Our History - Institute for Student Achievement



Advisory Lesson Plan

Community Service

“Celebrities who give Back”

10 Minutes

Journal & Share Out

Read the following list of names to students and ask them to write down the first thing that comes to mind when they hear their names.

Oprah Winfrey

U2

Denis Leary

Elton John

Brad Pitt

George Clooney

Angelina Jolie

Once you have read through the entire list, show it to the group and have them share out their responses. Let them know afterward that all of these people are heavily involved with charity organizations around the world. Ask students whether they know what types of organizations these people are involved with.

15 Minutes

Article Pair Reading

Split students up into pairs and give them one of the articles to read together. (Not all of the celebrities are represented in the articles.) After they finish reading the article, have them fill out the Celebrities who Give Back handout.

10 Minutes

Pair Share Out

Each pair will present their article to the group. (OR you could have pairs switch articles and complete a second handout… but presenting is more fun!)

5 Minutes

Debrief

Ask students whether their opinions of these people have changed after reading the articles.

Oprah Winfrey

Our History

In a 1997 episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, Oprah invited viewers to join her in using their lives to improve the lives of others. What began as a campaign to encourage viewers to collect spare change evolved into the charity known as Oprah’s Angel Network.

Oprah Winfrey launches the Angel Network.

© 1997 Harpo Productions

Through generous support from our donors, the Angel Network has been able to award funds to hundreds of organizations throughout the United States and in more than 30 countries around the world, helping numerous individuals by improving access to education, protecting basic rights and so much more.

Our Accomplishments

Here are a few examples of the work accomplished by the Angel Network:

• With Free The Children, Oprah’s Angel Network built more than 55 schools in 12 countries, providing education for thousands of children in rural areas throughout the world. Read about two schools that were built in rural China.

• In 2005, Oprah’s Angel Network provided more than $1 million worth of school supplies, including school uniforms and shoes, to 18,000 impoverished South African children.

• As part of the Hurricane Katrina and Rita recovery efforts, the Network helped more than 1,000 families get back into their homes and helped build or restore more than 400 homes in eight communities across Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Learn more about the Angel Network’s Gulf Coast rebuilding efforts.

• Oprah’s Angel Network built the Seven Fountains Primary School in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Opened in 2007, the school serves more than 1,000 boys and girls and serves as a model for teaching and learning throughout Africa. Read more about Seven Fountains.

• O Ambassadors, a joint project of Oprah’s Angel Network and Free The Children, inspired young people in the United States and Canada to become responsible global citizens.

• Through Oprah’s Book Club Awards, Oprah’s Angel Network provided books for under-resourced children in regions where a book club selection is set. For example, book club awards were distributed in Beijing, China for “The Good Earth” by Pearl S. Buck and in St. Petersburg, Russia for “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy.

• Inspired by “O, The Oprah Magazine’s” “Rescuing the World’s Girls” and “Live Your Best Life Tour” events, the Angel Network gave grants to organizations that provide life-changing assistance for women and girls.

Oprah’s Angel Network introduced the Use Your Life Award on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2000. From 2000 through 2003, more than 50 organizations that were making a difference in the lives of others received awards.

U2

Bono has become as well-known for fighting global poverty as he is for fronting the legendary rock band U2. In 2005, Bono, along with Bill and Melinda Gates, was named one of TIME magazine's People of the Year. Together, the three were recognized for their extensive work to reduce global poverty. Visit U2's website to learn about some of the causes and charities Bono supports.

The music of U2 has always been about heart and mind, body and soul. Down the years the band have succesfully thrown a spotlight on the work of key campaigning groups who are trying to make the world a better place.

From Amnesty International and Greenpeace through to DATA, ONE, (Product (RED) and the Chernobyl Childrens Project, U2 have used benefit concerts, songwriting, public campaigning, special visits and fund-raising projects to promote a range of charities and activist communities worldwide.

'In Melbourne for World AIDS Day, a big day across the world.'

From Sydney Opera House to the London Eye,  from Cape Town’s Table Mountain to Niagara Falls scores of cities around the world have marked World AIDS Day by turning Red.

And at the show in Melbourne tonight, Bono paid special tribute.

'It's very special to be here in Melbourne for World AIDS Day - its a big day for us and big day across the world.

'I want to thank all the fans in the red zones who are paying for medications for people who need them. We have 5 million people on life saving drugs but there's still 10 million people who are still denied access to anti retrovirals....'

