Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have given $1 million through their Jolie Pitt Foundation to aid refugees in Pakistan. Saturday is World Refugee Day and it seems that the Jolie-Pitts are doing their best to bring awareness to the plight of displaced people around the world. Angelina recently released a short PSA for the UNHCR, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, for which she has worked for eight years. It was a very moving 30 second spot in which Jolie told us to remember refugees while scenes of war and people in peril were shown in the background.
Angelina Jolie is scheduled to talk to Secretary of State Clinton in the capital today, but Clinton just fractured her elbow late yesterday and I would bet that the meeting will be canceled or rescheduled. She is also slated to be interviewed by Anderson Cooper in a segment to air on CNN tonight, Thursday.
Brangelina really are the gift that keeps on giving.
In accordance with United Nations Refugee Agency, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation has earmarked $1 million to aid refugees in Pakistan, where continued violence in neighboring Afghanistan and the resurgence of the Taliban have driven millions of people in the region from their homes.
Angelina Jolie has visited Pakistan several times as a UN High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassador, but was unable to ply her trade as an actress there in 2006. Because of security concerns the
A Mighty Heart crew had to move the production from Karachi to Pune, India.Just last weekend, a $1 million donation was made by the “Brad Pitt family” to establish an endowment fund for the newly named (in honor of Pitt’s activist mom) Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center at St. John’s hospital in Springfield, Mo.
Meanwhile, Jolie is heading to Washington, D.C., on Thursday, aka World Refugee Day, to talk up the cause with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
[From E! Online]
People will argue over this act of philanthropy as they always do whenever Brad and Angelina’s names are mentioned, but it’s hard to deny that they’re doing good in the world and are bringing our attention to some very serious issues. I look forward to seeing Angelina’s interview with Anderson Cooper tonight, but like her brief PSA I’m afraid it will make me cry. It’s powerful to consider the very tough and desperate circumstances that so many millions in the world face daily, and to me that’s what this is about, not this famous couple.
Here’s a link to a charity Angelina has mentioned in the past, SOS Children’s Villages. You can also help refugees by making a donation to the UNHCR through their website.
Brad and Angelina are shown at the BAFTA Awards on 2/8/09. Credit: WENN.com
too true, CB. How are folks going to turn this into a “bad thing?” Let’s watch……
Nice to see that they’re bringing attention to a cause that is desperate, but not particularly glamorous.
To me, this is what celebrity is good for – making the public pay attention, if only for a moment, to important information they’d otherwise ignore.
Big respect to Angie and Brad, as countries like pakistan don’t get as much aid as other countries like india and sri-lanka.
Things like this are why I respect these 2 so much! Feeling the love for all mankind…
Well done to them, putting their money where their mouths are. They walk the walk and, media hype or no media hype, I really applaud them for the causes they support, visibly, vocally and otherwise. Anyone that decides to see this as self-interested media-whoring has no understanding whatsoever of the difficulties charities face trying to get public attention for their causes. Well done the Brange.
actions speak louder than words.
these two are the real deal.
Geronimo – I know what you’re saying, it’s undeniably great that these charities are getting help, wherever it comes from and from whichever self-serving ‘foundation’ it comes from, it all helps people who otherwise wouldn’t have anything – charity is charity.
But – I’m gonna be the first in a long line of people to say; ‘self-interested media-whoring’ because I hate these two self-interested media-whores and it’s probably the only reason they do it – hence the press release and the song and dance that accompanies every single cent they donate to any charity.
I love that outfit she’s wearing, definitely suits her figure and colouring. Striking but understated and, at the same time, modern yet reserved. Oooooh listen to me!
Good on em for donating some mega bucks to a good cause.
It’s always good to hear people doing good for each other. I applaud their efforts.
LOL @ Best of British – looooove your Trinny and Susannah!
Zoe – Got no interest at all in trying to change anyone’s mind about this! I get where you’re coming from, I hate the hype, at times it’s put me right off the pair of them, but, while their methods at times are questionable, I do believe that their involvement with humanitarian causes is genuine and motivated by a real desire to help. So, in this and other instances where they’ve donated or brought attention to neglected causes, I’m 100% on their side.
Geronimo – wise move, I think these two are so polarising it’s a waste of time even commenting to be honest – we’ll get shouted down regardless of whether we’re positive about them…or otherwise!
All Angie-Jo stories should end in discussions of the MAGIC LOOM in order to bring a modicum of sense to the proceedings.
Angelina Jolie began charity at 24 and was appointed UN ambassador at 25.
BBT even said that one of the main reason they went their separate ways was because she changed and matured drastically after having seen poverty first hand when filming Lara Croft. After that she wasn’t interested anymore in the same BS games, decided not to take life for granted by being self destructive and wanted a child, which he didn’t. Hence she entered the adoption process and as he didn’t want that new role of a mature couple, she left him.
If media whoring was the aim, she would have stayed in the same scandalous route with BBT with bigger mediawhoring impact than having to appoint as a UN ambassador, having vaccines, going to war zones, having briefings with politicians, special forces, having her health emotional and physical in check several times a year on the severe UN policy, not being obliged to go pregnant on a dangerous war zone like Irak, ect.
