From January 11-13 GBK Productions hosted its annual Golden Globe Gift Suite at the acclaimed Friars Club in Beverly Hills. With award season underway, the excitement and anticipation indigenous to LA’s entertainment culture created an intoxicatingly vibrant environment…celebrity or not! While celebrity "roastings" occur quite frequently in this same venue a much kinder, benevolent spirit seemed to govern this specific occasion. Seth Green, Leo DiCaprio, and Forest Whitaker, to mention a few, were among the nominees lavished with $60,000 gift bags furnished with gadgets, goodies, and games. DiCaprio, and his beautiful girlfriend Bar Refaeli, both left with a new Ford Escape Hybrid, finally obtaining an automobile to drive while she when she visits from Israel! Doubtless, the general viewing public regards the event with scorn owing to these astonishingly luxurious gift bags supplied by coordinators and organizations; however, they miss an important element of the event that allows nominated celebrities to interact with thriving and relevant charities: Eva Longoria’s Padres Contra El Cancer, Educating Young Minds, Hollywood for Habitat for Humanity, Global Green, and the Amberwatch Foundation. Each charity received 20% of the profits and a celebrity gift bag valued at $60,000. In addition, Design 21 also donated $21 to every non-profit group when a celebrity took a ring to support a particular cause.
Padres Contra El Cancer
Padres Contra El Cancer unites children, families, and healthcare professionals to achieve an informed understanding of childhood cancer and related blood disorders in addition to articulating effective methods for treatment. After research funded by the American Cancer Society indicated a lack of educational and emotional support within and among the Latino medical setting, PADRES commenced its program in 1985, and since, has assisted more than 3,200 families and 17,000 extended families in Southern California! Don’t be misled by the apparent ethnic exclusivity of PADRES: all programs and services, while oriented to Latino communities, accepts and serves patients from any and all races and ethnic origins. Visit the PADRES website for more information: www.iamhope.org.
Educating Young Minds
As the current educational state of the country continues to dampen, we should have anticipated the increase in a number of advancements in pedagogical technology and public school programs in suburban and inner-city youth culture. However, it begs the question: Have such advancements remedied the cognitive degeneracy prevalent in our youth culture? What about the inner-city youth programs? Has the lack of energy in public school programs and the technological advancements assisted the degeneracy by instilling a lack of patience 
and focus on academic subjects? Enter: Educating Young Minds, a non-profit tutorial program, designed for inner-city school children ages 5-18, pushes students to perform at a high-level in and out of the classroom. EYM grew out of the needs of many families and students for supplemental education and counseling, outside of the classroom: "in house" sessions; after-school tutoring; SAT, ACT, ISEE, and other standardized test training. Each session provides the personal, one-on-one interaction so badly needed by so many youths today. Many children are indirectly convinced they’re stupid and subsequently seek other means to promote self-esteem. EYM promotes one-on-one interaction, seeking to embody the Socratic teacher-student relationship severely lacking in educational systems today. To date, EYM has assisted well over 2,000 students! From the website: "Educating Young Minds programs serve students who are considered under-represented or at high risk in our society. Educating Young Minds also supports the progressive student who desires advanced academic support. Educating Young Minds also provides counseling, referral to public and social agencies, and information and assistance in securing financial aid and college scholarships." Educate a Young Mind at www.educatingyoungminds.org
Hollywood for Habitat for Humanity
Any college undergraduate recognizes the name Habitat for Humanity from advertisements and info-stations in and around one’s college campus. Each year, thousands of individuals volunteer to assist the organization’s goal of building or rebuilding the homes of families in need. Hollywood for Habitat for Humanity is an entertaining spin on this humanitarian project, brilliantly involving the entertainment industry in its mission. Hitherto, HHH has funded and built over 150 homes for needy families from Los Angeles to South Africa and New York to Armenia, bringing hope and instilling a moral and familial foundation for future prosperity. Actors, agents, and screen-writers are among thousands of individuals involved, including founder Randall Wallace (Braveheart and We Were Soldiers) who launched HHH in 2000 with a Hollywood-style 20 house blitzkrieg! HHH, however, is not a giveaway program. The website states it succinctly: "Homeowners make a down payment and monthly mortgage payments. Families invest hundreds of hours of their own labor – sweat equity. Habitat houses are sold to these families at no profit. They are financed with no-interest loans. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments are used to build more Habitat houses in their community and around the world." To make a donation or volunteer, check out the new website at www.hollywoodforhabitat.com
Global Green
Many informed political and environmental leaders have adumbrated serious challenges facing the human community: global climate change, weapons of mass destruction, and clean, safe drinking water. Global Green USA commenced in 1993 after activist and philanthropist Diane Meyer Simon was invited by Mikhail Gorbachev to join his environmental effort, Green Cross International. It remains the only national, environmental cause in the Los Angeles area. Its informative method targets innovative research, community projects, and education that interacts with millions of people annually, raises billions of dollars for environmental initiatives, and seeks political recognition. Learn more at www.globalgreen.org
AmberWatch
Although the media highlights only a few abductions in the news, kidnapping and molestation occur daily in and around our living quarters. Just last week another breaking story regarding two abducted Missouri boys surfaced in the news. The AmberWatch Foundation, therefore, has formed in order to equip children and their families with identification methods and endangerment scenarios through its "Be Safe!" Educational Program. By the end of 2008, Be Safe! seeks to educate more than 25 million elementary-aged children and their parents on effective strategies of avoiding abductors, molesters, and their whereabouts. This Educational Program has been presented in schools, working in conjunction with local law enforcement officials, and the publishing world as the Be Safe! book has ignited conversation nationwide. Visit the site at www.amberwatchfoundation.org
Design 21
Who says aesthetic pursuits lack any practical value? How can art, literature, poetry, or any creative act for that matter contribute to improved qualities of life? Design 21, working in conjunction with UNESCO, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and Felissimo, explores the relationship between artistic design and society. Convinced that aesthetic exercise should be more than a theoretical act, Design 21 feels "the real beauty lies in its potential to improve the way that we live and interact in our communities and our environment." The Design 21 community identifies social concerns and addresses them by employing artistic/design oriented means. Brilliantly, Design 21 explores artistic methods which contribute positively to socio-political life. For more information see www.design21ds.com
