Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette and Sheryl Crow attended a party last night in Los Angeles to support a charity event called “Stamp Out Violence Against Women and girls of the Congo”. Congolese human rights has become a larger cause celeb as of late, with Ben Affleck making multiple trips in-country and writing essays of support on behalf of Congolese refugees. Last night’s party was sponsored by OmniPeace and Art of Humanity, and it was all for the launching of one $78 t-shirt. Twenty-five percent of the profits (the profits, not the proceeds) will go towards OmniPeace’s Congolese community centers for women.
Three great friends stepped out Thursday night for a good cause. Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette and Sheryl Crow lent their support to pal and OmniPeace founder Mary Fanaro and her night to “Stamp Out Violence Against Women and Girls of the Congo.”
“I am extremely lucky,” Aniston tells PEOPLE. “But these women and girls need help – it makes you think.”
Continues Cox Arquette, “We can do something about this. I want to bring awareness to this.”
“I know I have a responsibility,” adds Crow of son Wyatt. “As a mom, the biggest thrill for me, but most humbling role is raising my kid as a humanitarian. I want him to grow up feeling he can do something for people less fortunate.”
The trio of hosts – sporting T-shirts created for the Art of Humanity Foundation and OmniPeace and debuted at the event – mingled and laughed throughout the intimate dinner party, held at STK in L.A. and sponsored by Kitson.
“I couldn’t imagine a better group of three musketeers to help me tonight,” gushed Fanaro of her good pals.
A pregnant Nicole Richie, Marisa Tomei, Demi Moore, James Marsden, David Arquette and Kelly Lynch all showed their support at the event as well.
“I’m all about making people aware and showing them what the problem is. It’s impossible to turn your back on something like this,” says Richie. “It’s really hard to complain about anything when you hear the stories of these women and children and their torture.”
OmniPeace will donate 25 percent of the profits from the sale of the T-shirts to UNICEF & V-Day Foundation to build the City of Joy, a rehabilitation center and safe community for Congolese women girls. Tees are available on www.shopkitson.com for $78.
[From People]
I did a little research on the organizations sponsoring the event, and found that Art of Humanity is a charity that works almost exclusively with Central and South American poverty issues, like housing and education for Honduran families, and aiding recent immigrants to the United States. There is no mention of any Congolese issues on Art of Humanity’s site, but what might have happened is that one of the charity’s supporting artists simply designed the shirt being sold on behalf of OmniPeace, and their Congolese community support centers.
Courtney and Jen are shown outside a Fleetwood Mac concert on 5/28/09. Credit: WENN.com
If it involves partying and booze count them in. I don’t understand these HW drug addicts. You always have to get something out of it for them to attend.
Jennifer Aniston needs to sit down and STFU. She’s once again stalking Angelina Jolie. When Brad Pitt first approached Aniston about getting involved in African relief and charity efforts she couldn’t be bothered to give the cause the time of day. Now here we are nearly 5 years later and suddenly she’s concerned about these women and children she couldn’t be bothered to learn about 5 years ago? She is as phony as they come. Now she’s latching on to a project that Courteney and David Arquette has been involved with for 3 or 4 years. She’s forever butting into their lives and how David puts up with this leech of a woman I’ll never know. Plus, this is the first time since Pitt got involved with Jolie that we’ve seen Aniston “borrowing” from Jolie – from her red carpet style to her charity work. Next thing we know this loser will be adopting 3 kids and pregnant with twin. Let’s hope not because the last thing this world needs is Jennifer Aniston making a bunch of kids as insecure and neurotic as SHE is.
^^^
haha the founder of OmniPeace ‘Mary Fanaro’ has been friends with jen,courtney and sherly for years , she is in their friends set…..there is a video of mary and courtney on ‘ Access hollywood’ talking about how they have all know each other for 20 years and mary said when she first found out she had cancer courtney cox was the first person she called… courtney that was the one that went with her to the appointment she went to holding her hands;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuqCpqcjPIY
stop making everything jennifer aniston related into a brad and angie thing.
you seem too invested in the so called triangle and all the bullshits that comes with it. Lmao at the stealing/copying style comment you made, oh my God they both wore black ‘one of them must be copying the other’ haha are you seriously for real(shakes head)
Thank you Diddy!!!
Donating 25% of the profits sounds pretty paltry to me. They couldn’t do better than that?
