafe in West Hollywood

Brand also once allowed a homeless guy to use his bath. In another case of his kindheartedness, the actor-comedian was also recently spotted outside of his yoga class where he offered a homeless guy some water and chatted with him for a while.

Unlike his last encounters, Russell Brand didn’t offer the shopping cart victim any type of food or a bath; he just helped out and went on his way.

Are you impressed with Russell Brand’s charitable ways towards the homeless.

Russell Brand Hits Homeless Guys Shopping Cart, Helps Make It All Better is a post from: The Inquisitr

Edward Norton, Snoop Lion, and Jonah Hill are just a few of the celebrities scheduled to put their vocabularies to the test in an upcoming Words with Friends charity event, according to CNN. The champion of Zynga and American Express’ Words With Friends Celebrity Challenge will win $500,000, which will then be donated to the charity of his or her choosing. The event runs from September 27 to October 3.

Here’s how it works: If you’re interested in donating money to your favorite Words with Friends contestant, you are encouraged to swing by Edward Norton’s fundraising website CrowdRise. The Associated Press reports that Norton, who remains confident he will easily walk away with the prize, is reportedly playing for Maasai Wilderness Conservation Fund.

“We are all about making fundraising fun through competition and games at CrowdRise, so this couldn’t be a better partnership for us,” Edward Norton explained in a recent press release. “Zynga knows a thing or two about social gaming, and it’s awesome to see them using that knowledge to engineer impact.”

John Legend, Eva Longoria, Paul Pierce. Sophia Bush, and Kristen Bell will also be participating in the Words with Friends Celebrity Challenge.

Since its inception, Edward Norton’s CrowdRise has helped numerous organizations raise large amounts of money. The company describes itself as follows:

“It’s revolutionary. Really. Crowdrise is an innovative, crowd-sourced community of volunteers and online fundraisers that are coming together to answer the call to service, create online fundraising projects for charity, and have the most fun in the world while doing it. Events and Charities use Crowdrise to raise money in new ways, turning their participants and supporters into effective, impactful online fundraisers.”

Remember: If you’d like to make a donation to your favorite celebrity during Zynga and American Express’ Words with Friends Celebrity Challenge, you’ll have until October 3 to toss some money in their direction.

Edward Norton, Snoop Lion Sling Letters In ‘Words With Friends’ Charity Event is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sharon Stone was hospitalized this past week after suffering from severe headaches during Milan Fashion Week. Despite those headaches during a Fendi Fashion show, the actress still managed to make her way to a charity fundraising event.

The 54-year-old actress spent a few hours in the hospital on Saturday afternoon but then made her wait to an amfAR Foundation for AIDS Research event where she helped raise $1.1 million for aids research projects.

An amfAR rep told E! News:

“Sharon experienced migraine related symptoms, and we all felt it best that she got checked out before the amfAR event. She was examined and given a clean bill of health. And as she said, wild horses couldn’t keep her away.”

Not only did she attend, Stone did so after the Huffington Post says she fainted at the Fendi show. A source says Stone “fainted and was out cold … it was scary,” and that the doctor’s diagnosis amounted to “migraine related symptoms.”

Stone was accompanied to the amfAR event by 27-year-old Argentinian model boyfriend Martin Mica.

At this time, the cause of Sharon Stone’s migraine pains have not been revealed, and they may never been known as it can be difficult to determine the root of migraine pain.

You may recall that, in 2011, Sharon Stone was hospitalized for a brain aneurysm that could have been capable of causing severe headaches and ultimately a stroke. Stone’s reps have not said whether problems in the past played a part in yesterday’s hospitalization.

Sharon Stone Attends Charity Event Shortly After Hospitalization Scare is a post from: The Inquisitr

Willie Nelson, marijuana enthusiast and country music legend, was forced to cancel a recent charity show in Denver on Sunday night after he began suffering from breathing problems, according to TMZ. Organizers for the the fundraiser, which was designed to raise money for the animal shelter Denver Dumb Friends League, told concertgoers about the unfortunate issue after Nelson failed to show up for the gig.

NBC News reports that Nelson was experiencing “breathing problems due to the high altitude and emphysema” and was taken to an area hospital for treatment. He’s expected to make a complete recovery. Naturally, those who gathered in Castle Pines Village to see their hero perform were a little disappointed by the unexpected turn of events.

