Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher fundraiser for Ukraine refugees tops $6.8M

Hollywood couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have raised over $6.8 million as of Friday, a day after setting up a GoFundMe page seeking humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees.

Kunis, who was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine in 1983, moved to the United States in 1991.

"I have always considered myself an American, a proud American... But today, I have never been more proud to be a Ukrainian," Kunis said in an embedded video.

"The events that have unfolded in Ukraine are devastating. There is no place in this world for this kind of unjust attack on humanity."

Kutcher, sitting by Kunis' side in the video, said the funds would be used to provide refugee and humanitarian aid to Ukrainians affected by Russia's invasion of the neighboring country.

"The principle challenge right now is logistics. We need to get housing and we need to get supplies and resources into the area," said Kutcher. "And I have never been more proud to be married to a Ukrainian."

The two actors, who married in 2015, have agreed to match up to $3 million of donations, with the ultimate goal of raising $30 million. They are partnering with short-term housing website Airbnb.org and Flexport.org, which organizes shipments of humanitarian aid to refugees.

-reuters-

Pinoy performing artists showcase talent online to support struggling colleagues

MANILA — From workshops with Ryan Cayabyab and Lisa Macuja-Elizalde to readings of theater scripts, Filipino netizens are expected to be treated to a variety of artistic pursuits through the fundraising project dubbed Open House.

On Facebook, Open House posts or shares videos of various artists sharing their craft and talent in a bid to raise funds for displaced and vulnerable workers in the performing arts community.

Congressman Christopher De Venecia, coordinator of Open House and vice president of Philstage, said the fundraiser is a collaboration between Artists Welfare Project, Philstage,Theater Actors Guild, SPIT, Third World Improv.

The project was launched on March 26 and has since featured ballet barre classes with Ballet Manila's Macuja-Elizalde; musical-writing workshops with National Artist for Music Cayabyab; panel discussions with the country's top female directors and sound designers; cast reunions of cancelled shows such as “Next to Normal,” “Lungs,” and “Every Brilliant Thing”; trivia nights; live readings of shows such as Virgin Labfest's “Ang Goldfish ni Prof. Dimaandal,” and many more.

Since it was launched, it has had 50 volunteers, 25 programs, and more than 77 participating artists.

It has also raised P440,000. Of that amount, P202,000 was disbursed to support 101 performing arts workers.

While the programs are free, viewers can donate by visiting https://bit.ly/DonateOpenHouse and purchasing “tickets” that range between P300 and P5,000. 

“We're targeting to raise P1 million to support 500 displaced workers in the performing arts community,” De Venecia told ABS-CBN News, adding that performing arts workers are freelancers so they do not enjoy benefits and paid leaves. 

They also do not qualify for government programs meant to support workers who are not employed.

“Neither are they considered indigents so they also don't benefit from the social amelioration programs of DSWD. At best, our workers may be extended the TUPAD program of DOLE but these have yet to materialize through the efforts of the LGUs and the NCCA,” De Venecia said.

“We're talking about stage mangers, dressers, light boards men, musicians, performers and many other artists who go from paycheck to paycheck. With the ECQ in place, shows and events from which most of them solely derive their livelihood are non-existent.”

He pointed out that Philstage alone has 16-member theater, ballet, and opera companies, “most of whom had shows that got cancelled during the enhanced community quarantine.”

“Which is why in the spirt of bayanihan and its private sector capacity, Open House has galvanized the performing arts industry to help the most vulnerable among us,” De Venecia said.

“The response has been great so far.”

Besides raising funds, the group has been able to engage loyal supporters and new audiences through the digital space.

De Venecia said Open House has now become a platform for education and entertainment for viewers and the arts community.

“Most especially, Open House has been able to inspire and uplift our audiences during these trying and uncertain times,” he said.

Open House programs and schedules can be viewed via Facebook facebook.com/OpenHouseFundraiser, Twitter @OpenHouseFunds, and Instagram @OpenHouseFundraiser. One of their upcoming events is a fundraiser show headlined by Moira Dela Torre and Aicelle Santos on April 13.

To donate to Open House, click here. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Lengthy pizza delivers funds for embattled Australian firefighters

SYDNEY—An Italian restaurant in Australia has made a 103-meter (338 foot) Margherita pizza to raise funds for firefighters battling bushfires.

The pizza was rolled out in rectangular, meter-long pieces of dough, pieced together and covered with tomato sauce and mozzarella, before being baked using a conveyor oven.

It was then liberally seasoned with basil leaves, oregano and olive oil.