Since Jennifer is an actress she does carity works, mostly for cancer foundations, but noooooooooo, everyone is always linking her to Angie. Forget about it people. Get a life!
Fiona I agree, the Brangaloonies always bitch if someone goes on an AJ post and comments negative, but they can constantly do the same thing on a Jennifer Post…pot meet kettle OH2
Listen, it beats actually going to the Congo. I think it’s great that celebrities use their fame to promote just causes, and I don’t call them fame whores for doing it either. So they get drunk and party, but at least the money (or 25% of it) goes to charity and they get a nice tax deduction and good PR, so everybody wins.
Just for JA attending an event people come out to talk trash. Get a life people.
@ give me a break: I doubt they went there for the booze, they can afford to pay for their own at a club if they want, or have it delivered to their houses by the truckload. If these three hadn’t attended this event you can bet it wouldn’t be mentioned here on this site, on People.com, or anywhere else. Their presence helps bring attention to the cause.
25% of the profits? How about skip the party & the costs & donate 100% of the proceeds? Oh right, they’re bringing about awareness… please.
25% of the proceeds is actually fantastic. Normally it’s like 10-15% (if that much). Yes, it would be nice for more of the proceeds to go to the cause, but hey, it won’t.
And can we please just go 1 week without a war between the brangaloonies and annistonians? Just 1 measly week, it’s all i’m asking, and I’m sure i’m not the only one here. =)
Can you Brangeloonies please just leave it? She went to an event for her friend’s charity cause and you STILL find something to bitch about, including you, Kaiser.
Sometimes the people who do the charity just can’t afford to give 100% of whatever they make to the charity for various reasons. That they are giving ANY money to charity is a good thing.
Kindly just let the charity work go un-criticized please.
Actually, 75% for administrative fees is very high. 25% going to the actual charity is very low, it’s usually around 60-70% with 30-40% for administrative costs, so something is wrong here, or just not being managed as efficiently as it could. If we are to be termed brangeloonies or brangelunatics I don’t think calling the other camp anistonians is acceptable. They should have an equally insulting title just to be fair. How about Jenhens, or Anistoners?
Oh Please! and the rest of the Aniston haters out there, Jennifer Aniston has supported the following charities throughout the years:
Clothes Off Our Back
EB Medical Research Foundation
Friends of El Faro
GLAAD
Habitat For Humanity
Lili Claire Foundation
Luke Neuhedel Foundation
Project A.L.S.
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
US Campaign for Burma
Just because she doesn’t require a press release like Angelina and Brad each and every time, doesn’t mean she hasn’t been involved. Many celebrities do many good works around the world and never make press anouncements about it. But most celebrities aren’t trying for sainthood.
(and people wonder why Brangelina gets bashed by other people!!).
Sometimes coming on this site is like teaching first graders – you people have zero knowledge of certain basic facts. So let me school ya – Fanaro may have been friends with Aniston and Cox for a long time, but it’s also true that ANISTON HAS NOT BEEN INVOLVED IN CO-HOSTING THE OMNIPEACE PROJECT UNTIL NOW. Last year she and her hired date, Johnny Pee Good, attended the dinner and made sure to get a photo-op with Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, who is good friends with Angelina. We’ve all the pix with Aniston’s smirky little “I’m busting in on Jolie’s territory!” smile.
Fanaro started OmniPeacer in late 2005. She was present in the fall of 2004 when Brad Pitt invited Bono to his house to speak to a bunch of his and Aniston’s friends about Africa, Bono’s new One organization and the work Bono was doing for help erase world poverty.
Brad signed on immediately and went to Africa in November 2004. Aniston, declined, and her gaggle of girlfriends could not be bothered with the whole thing either because they knew Jolie had been one of the main influences in Brad’s growing interest in Africa – particularly Darfur, Congo, Ethiopia and South Africa.