AEG Live, the company that handles the vast majority of Willie Nelson’s live shows, has not issued a comment on the matter as of this writing.

The country music icon has released over 60 albums during the span of his career beginning with the 1962 offering And Then I Wrote. In addition to writing songs and poetry, Nelson has appeared in over 30 films and television shows. Director Sydney Pollack’s romance The Electric Horseman, which starred Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, served as Nelson’s big-screen debut.

According to NBC 5, Willie doesn’t plan to hang up his guitar anytime soon.

“I still enjoy coming out and playing music and as long as the people enjoy it and come see us, I see no reason to quit,” he explained.

To illustrate his unending passion for music, Nelson released Heroes on May 15. The album, which contains covers, classics Willie tunes, and new ditties co-written with his son Lukas, is loaded from top to bottom with special guests. On 420 day, Nelson unleashed the single Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, a tune that comes packaged with a guest performance from Snoop Dogg.

Presently, Willie Nelson is scheduled to perform at the House of Blues in Dallas on Tuesday.

Willie Nelson Cancels Show, Treated For Breathing Problems is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Stars Earn Stripes NBC reality shows irked Nobel Peace Prize Laureates even before the premiere episode aired Monday evening. Mark Burnett’s reality show has come under fire by Nobel Peace Prize winners for allegedly glorifying war and “armed violence,” the Wall Street Journal notes. Stars Earns Stripes features notable athletes and celebrities going through military style training.

Stars Earns Stripes is an eight-week reality show depicting celebrities jumping out of helicopters and learning how to fire weapons. The new NBC show boasts a competitive component with a cash prize donated to the winning star’s favorite charity.

The open letter from Nobel Peace Prize winners to NBC Entertainment Chair Bob Greenblatt states:

 “It is our belief that this program pays homage to no one anywhere and continues and expands on an inglorious tradition of glorifying war and armed violence. Preparing for war is neither amusing nor entertaining.”

NBC’s Stars Earn Stripes cast includes Olympic athlete Picabo Street, Terry Crews, Laila Ali, General Wesley Clark, Samantha Harris, Terry Crews, Nick Lachey, Dan Cain, Todd Palin, and Dolvitt Quince. The celebrities are paired with former Green Berets, Marines, and other armed forces members as they maneuver through training and simulation scenarios.

Executive Producer Burnett stated on Sunday evening that Stars Earn Stripes promotes and honors the military in a fun and interesting way, according to the Los Angeles Times. Burnett also noted the NBC reality show “introduces” the incredible people who fought for America in foreign countries.

Nobel Peace Prize winners who signed the letter in opposition to Stars Earn Stripes include South Africa Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Oscar Aria Sanchez, Betty Williams, Jose Ramos-Horta, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Shirin Edadi, and Mairead Maguire. Perhaps the most notable Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, President Barack Obama, was not a part of the Stars Earn Stripes protest letter. It is not known if President Obama was asked to sign the open letter to NBC in opposition to the new reality show.

Nobel Peace Prize Winners Protest New Reality Show: ‘Stars Earn Stripes’ Claiming It Glorifies War is a post from: The Inquisitr

Let’s face it. Big cats are majestic and beautiful yet also carnivorous and more than a little frightening, right? Not necessarily true of the big cats of Big Cat Rescue, who enjoy a steady diet of watermelons according to video from the organization that is quickly going viral.

Big Cat Rescue, a charity dedicated to the protection of exotic cats, posted a video to their website and YouTube showing a cadre of these big, exotic cats playing with, mauling, goring, and eating watermelons. “How do Lions, Tigers, Leopards and Cougars like to eat watermelons?” the description asks. “Every summer we hand out watermelons to the cats that live at Big Cat Rescue as enrichment, they love to play with them and also some of the cats actually like to eat the watermelons!”

“This is grrr-eat entertainment for both the cats and our volunteers and of course it’s perfectly safe for the cats to enjoy their summer treats!” they continue.

So if you just can’t take seeing these poor, innocent watermelons meet their gruesome ends, I suggest that you do not view the below video. “Actually, the most horrifying thing about this video isn’t the feline-on-fruit violence — it’s the cheesy elevator muzak soundtrack,” notes MSN. But if you’re into that sort of thing or you just love big cats, then the video below is for you. You can learn more about the big cats of the Big Cat Rescue charity in Tampa, Florida by visiting their website (links above and here) or following them on Twitter.