It seems that since she went the humanitarian route, 10 years ago, even advocated for refugees in Irak BEFORE the second war by Bush and round 9/11, nobody resorted to the mediawhoring card for her humanitarian work, even when she was already in Irak refugee camp around 2000/2001.
It seems that, that petty accustion came right after being linked with Brad evethough she was already doing it for the previous 5 years without anyone screaming : MEDIAWHORING. Go figure !
Zoe – “All Angie-Jo stories should end in discussions of the MAGIC LOOM in order to bring a modicum of sense to the proceedings.”
A love post, a hate post, a magic loom post, repeat as necessary until the magic loom posts dominate! 😆
Thats one sweet tax deduction!
I wish them all the best!
Good thing they did!
regards,
Monica
How many celebrities (aka actors reality or otherwise) do you know give that millions to charity? Do you know that when charities get big donations like that, they ALWAYS publicize it (unless the giver expressively forbids it which is rare)? I know I would! As a charity I would totally use the Brad&Angie connection to promote my charity!
Who cares WHY they’re doing it, as long as they are doing it. I’d start looking down on the other celebrities who aren’t giving millions to charities.
I hate her with everything I got, LOL. But atleast she gives money. No one needs her standing around and observing in the poor countries, waiting for a photo op. The people have to stay there when she leaves and is jetted home. Just give them your money an stfd.
Brads new facial hair is ugly.
Lots of people give Anonymously.
LOL @ Geronimo – if only all problems could be solved by the power of the Magic Loom.
I wish that that the nay sayers would just cough up the same amount and at least do something to make thier lives worth living besides posting hate on the web for people who actually do something for other people lol…hate on losers lol
They are finally giving some of the milliones they hoarded off their children’s spread.
I think there are still several milliones they promised to be used for charity of Pax, the twins and Shiloh’s photos.
But that’s a start.
I am sure some UN and local people will get some of that money as there’s always corruption in this cases, but that’s better than subsidizing notebooks for Iraqi children.
I love the fact that these two think about others and not just themselves and dressing up their kids. I applaud their efforts.
They will have to give millions more before they give all the money to charity that the baby picture made for them. I guess they are doling out the money in million dollar amounts to charity so they can keep their name’s in the news longer.
awwww, a down payment for a new baby! How sweet!!
For Angelina, that’s 10 years of caring and still giving! Good for you! LOVE HER!
Isn’t anyone catching on??? Whenever they get bad press they always start giving money. Giving a million is like the average person giving a hundred bucks.. The only difference is when we do it most of us don’t go telling everyone. Talk about being transparent.
@judy: I just have to say something because it troubles me tremendously when someone says that.
Someone doesn’t have to have millions to give away to criticize these two famewhoring every time they give any money to a charity.
People on this site probably do have quite fulfilling lives and post here or read this as part of the fluff part of their day or week. There is nothing wrong with reading a gossip site for fun. It doesn’t mean that person “doesn’t have a life” or “isn’t doing anything valuable” with their life.
People do what they can. I don’t have millions; I actually can’t even budget giving any money to charity so what do I do? I volunteer places. Any charity is good charity; you don’t have to give millions of dollars to anyone to do good things in this world.
And people are criticizing the fame whoring, not the actual giving of money. If you ask me (and you didn’t but had you I would have told you that), it’s much more noble to give quietly rather than bask in the “look how great they are for giving!” fame.
No one is criticizing them for giving money, but let’s put this in perspective. A million dollars to them is like a $20 dollar bill to most people. Sure it was nice, but it’s not like it was a sacrifice, or caused them any hardship.
It was nice. Period.
Barb and Hash Browns – Word. Way to put the ‘y’all jus jellus h8rs’ brigade in their place.
Doing it quietly without fuss is missing the point by a mile:
Publicity is oxygen, the substance that keeps charities alive and functioning and able to effectively do the job they set out to do. Publicity like this is golddust, absolutely invaluable. It brings causes to public attention, brings more traffic to their websites, increases interest and donations and, most importantly, validates the benefitting charity in the public mind as a worthwhle and professionally-run org. Donations are not made lightly, a great deal of scrutiny goes into the decision so it’s a major public boost for the recipients to have their work publicly endorsed and recognised.
I have worked with a number of charities on the fundraising side and have countless examples of where one big name publicly donating has changed the perception of the cause, raised the profile of the charity and had a direct (in one case, crucial – it saved it from closure) impact on its income.
Call it fame-whoring, call it attention-seeking, call it whatever but, at the end of the day, it’s highly beneficial and productive fame-whoring and I bet there are countless charities out there now looking at this and wishing the J-Ps (and other big names) would come and fame-whore for them.
PS. Yes I do know I’m wasting my time but on this one, regardless of personal opinion about them, criticism is really misguided. Magic Loom.
unmod me please
Magic Loom indeed, gero 🙂
“magic loom”.
hahahahahahahaha! awesome.
shahzad barkat hi there iam living in pakistan and sorry to say that we have not seen any donations here in pakistan and hope it will soon some donations in this christmas to poor childs and widows soon