Fanaro admits to getting the idea to start OmniPeace when she was watching Live8 in the summer of 2005 – an event which Jolie and Pitt BOTH participated in. Cox and Arquette have helped with the fundraisers since Fanaro started the charity. Aniston, however, could not be bothered because of the close ties this program has to Jolie’s own work in Africa. Now all of a sudden she’s interested in helping the same women and children she was annoyed at Brad for taking an interest in? Please. She’s doing it for the publicity and as some strange self-serving attempt to prove she’s as charitable as Jolie. Jolie regularly visits war-torn areas. Aniston does St. Jude’s commercials twice a year and in-between can’t be bothered to even set foot in St. Jude Hospital to hold the hands of sick children. She’s a fake who’s piggy-backing on everyone else’s hardwork in an effort to prove she’s as multi-dimension as the woman the world blames for the breakup of her marriage. It’s damned near 5 years later and everything in Aniston’s life is STILL plotted on the basis of “showing” the world how over Brad Pitt she is. Too bad each successive attempt just makes her look more desperate than the previous one.
“Brad signed on immediately and went to Africa in November 2004. Aniston, declined, and her gaggle of girlfriends could not be bothered with the whole thing either because they knew Jolie had been one of the main influences in Brad’s growing interest in Africa – particularly Darfur, Congo, Ethiopia and South Africa.”
Oh Please! – really – you know for a fact that Jennifer wasn’t interested in going in November of 2004 – I mean you have it on good authority that she didn’t have prior filming commitments or anything else like that and she just flat out REFUSED to get involved in this charity.
Can someone say delusional????
The reason I bring this up – I work in Chicago and sometimes filming can be a big pain in the butt, especially when they pick Union Station as a film location…you might want to investigate who was filming in Chicago and the movie that had scenes from Union Station and the timing of all this…kind of blows your conspiracy theory out of the water.
“Oh Please,” why are you so obsessed with these people and so paranoid about Jennifer Aniston?
“You people have zero knowledge of certain basic facts.”
These are not just basic facts, these are in-depth details about the activities of BP/AJ and other celebs who I do not care enough about to do all this research on and form these conspiracy theories about.
You should put your researching skills into something that actually matters.
Oh Please = Angelina Jolie??
Some of these lame Aniston hags think they personally know Aniston. Ho was probably there for the liquor.
Aniston and Crow probably are lovers.
Actually there are reports stating Jen was with Brad on the visit to Ethiopia in 2004:
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-102220553.html
Regardless, no one can say for sure who is the most philanthropic. Many celebrities are private about their donations and choose a select group of charitable projects to attach their name to. Others have their face attached to many projects, but in reality might not be that involved either financially or otherwise. Unless you have seen the tax returns of someone, you can’t be sure that the public perception is the reality. Many stars have organizations set up in their name for example which actually act more as a tax shelter than to serve charities.
Every thing about JA is fake. She is a big bore. I believe Sheryl really is trying to make a difference but JA is leaching onto Sheryle’s back for attention like she does every one else.
There is nothing genuine about JA. That’s why she employs a big Pr firm. All they do is stage phony acts for this thing. JA is about herself only.
@Oh Please: you make charity sound like a contest and precisely the way you talk makes it sound like everyone especially Angelina Jolie is doing it for publicity. Now anything humanitarian wise is only okay if Angelina does it? Sounds like it’s all about fulfilling an image to be the best to me. Leave it to a brangelaniston thread to bring out the most irrational and paranoid theories.
We all know that Jennifer Aniston is not really big on Charities! This is just a photo-opportunity & a show of support to her friend Ben Affleck who has been heavily involved in documenting his travels to the Congo. Ben got involved in Afrcan work through his buddy Matt Damon. Matt got involved because of buddies George Clooney & Brad Pitt. George got involved by his BMF Brad & with everything these days all roads lead back to Angelina Jolie. Brad got profusely involved in Charity work through his wife Angelina Jolie & her foreign adoptions! She was one of many White Celebrities a few years back to get involved in African Projects, Mia Farrow too, when it wasn’t so cool!
ALL celebrities have PR firms. Yes, ALL! Even those who claim they don’t.
Aniston is on record as saying she “doesn’t do charities”. So the skepticism is understandable.
This may be one more way she is coat-tailing the Cox/Arquettes. In any case, it’s not doing anyone any harm.
She is the tag along friend even in those humanitarain obligations. Otherwise she wouldn’t be constantly in Cox’s humanitarian stuffs without playing a more active role.
She has never initiated one herself. She is there for supporting her friend more than for the cause itself.
just another shallow attempt to portray one “celebrity self” as giving, charitable, and oh so perfectly beautiful while do it! Upchuck……
Really, she has said she doesn’t do charities? Where? Provide me a link please.
