When you’re as big a star as Beyonce, you can pick and choose your gigs, and that includes what causes you lend your money (and fame) to. 

The star's latest philanthropic engagement is with Goodwill. The charity will collect donations at stops on Beyonce's Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, with proceeds from the sale of the items going towards Goodwill efforts to help unfortunate individuals find jobs. In further collaboration with CharityBuzz.com, ticket packages to the tour will be auctioned, with all proceeds going to Goodwill. 

Earlier this month, Bey partnered with mom Tina Knowles and sister Solange for an initiative called "Miss A Meal," where the family called on others to miss a meal and donate the money to charity. In February, Beyonce joined Salma Hayek Pinault and Frida Giannini to promote Chime For Change, an organization founded by Gucci to promote education, health and justice for girls and women around the world.

In the past, Beyonce has co-founded the Survivor Foundation to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, holding food drives during her 2006 tour. In 2005, her ambassadorship for World Children’s Day led to the release of “Stand Up For Love,” the anthem for the annual event to raise awareness and funds for children’s causes. She has supported 23 charities and foundations in all.Continue reading...

Mistresses and mismanagement rumors are mixing to make what was supposed to be Red Cross China's rebound opportunity a undeniable PR disaster. Empty donation boxes and suggestions that the organization is holding back aid until cameras arrive are frothing up to destroy the Red Cross brand in China, possibly forever.

The emotional damage caused by the recent earthquake that destroyed the town of Ya'an in China's Sichuan Province, killing nearly 200 and injuring thousands, is compounded by the memory of the devastating quake that hit the area in 2008. But unlike for Red Cross organizations elsewhere that thrive on reputations built up from past disaster responses, Red Cross China would rather not revisit the past. 

The Red Cross has been in China since 1904, but after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Red Cross Society of China became a pseudo-governmental aid organization operating more or less on the Party's behalf. During the 1990s, the the grip on the Red Cross was loosened but the charity still operates in tandem with the CPC.Continue reading...

Gilda Radner's Saturday Night Live character, Roseanne Rosannadanna, was famous for saying, "Well, it just goes to show — it's always something." Today, that something was a misleading headline on gossip site Gawker.com, which picked up a slightly misleading story from the Madison State Journal.

That story recounts the rebranding of a Gilda's Club chapter in Madison, Wisconsin, dropping the name of the cancer support organization established by Radner's husband, Gene Wilder, following her death from ovarian cancer in 1989. That chapter will adopt the name of Cancer Support Community, an organization that was founded by the merger of Gilda's Club Worldwide with the Wellness Community in November 2009, which became official in June 2011. That part is accurate; what's inaccurate is that the original story states that all Gilda's Club chapters will be adopting the CSC moniker "and the Gilda name will slowly go away."

The pioneering actress and comic, whose five-year run on SNL from 1975 to 1980 made her the Tina Fey/Sarah Silverman of her time, is an enduring icon to comedy-lovers worldwide. But Radner is also beloved for having inspired Gilda's Club. The original Gilda's Club location, a cozy brownstone with a cheery red door on Houston Street West in New York's Greenwich Village, is still active, as is the organization's mandate to provide free support and services to cancer patients and their supporters.

The CEO of Gilda's Club NYC told us they just celebrated their 17th anniversary and "would never change" their name, while CSC's EVP of external affairs also addressed the confusion and (see our update below) shared the organization's official statement on the matter.Continue reading...

Maybe the most telling thing about the story of the Three Fat Guys wine label is that the trio of Green Bay Packers linemen behind the label did it "with the help of Packers cornerback Charles Woodson, who has his own wine label, 'TwentyFour.'" Packers icon Brett Favre's wine has, of course, long been available in Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay varietals. ($24; "… shipping to WI address only.")

Winemaking is the new vanity undertaking for celebrities unwilling to launch their own "scent." Even thrash metal rock band Slayer has announced it will release its own wine. It is named "Reign In Blood." Yes, the wine party has come to an end. It was fun. Continue reading...

When the NHL playoffs get started, there have traditionally been a number of players who give up on shaving until their team gets knocked out of contention. The hope is that they will emerge a month or so after the postseason begins looking like Grizzly Adams and holding the Stanley Cup aloft.

Three seasons ago, some teams that made it into the playoffs began to get their own fans involved in the beard-growing fun, hosting Beard-a-Thons to raise money for local charities. So far, more than $1 million has been raised without any push from a national promotion. It was only a matter of time for a marketer to see an opportunity.

Now comes word that Just For Men Mustache & Beard has become the national sponsor of the program (though they go out of their way to say that women and nonbeard growers can get involved as well). As a result, the Beard-a-Thon will be integrated into Just For Men’s advertising on NBC during the playoffs, according to the release.

For those who can’t (or don’t want to) grow a beard, there is, of course, an app for that.Continue reading...

Two words — "Homeless Hotspots" — are causing an uproar in Austin, Texas. Billed as “a charitable experiment” by BBH, it's not part of the official South by Southwest Interactive agenda, but it's getting mixed reviews and lots of attention.

Bartle Bogle Hegarty's BBHLabs skunkworks unit partnered with Front Steps Shelter to equip homeless people with 4G MiFi devices to serve as walking hotspots or pay-per-use Wi-Fi purveyors for attendees at the SXSW Interactive conference now taking place in Austin, TX.

The experiment was to see how much SXSWi attendees would donate (suggested donation: $2 per 15 minutes) — assuming attendees didn't oppose the notion of fundraising via hotspots (vs., say, hot meals) for the homeless.Continue reading...

“If you’re going to waste your time playing games on Facebook, you might as well do it and help build a better world while you’re at it,” writes Techcrunch.com about Sojo Studios’ WeTopia, an online game launching today that’s designed to have fun while raising money for children’s charities.

It’s a free-to-play Facebook game where players build villages and help their neighbors – all for ‘joy’ currency, in-game coins for real charitable works. They're convertible to real-world non-profit donations to promote healthcare and education. WeTopia is advancing the collective notion of gaming rewards beyond points, discounts and coupon redemption.

“Each purchase results in a direct donation to a real world cause. Buying an in-game fountain, for instance, leads to the contribution of a donation of clean water,” notes Venturebeat.

WeTopia heralds the next iteration of combining social games with non-profit beneficiaries. It's backed by former Facebook employee, Path CEO Dave Morin, with digital doyenne Esther Dyson on the advisory board and an exclusive partnership with Ellen DeGeneres.Continue reading...

Jon Bon Jovi’s Soul Kitchen is an example of what can happen when “a painter, a student, a local builder and a rockstar work together, that's what we call the power of we making a difference," as the New Jersey born rock star says in a promotional video.

The star rocker and his wife Dorothea opened the restaurant in their hometown of Red Bank, New Jersey, serving gourmet dishes with ingredients in the restaurant's garden. There are no prices listed on the menu, just a suggested $10 donation for a meal. The Bon Jovi “community kitchen” is redefining the issue of hunger as customers leave whatever they choose in envelopes on the table.

For those who can’t pay or prefer to donate their time, volunteers are welcome for every facet it takes to run a restaurant from setting the table to washing the dishes. Volunteer work earns an individual a certificate that can be exchanged for a meal at The Soul Kitchen.Continue reading...