Brad Pitt and his brother Doug just contributed $600,000 to Drury University in Missouri. The money goes towards The O’Reilly Family Event Center, which is currently being built on campus, but it’s not just some athletic giveaway. The money is being specifically designated towards making the center meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design (LEED) gold standards. The certification of “gold” is the second-highest standard a building can meet. In exchange for their donation, Brad and Doug Pitt asked the court in the center be named for their father, William A. Pitt. According to the Spingfield News-Leader, “The arena will be among the first in the nation to meet the gold standard.” They’re trying to complete the arena before Pittsburgh’s 2010 completion of the Consol Energy Arena, future home of the NHL’s Penguins.
Edsel Matthews said he was a little relieved after the ceremonial groundbreaking for the O’Reilly Family Event Center on Friday.
The vice president of athletics affairs at Drury University has spent the past 18 months raising enough funds to move forward with the construction.
“It’s exhilaration and relief at the same time,” Matthews said. “We’re not through. We’ve got a lot more to do, but we’re thrilled to move to this point.”
The $13.5 million, 3,100-seat arena will be the home of the Drury men’s and women’s basketball teams starting in the 2010-11 season. Bulldozers already had begun clearing the land a few weeks before Friday’s ceremonies.
Although Matthews said he still needs to raise about $500,000 to fund fixtures and furnishings, the project got another large donation late last month.
The Pitt family of Springfield, led by Brad, Doug and Julie, donated $600,000 in exchange for the court being named the William A. Pitt Court in honor of their father.
The name of the court will be emblazoned on the outside of the building. The donation will go toward upgrading the building’s environmental friendliness.
Now, the O’Reilly Family Event Center will be built to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design (LEED) gold standards. Gold certification is the second-highest standard a building can meet.
“Brad’s hobby is architecture, and his push in the ‘Make It Right’ campaign has been working at the highest levels of LEED certifications they can,” Doug Pitt said. “So to be involved in any type of building project, that’s going to be at the forefront of any conversation right away.”
“It was something that was important to him, and it was something that was important to the O’Reilly family and something that was important to Drury.”
The “Make It Right” project is a campaign run by Brad Pitt to rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans with affordable, environmentally friendly houses.
The arena will be among the first in the nation to meet the gold standard. Consol Energy Arena in Pittsburgh, future home of the NHL’s Penguins and scheduled to open in 2010, is also on pace for gold certification.
“Doing a gold event center is a major statement,” Drury president Todd Parnell said.
“With Drury having partners that we have, the O’Reilly family, the Pitt family, CoxHealth and the Mabee Foundation, it speaks to the quality of the project. It’s a great day.”
The ceremony had barely wrapped up before the bulldozers started working again.
[From The Springfield News-Leader]
It’s a cool thing to do, a really nice way for Brad and Doug to honor their dad, and to make one of those huge stadiums more environmentally-friendly is a great idea. In any case, it’s better than nothing. Brad and Doug have worked together on a few charitable endeavors over the past few years. Late last year, Brad and Angelina (through The Jolie-Pitt Foundation) matched funds with local Missouri businesses to support a children’s charity providing clothes, food and school supplies to children living in poverty.
My first thought when I read this was “Oh, Brad’s promoting a movie.” I totally support Brad and Angelina’s charitable endeavors, but sometimes I think they should try to separate the timing of their charity activities with their promotional film duties. It may seem to them like they’re cross-promoting a certain cause while promoting a film, but another way to spin it is that they’re just giving money at certain times when they’ve got something to promote, and they want to look really great and magnanimous.
Brad Pitt is shown out in NY on 5/16/09. Credit: WENN.com
That’s awesome, whether he has a movie coming out or not (does he? I honestly don’t know).
Oh and his brother doesn’t have a movie coming out, LOL.
Any donations I’ve heard about from the JP fund were made public by the recipients, not the JPs. Doctors without Borders, that children’s action fund, etc. were the ones who announced the donations, yet Jolie and Pitt are always accused of using their humanitarian causes to promote their careers. I think it’s the opposite, they use their careers to promote their humanitarian causes.
I don’t think Pitt had any say in timing there. it’s not his personal project after all.
And here is what Angie is doing:
Movie star and activist Angelina Jolie has attended the International Criminal Court trial of a Congolese warlord charged with using child soldiers.
and pics:
http://jjb.yuku.com/topic/349687?page=3621
Angie is in the Netherlands
Angelina Jolie watches child soldiers trial 22 minutes ago
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Movie star and activist Angelina Jolie has attended the International Criminal Court trial of a Congolese warlord charged with using child soldiers.