Annual Watermelon Devastation! fb.me/1XMrFfL2g

— Big Cat Rescue (@BigCatRescue) August 11, 2012

What do you think of the big cat watermelon mauling? Gruesome, hilarious, adorable? Sound off!

Big Cat Watermelon Mauling Clip Goes Viral [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Kmart has been closing down stores across the United States and when it came time to do the same in Clark County, Kentucky a local business owner jumped at the chance to turn a bad situation into a big win for his community.

Business owner Rankin Paynter entered the local Kmart before it closed its doors forever and he noticed that a lot of good items were not selling. When Paynter asked an employee what would happen to the items they said power buyers would eventually come in, buy the items on the cheap and resell them at other stores.

Mr. Paynter decided that was a waste of perfectly good and already severely marked down items so instead he started shopping and shopping and shopping, until eventually he had bought almost everything he could get his hands on. When all was said and done Rankin Paynter had spend $200,000 on Kmart goods.

It took six hours and four cash registers to pay for all the items and when he was done Paynter told the store to donate every single item to Clark County Community Services.

The idea to buy out the stores inventory came after Paynter, a jewelry exchange business owner watched local community members trade off their jewelry for desperately needed cash. The businessman tells NBC affiliate Lex 18:

“What I see is people coming in my store, needy people sell their stuff. It’s bad nowadays. I just told (the clerk) lets just give it away to charity.”

Pay for gold and jewelry exchange stores are infamous for low-balling customers, all of them apparently except for Mr. Paynter’s business who just gave back to his community in a tremendous way.

Man Buys Everything From Closing Kmart Store, Gives It All To Charity is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Dalai Lama on Monday announced that he will donate $1.5 million in prize money being awards to him to charity.

The prize money is being awarded to the Dalai Lama as part of the annual Templeton Prize in London. The award is given for exception contributions to “affirming life’s spiritual dimension.”

According to Tibet’s spiritual leader he will donated just over $1.3 million to Save the Children in India while the remaining award will be put aside for The Minds and Life Institute and for the purpose of educating Tibetan monks about science.

Marking the occasion will be special services which are being held at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London at 13:30 and 16:00 BST.

Save the Children chief executive Justin Forsyth says the donation will go a long way in India where $150 can train a health more and another $150 can employ them for a full year.

Speaking of the groups decision to award the Dalai Lama the prize money foundation president Dr. John Templeton noted:

“With an increasing reliance on technological advances to solve the world’s problems, humanity also seeks the reassurance that only a spiritual quest can answer … The Dalai Lama offers a universal voice of compassion underpinned by a love and respect for spiritually relevant scientific research that centres on every single human being.”

The Dalai Lama is no stranger to international awards, in 1989 he won a Nobel Peace Prize.

Another former award recipients of the Templeton Prize in the last 20 years was Mother Teresa.

In speaking of the award the Dalai Lama said on Monday that British people should not feel “hopeless” and “helpless” in the face of economic troubles.

It has been a strange week for the Dalai Lama after he told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper that he believed Chinese agents were training Tibetan women to assassinate him by putting poison in their hair, which he would then touch during blessings.

Dalai Lama Donates $1.5 Million To Charity is a post from: The Inquisitr

The UK’s Prince Harry of Wales has been given a special award for his humanitarian work.

The ‘Distinguished Humanitarian Leadership’ gong is awarded annually by the Atlantic Council, and St James’s Palace has today confirmed the prince will receive the award in Washington, D.C. on May 7, at the Atlantic Council’s yearly awards dinner.

The award is specifically designed for serving war veterans and the armed forces. Harry, pictured above doing some charity, has already stated he intends to accept the award on behalf of his brother, Prince William, a.k.a. the Duke of Cambridge. Together, the two princes established the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry in 2009.

A St James’s Palace spokesperson said:

“Prince Harry will use the award to pay tribute to British and American veterans’ charities for their achievements in helping to rehabilitate wounded servicemen and women, and to reintegrate those who have served in the armed forces into civilian life.”

The prince is known to support various armed forces-related charities, including Help for Heroes, Army Benevolent Fund, and Walking With The Wounded. And he also assists in the running of Sentebale, an organization that helps underprivileged children in Lesotho, Africa.

Prince Harry Wins Award For Humanitarian Work is a post from: The Inquisitr

Say what you will about Bill Gates but there is no denying that he has had an impressive impact on our society during his leadership at Microsoft and continues to be a force of change through his foundation along with his wife Melinda.