You’re right. What a b!tch. She went to a charity event. What a selfish c**t. She was only there for the booze and she’s a dirty lesbian. What a wh0re. Go back to your chicken salads you dirty tw^t! Didn’t you know Angelina Jolie has dibs on any charity event? She’s the one that coined the term ‘charity’. How dare any shallow blonde skank step on her territory.
Cheesus Christus. You people sound effing ridiculous.
Mods:
Sorry for the swearing, but this is what this argument has turned into. What a sad commentary on our times. Its CHARITY!!! Since when is doing/attending something charitable cause for this much hate? Sorry she isn’t AJ, but seriously? I cannot believe the way people are tearing this woman down. Pretty sad really.
Who are you to decide who can and cannot do charity? :rolleyes:
Really, who ARE you people? You write as if you have the absolute truth about Jennifer-do you KNOW her? These three women showed up to support a charity and get slammed for it? Are you kidding me? How much charity work do YOU do?
And “Oh Please”-shut the hell up!!!
me: do you know her? you read tabloid articles like the rest of the posters then post your opinions. How is it that you can tell some one to shut up?
I agree with the other poster that said Jen is “shallow” I was thinking the same thing. From reading the same articles you read she seems to care too much about her hair to me. She seems to be all about primping with beauty treatments all day long than care about other people’s misfortune. She seems to be all about the phony image of her looks. Then she come out and pose for pictures like she has done something. To me she is a phony to.
The haters on here are ridiculous..Jen has several favorite charities..one is St Judes Childrens Hospital..Just because she doesn’t get a camera crew and fly to Africa and pose for pics with the poor people over there, and pretend to care and come back home to her castle, doesn’t mean she isn’t a giving person..most of the haters are Brangaloonies, they should all go to JJ and worship at Angelinas alter.
@someone – lol true, only brangaloonies get all up in a furor if anyone other than their goddess gets any publicity for a charitable act. Angie’s already got the man and the kids, why are they so worried about what Jennifer does with her time? All that she ever did was get publicly cheated on, now she has to be careful about everything she does because it may be misconstrued as trying to one up the sole GODs of public humanitarian acts.
The Anistonteens should take a chill pill, grow a spine and stop the hypocrisy.
How come they are always the first ones to whine towards other bloggers when an opinion is not shared by them, judging people on their legitimate personal opnion while asking them to STFU and leave ? Who appoint them as the prosecutor in here ?
They can dish out but can’t take it like big girls do and act like they are more in their rights in here than the rest of us.
This is a gossip blog, not a fansite, we are gossiping based on assumptions since none of us holds the ultimate truth.
Get over it already and stop whining like the whining queen Aniston herself.
I love the name Anistoners because their either drunk or high all the time any way.
Just because she wasn’t interested in charity work 5 years ago doesn’t mean she hasn’t changed or grown and now is more interested. Can we give her a little bit of the benefit of the doubt? I don’t know anyone who is exactly the same as they were 5 years ago. I’ve only seen part of one of her movies (which sucked) and never watched ‘Friends’, so I have no vested interest in defending her, just wondering about all the vitriol being expressed.
@infantile behavior: Um, whining? More like calling people out on their nonsense.
Attacking someone for doing charity work, regardless of what it is, is more infantile than defending said person for doing charity work. She could have given a homeless person an apple and someone would have had something negative to say about it.
remember me NOT to date Brad… I don’t want that the smallest thing like going to the bathroom people start saying that I did it because of him and Angie.
Just let it go.. is not the first tima a couple splits and one of them remarried… Brad and Angie are happy w/ their 1.342.546.235 kids (wish they addopted me!) and charity works and Jennifer looks way happier than the ‘poor little thing’ people think she is..
Rachel is a moron. Jolie did not start the Africa awareness campaign – work in Africa started prior to Jolie’s mother’s birth. There has always been a group of individuals (including actors and actresses) who are dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the people in various countries in Africa due to war, famine, medical issues re: AIDS, malaria. Rachel no doubt believes that Jolie was the first woman to give birth as detailed in blogs, tabloids and magazines.
Why would JA say she “doesn’t do charities,” when she has supported a number of them? That makes no sense.
jen is great.. stop ranting her u jealous freaks
Wow! I hope they didn’t break a nail!!!!
wow carmen- all aniston fans are either drunk or high? i dont drink or do drugs, and i happen to be a fan of both aj and ja, so would that make me a “homewrecking high- on”??