Archive for Social Responsibility
Social Responsibility from Charlie Sheen Donates to Alabama Tornado Victims
Posted by: | CommentsWith a new year people often try to turn over a new leaf, this is the case for actor Charlie Sheen who recently embraced social responsibility by helping Alabama tornado victims. Many remember that he started off 2011 with his Aristotelian fall from grace. It was his manic interviews; comments about winning, tiger blood and other antics that ultimately lead to being fired from the CBS hit comedy Two and a Half Men and replaced by Ashton Kutcher. The embattled star made headlines and was the punch line of many jokes last year.
Charlie Sheen poses with police officers and National Guard soldiers in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (May 2011 Photo/Alan Blinder)
Things seemed to have shifted for Sheen and he appears to be back on track. Not only has he managed to keep his name off the gossip blogs, but has begun this year a little differently by donating $25,000 to aid with tornado relief in Alabama.
Sheen had visited the area after the April 27 twisters, which took nearly 300 lives, and he promised to help. His grand fundraising suggestions included a relief show and arranging a celebrity baseball game, with the goal being to raise $25,000. Unfortunately, these plans never came to fruition, and many believed he had forgotten about his promise. This was just more fuel to the tabloid fodder that was Sheen’s life in 2011.
However, Sheen turned out to be a man of his word and made the donation as promised. He made this contribution to the Alabama tornado relief fund without fanfare through the aid website he set up. In the end he personally gave $15,000 and the other $10,000 came by way of donations to the site. “He said he wanted to raise $25,000, and he made good on that,” said Bob Maron, one of Sheen‘s managers.
This is a good example of social responsibility and how people can grow and change. Sheen has begun to calm down and act more like a responsible adult rather than the frenzied playboy persona he lived up to last year. One of the best parts about Sheen’s donation was the way that this brought media attention back to the tornado victims. This donation, though it was done discreetly, made headlines. Sheen’s contribution to the victims will hopefully spur other notable figures and everyday people to help. With disaster relief, aid comes directly after an event, but given the twenty-four hour news cycle, stories are often pushed to the backburner and forgotten about. So kudos to Sheen for not only making good on his promise, but for bringing the spotlight back to this needy cause.
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Justin Bieber Continues to Pay it Forward to Kids in Need
Posted by: | CommentsThere are many celebrities that have gotten involved in charity projects over the years, one who continues to do some good is pop star Justin Bieber. The Canadian music sensation lived up to a promise that he made on the Ellen Degeneres show to perform at Whitney Elementary School in Las Vegas. Whitney Elementary is a school for underprivileged children. The promise was made in early December and he performed on December 16, 2011 and the episode aired January 4, 2012 on Ellen (see the segment on youtube below).
Justin Bieber Visits the Ellen Degeneres Show
Bieber did not just perform at the school, no he went a step further and donated one hundred thousand dollars to Whitney Elementary. In addition to the monetary donation, Bieber also gave one hundred thousand dollars in toys to the school. After his performance he bravely answered questioned posed by the six hundred fifty children in attendance. He cheekily answered questions about his weekends with his girlfriend singer/actress Selena Gomez. The advice he gave the kids was “Be nice to each other and treat each other with respect and grow up to be people of character.” This advice must have been given to the teen idol himself, as he is definitely is a person of character.
On why he does what he does the pop star answered “I’m here to bring a smile to these kids’ faces. For me, I grew up and I didn’t have a lot. We went to food banks to get food for me and my grandparents.” It is wonderful to see that he has not forgotten his roots or let his mega success go to his head.
Another donation that Bieber made this past holiday season was the five hundred thousand dollars he gave to the Toronto chapter of the Make a Wish Foundation when he was performing in the city. A popular wish for kids is to meet Justin Bieber, and the singer has granted 35 of those wishes so far.
Justin has become known for his philanthropy as he donated a portion of the proceeds from his Christmas album Under the Mistletoe and had Access Hollywood host Billy Bush donate five thousand dollars to the Stratford Ontario food bank after he asked his twitter followers to follow Billy as well. The singer also landed in the number two spot behind Lady Gaga on dosomething.org’s list of “Top 20 Celebs Gone Good for 2011”.
It is refreshing to see someone so young giving back while enjoying the fruits of their labour. It is apparent that Bieber has become a role model to a generation that society sees as “me” obsessed, hopefully many more young people will giveback as a result of his good work. All it takes is one person paving the way to get people involved whether they run a fundraiser for a charity or simply give time. Every little bit helps and we can all do our part to make the world a better place. Bieber’s star shines so bright that he is able to call attention to any cause through his belibers and the media.
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Planet Forward is an online retailer of ethically-made, earth-friendly products designed for everyday use with a distinctly urban feel. Products include reusable stainless steel bottles, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, waste-free lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, organic fashions and other accessories. SALE 50% OFF ALL PRODUCTS – SHOP NOW !
3 Most Popular Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives for 2011
Posted by: | CommentsContinuing with our ‘best of 2011’ series this week, we have our top 3 most popular Corporate Social Responsibility stories accumulated from our Planet Forward blog readers. From fashion to Justin Bieber to good old fashioned pizza, there are many terrific examples of corporate social responsibility.
Image: H&M Conscious Collection Fall 2011
In 1st place, H&M launched their ‘conscious party collection’ for winter 2011 which featured a wide variety of styles all constructed from sustainable fabrics like recycled polyester, Tencel and organic cotton. The H&M ‘conscious collection’ initially launched in Spring/Summer 2011, but it was the fall collection that had some of my favourite looks (see photo). “It’s not just about organic cotton any more, the possibilities for creating a complete fashion statement with eco smarter materials are huge now. By designing recurring Conscious Collections we have the opportunity to show in a variety of ways what’s possible using more sustainable fabrics,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M Head of design. Sustainable fashion is where it’s at, and hopefully represents the future of the fashion industry.
In 2nd place, was Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber’s many acts of social responsibility. Justin Bieber is a brand now like any corporation and he’s using his fame and tremendous financial success for good. He’s done fundraising for charity: water and donated $100,000 to Whitney Elementary while visiting the Ellen Degeneres show. In November, Bieber launched his ‘Under the Mistletoe’ Christmas album, proceeds from which benefit numerous charities including Pencils of Promise and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
In 3rd place, Pizza Pizza delivered with their slices for smiles fundraiser. During national pizza month (who knew there was one?) in October, Pizza Pizza made a special ‘smile’ pizza and donated a portion of the proceeds from each purchase to support Children’s Miracle Network. The Slices for Smiles Foundation has been helping kids since 2007 and have raised over $700,000 and raised a record $250,000 in 2011. This corporate social responsibility initiative allows customers play a role in the fundraising while indulging in a delicious slice of pizza.
And an honourable mention to massive retailer Walmart Canada for their corporate social responsibility initiative inspiring green students. Through the Green Student Challenge, Walmart Canada asked post-secondary students to submit proposals on how to conduct business in an environmental and sustainable way in an effort to come up with the next big sustainable business idea.
These are just a few of our most popular examples of the many corporate social responsibility initiatives that took place in 2011.
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Planet Forward is an online retailer of ethically-made, earth-friendly products designed for everyday use with a distinctly urban feel. Products include reusable stainless steel bottles, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, waste-free lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, organic fashions and other accessories. SALE 50% OFF ALL PRODUCTS – SHOP NOW !