The effort took about 4 hours, according to Pellegrini's restaurant, and yielded 4,000 slices.

The proceeds went to the New South Wales Rural Fire service.

A video of the pizza being made has gone viral on social media with lots of users marveling at its size.

The restaurant is now holding a contest to guess how many kilograms of flour went into making the pizza.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Online fundraiser for bushfire-hit koalas tops Aus$1 million

SYDNEY, Australia—An online fundraiser for koalas injured in devastating bushfires topped Aus$1 million ($680,000) on Thursday, making it Australia's biggest campaign on the GoFundMe platform this year.

Deadly bushfires have ravaged vast swathes of eastern Australia, and wildlife carers estimate the blazes have killed hundreds of koalas this month in New South Wales state alone.

A crowdfunding page set up by the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital to provide automatic water drinking stations for wild koalas soared past Aus$1 million, with donations from more than 20,000 people from countries including the United States, France and England.

The wildlife charity's "Help Thirsty Koalas Devastated by Recent Fires" drive, which had an initial goal of just Aus$25,000, got more donations than any other campaign in Australia this year, GoFundMe said, and is the second-biggest since the platform launched Down Under in 2016.

It is one of 700 bushfire-related fundraisers launched on the platform in the past 10 days, which to date have raised a combined total of Aus$2 million.

The next-biggest has raised Aus$60,000 to support firefighters and people impacted by the blazes, which have killed 6 people, razed hundreds of homes and scorched about 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of land since October.

The koala hospital, some 4 hours north of Sydney, has rescued 31 koalas from the scorched bush in recent weeks, and said it had been "overwhelmed by the kindness, good wishes and support from the Australian and international community."

It plans to use the excess funds to deliver koala drinking stations to other parts of the state, purchase a water-carrying vehicle to replenish the stations, and to establish a koala breeding program.

With more than 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres) of land scorched in the state, the fires have also destroyed large tracts of the tree-dwelling marsupial's habitat.

A so-called "Koala Ark" would be built for recovering koalas, the hospital said, hoping they will eventually breed and be returned to the wild.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Joey Albert continues charity work for Pinoys in Canada

COQUITLAM, British Columbia – Filipino-Canadians in Vancouver recently came together to help raise funds for typhoon victims in the Philippines.

"Syempre masayang, masaya. Hindi lang dahil sa puno. At least nakikita ko na may malasakit pa yung mga Pilipino dito sa mga kababayan natin back home," said singer Joey Albert, organizer of Music For Life.

The award-winning singer continues her charity work in Canada through various fundraisers.

"Maski na 18 years na ako dito I really still am a patriot at heart at saka talagang mahal na mahal ko pa ang bayan natin," she said.

The Music For Life event was her third fundraiser in two days. She also helped another fundraising event by the UP Alumni Association.

"Sabi niya, pumunta ka sa Red Cross, sila ang magpapadala sa Pilipinas sa Philippine Red Cross, ng mga donasyon ng mga taong pupunta. At, on top of that, kumuha kami ng mga sponsors para lumaki yung mapapadala naming donation," said Art Fabian, organizer of the "Pork Barrrel: Ano Nga Ba Yan?"

The association's fundraising event combined an information session on the pork barrel with several local performances in the city of Surrey.

Despite a week of putting the event together, the association collected many clothing items and raised closed to 5,600 dollars for typhoon victims.

Albert's successful Music For Life raised over 2,000 dollars and continues to receive cash donations.

She believes that calamities not only bring Filipinos together, they also serve as shining examples for future generations.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Zuckerberg to hold Christie fundraiser

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a possible Republican presidential nominee in 2016, is getting a financial boost from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg announced Thursday he and his wife will host a fundraiser for the governor in February in their home in Palo Alto, Calif., The New York Times reported.

An aide to Christie said the governor and Zuckerberg became friends after meeting in 2010. The same year, Zuckerberg announced a $100 million contribution to the schools in Newark, New Jersey's largest city, making the announcement with Christie and the city's Democratic Mayor Cory Booker at his side.

A spokeswoman for Zuckerberg said he admires Christie's accomplishments in education in New Jersey, including changing the rules on teacher tenure and convincing Newark teachers to accept performance bonuses.

Christie is expected to run for a second term this year. Booker was talked about as a potential Democratic candidate but has decided to run for the Senate in 2014 instead.

The governor's popularity in New Jersey rose after Superstorm Sandy battered the state. But his appearance with President Obama in the wake of the storm and just before the presidential election angered many Republicans.

source: upi.com