Celebrities Join #GivingTuesday Movement to Inspire Nationwide Day of Giving On November 27

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A diverse group of musicians, actors, athletes, artists and the nation's top creative talents are joining the #GivingTuesday movement to help inspire the first national day dedicated to giving coinciding with the Holiday season. Instead of focusing solely on sales and shopping, these celebrities are supporting some of the country's most innovative charities, volunteer organizations, global campaigns and community groups as they "get out the give" this November 27. With more than 2,000 partner organizations in all 50 states, there are many ways these men and women are building awareness and support for issues ranging from Hurricane Sandy relief to children's education to women's health to aid for veterans...and myriad causes in between. A few examples of some of the top stars who are supporting their favorite charities include:

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121127/NY18456LOGO )

    --  Charlize Theron and the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP)
        are teaming up with the Center for Living Peace to raise funds for
        CTAOP's mission to keep African youth safe from HIV.  Every donation
        made to CTAOP on #GivingTuesday will be matched by the Center for Living
        Peace (up to $10,000).
    --  Grammy Award winning band, Linkin Park, and Music for Relief are
        premiering a new video cut to one of their song to help tell the story
        of energy poverty and are asking their fans to be a part of the
        solution. The band is asking fans to share the video with friends and to
        make a donation as a unique holiday gift to friends and family this
        season to provide clean energy solutions for people who have no access
        to electricity.
    --  Marie Osmond, co-founder of Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, is the
        face of the charity's new holiday fundraising program: GiveMiracles.org.
        Marie will be talking up #GivingTuesday during a number of confirmed
        media interviews promoting the Donny and Marie Christmas Show on Monday,
        November 26. She'll explain how for as little as $10 or as much as $12
        million, #GivingTuesday do-gooders can choose the perfect pediatric gift
        for their local Children's Miracle Network Hospital on GiveMiracles.org.
    --  Steve Nash,  Los Angeles Lakers point guard is urging fans and friends
        of the Steve Nash Foundation, which helps children to access critical
        health and education resources, to support the United Nations
        Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign this #GivingTuesday.
    --  Victoria Justice will announce a GirlRaiser challenge for Girl Up on
        Social Media and via a Huffington Post Impact blog that will run on
        November 21.  This GirlRaiser will have a goal of raising $20,000 for
        Girl Up in order to provide girls abroad with the tools they need to go
        to school, be healthy, stay safe, and become leaders. To further
        incentivize participation, a new single and music video "Girl Up," will
        be released when the goal is met.
    --  Susan Sarandon will be featured by MSN on its Causes page on Nov. 27,
        #GivingTuesday, as part of her support for Heifer International. The Q&A
        with the Academy Award-winning actress delves into her reasons for
        giving to Heifer International, as well as her own gift-giving
        traditions. MSN Causes enables easy ways to give and shares inspiring
        stories about people who have changed the world through their
        generosity.
    --  Penelope Cruz and La Tienda's Campaign For Spain are raising much needed
        funds for the Federation of Spanish Food Banks. The organization is
        asking everyone to be a part of #GivingTuesday and remember those in
        need.
    --  Oxfam America will be enlisting the help of a few key celebrity
        ambassadors to promote #GivingTuesday and Oxfam's gift-giving program,
        Oxfam Unwrapped. Actors Kristin Davis, Djimon Hounsou, and Minnie
        Driver, among others, will be spreading the word about #GivingTuesday by
        sharing the message of "You are what you give."
    --  Entertainment giant WWE, which recently formed an alliance with Nothing
        But Nets to smackdown malaria in Africa, will be tweeting about
        #GivingTuesday across its Twitter channels. WWE's social media platforms
        reach more than 115 million fans and followers worldwide.
    --  Ethan Zohn, winner of CBS's Survivor: Africa and co-host of ABC's
        Everyday Health will be supporting the #GivingTuesday campaign of