According to the figures in the infographic Bill Gates has given $28 Billion to various charities since 2007, which apparently accounts for almost 48% of his net-worth.

One of his biggest charitable efforts has been towards the eradication of malaria and an end to polio. He was also instrumental in the creation of The Living Pledge which is an effort to get the richest people in the world to publicly commit to giving away half their net-worth in their lifetime.

The multi-billionaire Warren Buffet is probably the most well known name to take the pledge.

via Frugal Dad

Since 2007 Bill Gates has given away 48 percent of his net-worth for charity [Infographic] is a post from: The Inquisitr

If, like me, you have trouble watching The Price is Right without a snoozing grandmother reclining behind you, or it just doesn’t feel the same to you without debonair animal-rights monolith and Happy Gilmore pugilist extraordinaire Bob Barker, you missed out on television gold yesterday. I’m talking about that hearing-about-your-mom’s-sorority-days kind of surreality that can’t be expected, duplicated, or escaped from.

I’m talking about seeing Snoop Dog on The Price is Right’s Celebrity Charity Week, laid back, with his mind on his money and his money on his mind.

Snoop coached contestants in order to raise matching funds for his Snoop Football League, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: football for inner city at-risk kids. Snoop’s skills, advising, and intimate knowledge of ranch dressing net him nearly $73,000 for his charity, and post-New Year hangover fodder for the likes of you and me.

Roll that beautiful bean footage!

On the celebrity dais this week are Jenny McCarthy, Neil Patrick Harris, Chris Daughtry, and Heidi Klum. McCarthy and Harris are pretty funny kids, but this is going to be hard to top.

Like the video? Give us your thoughts below!

Snoop Dogg On Price Is Right, Hilarity Ensues (Video) is a post from: The Inquisitr

Lady Gaga on Wednesday announced the formation of the Born This Way foundation with the help of her mommy monster Cynthia Germanotta.

In a statement released by the foundation Gaga said:

“My mother and I have initiated a passion project. We call it the Born This WayFoundation … Together we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment.”

The foundation hopes to work with various partners to spread their message, included in those partnerships are the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and others.

The organization says their focus will be on “youth empowerment and equality by addressing issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development and will utilize digital mobilization as one of the means to create positive change.”

Gaga’s foundation announcement comes just one day after Justin Bieber announced his Believe charity drive to help combat bullying. Bieber also announced that part of the proceeds from his recently released Christmas album Under the Mistletoe will also go to his charity drive.

Speaking of her group and their partners Gaga notes:

 ”Together we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment.”

Will you be following Lady Gaga and her charity as they work to bring more attention to bullying?

[image via ShutterStock]

Lady Gaga Launches ‘Born This Way Foundation’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Warren Buffett has once again dug deep down in his pockets to make a sizable donation. The “Oracle” of Omaha donated $1.78 billion this week to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and several other charities as part of his 2006 plan to donate 99 percent of his wealth.

Buffett according to the SEC donated 23.31 million Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N) with 19.34 million of those shares going to the Gates Foundation.

Along with the Gates Foundation Buffett made donations to his families charities including the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (his first wife), and charities for children Susan, Peter and Howard.

Warren Buffett has already donated $11 billion of Berkshire shares with much of that money going to the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation which aims to fight education, health and poverty problems around the world and largely in developing countries where they can get the most “bang for the buck.”

Warren Buffett Donates $1.78 Billion To Charity is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you own Child of Eden, Ubisoft is giving you a chance starting today to play the game for a good cause: helping out the Japanese earthquake relief efforts.

R&B artist Ne-Yo and Ubisoft have already pitched in $100,000 towards the earthquake relief efforts and, for every person who beats Ne-Yo’s high sore of 306,800 on the Evolution level in the “Normal Kinect” leaderboard, Ubisoft will donate an additional dollar, up to a maximum of $20,000.

“After the devastating events in Japan, I was inspired firsthand by the way people have come together to help out the country,” said Ne-Yo. “Child of Eden is a beautiful game that’s all about hope and happiness and when Ubisoft approached me with a unique way to continue to help the people of Japan, the birthplace of the game, I was excited to join the cause.”