Jolie said in a statement released by the court Tuesday the case against Thomas Lubanga is a “landmark trial for children” and paid tribute to the former child soldiers who travel to the court’s seat in The Hague to testify.
Lubanga, founder and former leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots political movement and its armed wing, has pleaded innocent to charges of recruiting and using child soldiers in tribal conflicts in 2002-2003.
His is the first international trial to focus solely on child soldiers.
The United Nations estimates up to to 250,000 child soldiers still fight in more than a dozen countries.
This is why her fans love and support she and Brad. This is why we defend them when they don’t need defending. Critize them all you want. She is an amazing woman in partnership with an amazing man. They walk the talk. They do.
I would not be surprised if the reason for no pics of Brad is because he is taking care of the kids. Angie will join him in France. OK..No one has a handle on this couple and what is going on with them at all. Yeah inside sources my ass..
Kap, ITAWU
Right on cue, Brangelina PR 101 for movie coming out…below is my check list…
Make charitable donation and ensure that you get plenty of press – check
Make sure Angelina does some sort of PR on helping the children of the world or visit a refugee camp
Walk the red carpet and look adoring into one another’s eyes
Magazine and TV Interviews
Pictures of the kids, especially the twins, they haven’t been seen in a while. The pictures will appear with the magazine articles and then there will be the “random” shots – after all, we now have to pimp the kids to get movie interest.
So far, #1 is complete – let’s sit back and watch the others to materialize.
Julie their sister also made a doantion
Thanks to Jodie’s post – check point #2 with Angie today!!! PR machine is right on schedule.
it scares me how the brangeloonies seem to know both Brad and Angelina’s whereabouts EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY.
and how they know when a nanny was hired, when a publicist was fired, when Brad bought his latest motorbike and what the kids favorite toys are.
seriously, you people need to get lives.
Well, if this is timed to promote Inglourious Basterds, then they are two months ahead — since right now IB will only be shown at Cannes, and will not be seen in the theaters until August. So their PR 101 goofed? Or maybe it’s just that you haters cannot just think that maybe it is the recipients who are releasing the information about the donation so that OTHERS may pitch in too.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Angelina Jolie sat in a courtside booth Tuesday at the International Criminal Court and watched the trial of a Congolese warlord charged with using child soldiers.
In a statement released by the court, Jolie, a mother of six, said the case against Thomas Lubanga is a “landmark trial for children” and paid tribute to the former child soldiers who travel to the court’s seat in The Hague to testify.
“After watching the proceedings from the viewing booth, I stood up and found Thomas Lubanga Dyilo looking at me,” Jolie said. “I imagined how difficult it must be for all the brave young children who have come to testify against him.”
**************************************
Narcissist much? That’s right Angie Jo, he was looking right at you! Get over yourself. What a narcissistic twat.
@linda:
If she’s in the Hague, I’m sure she’ll fly herself on down to Cannes to fufill wish #3…and voila! The “happy” couple will be together and all will be right with the world.
LOL! Angie and Brad arrived in Cannes together this evening, and that deafening noise you just heard was the sound of a thousand haters’ heads exploding.
On top of Aniston’s movie tanking at the box office, you guys must be in agony.
” mother of six,”
Does she actually mother them?
“is a “landmark trial for children””
There have been a lot of trials involving children, does she not remember Rwanda? As for the donation, I am sure he could have easily given more, or paid to have the place refurbished or a new wing built.
These dips tell us to give more of OUR money to charity, surely those who have as much as they do can give more.
Jeez, people, stick to the point. Why get your panties in a bunch over people you don’t even know? Brad Pitt, his brother and his sister spend some coin and bought their dad a gift. It was a nice thing to do. The end.
Sakota, so what have you given to anything lately? Oh, and Morgs, at least AJ has a life.
I think that it is wrong of everyone to chastise them for donating money around the time that they have a movie coming out. Of course they are trying to help with the promotion of their movie but so what…? lol they are in the acting business to make money, and if they choose to donate money to a good cause, or help underprivileged kids out as a way to draw publicity for themselves and their movies why would that make them bad people? Nice article, but I think it is somewhat silly to try to cast anyone who does as much charity work as these two in a negative light.