        Grassroot Soccer, the organization he helped co-found. Grassroot Soccer
        uses the power of soccer, the world's most popular sport, to educate,
        inspire, and mobilize young people and communities against HIV and AIDS.
        Zohn helped found the organization in 2002 after playing professional
        soccer in Zimbabwe and seeing firsthand the devastating effects of the
        disease. For #GivingTuesday, Zohn will be using the power of social
        media to promote a one-day special donation blitz on behalf of the
        organization.
    --  Kevin Bacon, Ryan Reynolds, Cee Lo Green, Danny DeVito, and other
        celebrities are teaming up to make the Celebrity Bookends famous. A
        random set of bookends are traveling the world to meet famous people and
        do famous things in an attempt to give them enough celebrity status to
        help benefit schoolchildren in Guatemala. Along with the awareness that
        celebrity icons can garner for their cause, these Celebrity Bookends and
        their team will attempt to monetize their someday celebrity status and
        be sold for one million dollars for #GivingTuesday partner Cooperative
        for Education.
    --  Toni Collette partnered with Concern Worldwide U.S. in a campaign to
        make hunger history. The campaign, Concern for Hunger, asks people to
        support Concern's work to treat and prevent malnutrition in the world's
        poorest countries. You can watch Toni Collette's PSA against hunger
        here. Toni Collette has contributed an exclusive blog on the fight
        against hunger and a call to action for #GivingTuesday and the holiday
        season to the Huffington Post. It might also be worth noting that Toni
        Collette is part of the all-star cast of Hitchcock, which is set to
        release on November 23.
    --  Mike Farrell, the actor and longtime human rights activist, is
        supporting Just Detention International's Words of Hope holiday
        campaign, which will launch on #GivingTuesday. Now in its third year,
        Words of Hope invites people to reach out directly to some of the most
        marginalized and forgotten people in our society: survivors of prisoner
        rape. Mike Farrell will himself send a card to a survivor behind bars
        and will lend his name and voice to encourage others to do so as well.
    --  Andres Levin, American/Venezuelan Grammy Winner, composer, producer and
        philanthropist, joins Arcangeles as an Ambassador for our cause
        spreading the word on empowering vulnerable communities, especially
        those living with a disability. Levin, along with his Non Profit 'Music
        Has No Enemies', will usher the entertainment industry toward the
        widespread promotion of philanthropy and the importance of giving to
        communities living in conditions of exclusion.
    --  Award-winning actor of stage and screen Joe Mantegna has been a longtime
        advocate for U.S servicemen and women, veterans and his Italian
        heritage. This is one reason he has supported the good work of the Sons
        of Italy Foundation (SIF) for many years. The SIF raises money for
        cultural preservation programs and veteran's/wounded warrior
        organizations, among other causes. Active year-round lending support to
        causes that are dear to him, Joe will tweet for the Sons of Italy
        Foundation on #GivingTuesday, encouraging charitable giving among his
        many followers.

For a complete list of #GivingTuesday partners, please visit www.givingtuesday.org.

How #GivingTuesday was Born: Seeing an opportunity to channel the generous spirit of the holiday season to inspire action around charitable giving, a group of friends, partners and philanthropy experts, led by the 92nd Street Y, came together to find ways to promote and celebrate the great American tradition of giving. Thought leaders in philanthropy, social media and grassroots organizing joined with 92nd Street Y to explore what is working in modern philanthropy and how to expand these innovations throughout the philanthropic sector. The concept gained steam, and by bringing together a group of founding partners--including the United Nations Foundation, DonorsChoose.org, Mashable, Blackbaud, charity: water, GlobalGiving, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Kiva, Darden Restaurant Group, Groupon, Unilever, the Case Foundation, United Way and VentureThree Capital--a nationwide series of discussions helped inform the #GivingTuesday approach and built the movement. Each week over the Summer and Fall of 2012, new organizations joined the movement and offered creative ways people could embrace #GivingTuesday and collaborate in giving efforts to create more meaningful results.