Additionally, Ubisoft will be running a contest over on Twitter where contestants can snap a photo of their high score and tweet it with the hashtag #childofeden for the chance to meet Ne-Yo himself. If you needed a reason to play Child of Eden today, I think this is it.

via Joystiq

Beat Ne-Yo’s High Score in Child of Eden, Help Japan is a post from: The Inquisitr

Britney Spears is supporting her fellow southerns by hosting a charity event to benefit the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

The event, which has been named An Evening of Southern Style is a charity dinner that will feature a traditional southern dinner.

The dinner will raise money for Louisiana recovery efforts and will happen at a private Beverly Hills residence on May 11. The money will go to the St. Bernard Project which builds homes for those people who lost their houses during the disaster in 2005.

Spears dad, a former caterer will be overseeing the kitchen and created the menu for the event which will include a soft shell crab fish fry and Shrimp & Grits.

Spears said on Wednesday:

“I am so honored to be a part of this cause. Louisiana will always be a part of my soul.”

Britney Spears To Host Hurricane Katrina Dinner is a post from: The Inquisitr

Former Victoria’s Secret Angel and Supermodel Heidi Klum has joined the Stand Up 2 Cancer campaign, posing in nothing but a sweatshirt.

If you’re unfamiliar with Stand Up to Cancer, the charitable organization works with doctors around the world to find new innovative ways to detect and fight cancer, while looking for ways to offer preventative medicine.

Every September the organization holds a one-night telethon and Klum was tapped to host the event.

According to Heidi:

“If you don’t want to be out, you can be in by joining me and the Stand Up to Cancer movement in the fight against cancer. Let’s all say Auf Wiedersehen (German for “goodbye”) to cancer together!”

Heidi Klum: Stand Up 2 Cancer PSA [Pic] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Japan could be footing more of their own clean up bill and other recovery efforts simply because many people in the United States believe that a developed, high-tech country like Japan can afford to pay for their own cleanup.

The American Red Cross announced on Wednesday that they had raised $47 million, while at the same point in time Haiti efforts had yielded $92.3 million. Another big organization World Vision also announced that their own fundraiser efforts have raised just $3 million at this time, compared to $15.8 million during the same first week period of Haiti.

As expected, fundraiser efforts during the first week of Katrina blow those numbers away with nearly $500 million being raised.

With the first week of a tragedy garnering the most press coverage, including the most images and video of devastation first week fund gathering is considered an important metric by many experts, thankfully Japan has a good deal of money to deal with their own problems, because they aren’t getting the help many other poorer countries receive.

While I feel bad for Japan relief efforts, it should be noted that the country has developed an amazing relief effort system over the last 30 years and they are fixing roads, delivering aid and focusing on the most important issues at a rate that makes FEMA look like a bunch of preschoolers.

Have you donated to Japan? Why or why not?

Donations To Japan Roll In From U.S But Less Than Haiti, Katrina is a post from: The Inquisitr

According to Andriasang, some of the biggest contributions have come from Nintendo ($3.65m), SEGA Sammy ($2.45m) and Sony ($3.65m and 30,000 radios). Dead or Alive publisher Tecmo has donated $123,000, while Namco Bandai has contributed $1.23m and closed its arcades to help conserve much-needed energy.

Namco Bandai is not alone in attempting to save power – companies are also turning off game servers, with Square Enix and Konami shutting down online play in Final Fantasy MMOs and Metal Gear Solid 4 respectively.

Awesome, heart-warming work, all of you!

The image for this article, by the way, is from Capcom’s Tatsuro Iwamoto, art director for the wonderful Phoenix Wright series of games. According to the dudes at Tiny Cartridge, the text above Phoenix, Miles, and Maya reads: “Let’s work hard and not be defeated by the earthquake!!” Indeed.

See also: You can find the English language version of the Japanese Red Cross Society site here.

[Via Andriasang]

Game companies dig deep, donate to Japan relief efforts is a post from: The Inquisitr

It’s time to pass on the usual silliness around these parts and get serious for a moment. You may have read about the tragic recent death of game designer Brian Wood, who died in a car crash protecting his pregnant wife, Erin.

According to Erin, Brian’s final earthly act was to swerve his vehicle so he’d take the full impact of a head-on collision with another car, saving her life and that of the couple’s unborn child.

Well, two awesome friends of the Wood family have decided to set up The Brian Wood Memorial Trust to help Erin and her family through this difficult time. It’s heartening to see the games industry pull together like this and look after their own, so I dearly wanted to give this a plug.

Frankly, they don’t make heroes like Brian Wood any more, so I urge Inquisitr readers to recognise this courageous man and help out his young family. You can donate by going HERE, and remember: every dollar helps. Thanks, and rest in peace, Brian Wood.

The Brian Wood Memorial Trust

Memorial fund set up for family of game designer Brian Wood is a post from: The Inquisitr

All you have to do is drag your derriere onto Xbox Live next Wednesday or Thursday, switch your Halo 3 (or Halo ODST) emblem to the heart in the screenshot above (very important, that), and play any online mode in the game.

In other words, you get to play a fun game, and assist some desperately needy fellow human beings … all for free. I’m not sure how Bungie could ask you to do any less. For every 1,000 people who play, Bungie is making a $100 donation to the American Red Cross for Haiti relief efforts, up to a maximum of $77,000. You can read more about it here.

Alternatively, you can pick up this $19.99 “Be A Hero” shirt from the Bungie store – all profits will be going straight to relief efforts:

[Via Bungie]

Play Halo 3, help Haiti is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $100,000 to a group that’s fighting Malaria. The procedure used, providing gum and chocolate to patients may seem a little strange, but it’s also a simple and cheap means to fighting the disease.

Under the program children are given gum to painlessly determine if they carry the deadly disease, while chocolate is used to destroy a patients disease-feeding fat cells.

The program has shown a good deal of promise and the $100,000 donation should help increase testing. [Telegraph]

Bill Gates Gives $100,000 To Fight Malaria With Gum And Chocolate is a post from: The Inquisitr

Founder Camila Batmanghelidjh said: “They were moved by the tough stories they heard and want to be genuine participants.”
“I got the feeling the donation was something they had planned from the start of their careers.”

The “Fix You” hitmakers have visited the charity’s various centers and also plan to give as many children as they can music lessons.
Coldplay are not the first stars to donate money to help children.

In January 2008, Johnny Depp gave $2 million to Great Ormond Street Hospital for saving his daughter’s life.

The Hollywood actor secretly visited the London children’s hospital where his daughter Lily-Rose was treated in March 2007 after her kidneys failed, to personally hand over the sum as a thank you.

In November 2007, Johnny – who was dressed as his “Pirates of the Caribbean” character Captain Jack Sparrow – spent hours at Great Ormond Street hospital reading bedtime stories to patients.

Coldplay Donate $1.6 Million To A Children’s Charity is a post from: The Inquisitr

I might hate Lindsay’s horrid leggings, but I don’t hate the fact that she’s giving away all her sales proceeds to charity. It’s even forgivable that she managed to sneak a pair into her recent photoshoot with Elle and get all vampy in them.

If only brand 6126 had just skipped the knee pads and promoted the charitable side of things, perhaps we wouldn’t have been so shocked when they sold out this summer.

Lindsay’s October Elle Gallery Up Next!

Lindsay Lohan Brings Her Leggings to Elle Photoshoot is a post from: The Inquisitr

Louisiana’s attorney general office is monitoring more than a hundred domain names registered in the past day related to the storm, most containing words such as “charity” and “relief.” While some may be legit, many are feared to be fake fronts for crooks to steal kind-hearted people’s credit card and bank account information, then use it for their own selfish purposes. Some are even looking ahead with names related to Hanna, the next storm about to hit the U.S. coast. Several of the domains are results of squatters looking to churn out some cash from the storms and are already up for sale on eBay or Sedo.

Phishers have also started sending out e-mails to families along the Gulf Coast that ask for their bank information to “confirm” it in the storm’s wake. These same sorts of attacks all popped up in the days surrounding Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

If you’re interested in contacting a legit charity working to help families displaced by Hurricane Gustav, check out the list below. You can also find everything from live cameras and storm tracking tools to Web services devoted to helping find loved ones at our Online Storm Resource Center.

Legitimate Gustav Charities:

• American Red Cross
• Americares
• Baton Rouge Area Foundation
• Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans
• Direct Relief International
• Food for the Poor
• Mercy Corps
• North Shore Animal League
• Operation USA
• Salvation Army of Alabama-Louisiana-Mississippi
• Save the Children

UPDATE*** For the latest storm stream, see Hurricane Ike Live.

Tracking Gustav: Storm Scammers Hit the Net is a post from: The Inquisitr