Find out more about World AIDS Day, (RED) and the goal that by 2015  virtually no child in the world is born with HIV.

MUSIC RISING

'My visits to New Orleans gave me a firsthand look at the devastation which tragically destroyed the lives of thousands. The area's rich and spirited culture must continue to be restored. Providing musical instruments through Music Rising will not only help the professional musicians but all the churches and schools in need... Music Rising is dedicated to helping (people) regain a foothold on their future but will also ensure that one of the Gulf Coast's greatest assets, its music, will rise again.' The Edge.

Music Rising

Music Rising was launched to rescue the musical culture of the Central Gulf region of the United States from the destruction caused by the catastrophic hurricanes of the summer of 2005 by replacing musical instruments lost or destroyed in the deluge.

It was created in November of 2005 by The Edge, Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz with inaugural partners Gibson Musical Instruments, Guitar Center Music Foundation, MusiCares and Musicians Friend. Through contributions of these and others, Music Rising provided replacement instruments to 2,700 professional musicians from the Central Gulf region. That was Phase One.

In September 2006 Music Rising began Phase Two with a performance by U2 and Green Day at the Superdome in New Orleans saluting the people of New Orleans and the New Orleans Saints who were returning to their home building for the first time since the devastation. Phase Two was dedicated to helping churches and schools who were affected by the hurricanes to rebuild their music programs by replacing the instruments that they lost in the devastation.

Music Rising has helped to give music to tens of thousands of Parishioners and Students in the region but the work is not finished. Phase Three is dedicated to supporting Community Musical and Cultural Organizations and Events.

Denis Leary (actor)

In 2000, Denis Leary established The Leary Firefighters Foundation to help firefighters after a blaze in his Massachusetts hometown killed six firefighters, including his cousin and a childhood friend.

On December 3, 1999 a fire broke out in an abandoned warehouse in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. Over 75 firefighters ran into what some have called “the perfect fire” and six of them never came out. One was Jerry Lucey, a cousin of actor Denis Leary, and another Lt. Tommy Spencer, a childhood friend and high school classmate. In response to an effort to find a positive way to deal with this overwhelming loss to his hometown, Denis established The Leary Firefighters Foundation in the spring of 2000.

In the wake of the events of September 11, 2001, The Leary Firefighters Foundation established The Fund for New York’s Bravest to raise money for the families of the 343 firefighters who perished in the line of duty. With enormous support from friends in the entertainment community, we threw a landmark New York City benefit, The BASH for New York’s Bravest, to celebrate our local heroes. Through the success of The BASH and the overwhelming support shown by donors throughout the nation, The Fund for New York’s Bravest raised over $1.9 million before it was closed in 2003. Every dollar collected went directly into the hands of the families without any administrative costs. The BASH for New York’s Bravest continued as a celebrity-studded event through 2007 to honor New York’s firefighters while raising funds to support equipment and training needs.

Our most recent development campaigns were focused on two major long-term projects: building a technologically advanced High-Rise Simulator Training Facility at the FDNY Fire Academy and our pledge to the New Orleans Fire Department to rebuild 11 firehouses in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Brad Pitt

On December 2006, Brad Pitt asked experts to brainstorm ways to build green, affordable and safe housing for Hurricane Katrina victims. Pitt founded the Make it Right Foundation to do just that. Today, Pitt's Make It Right Foundation continues to build new homes for displaced residents of New Orleans.

The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina brought out the best in American volunteerism. Actor Brad Pitt, who has a home in New Orleans, responded with extraordinary creativity and commitment. The Lower 9th Ward houses of Pitt’s nonprofit Make it Right Foundation – individualistic and energy-efficient – are among the most inspired responses to the storm’s ravages. As the fifth anniversary of Katrina approached, Pitt spoke with historian Douglas Brinkley, his longtime friend, about his love of the city and his dreams for its future. Brinkley provided this exclusive interview to The Times-Picayune.

Whenever actor Brad Pitt is in New Orleans, he gets on his old thrift-store bicycle and tools around the city enjoying the architecture and ambiance. It’s his way of staying in shape. His favorite destination is pedaling across the retractable North Claiborne Avenue Bridge to the Lower 9th Ward to inspect his Make It Right Foundation houses.

The entire Make It Right saga is a “Hail Mary” pass that worked.

Starting in 2006, Pitt’s foundation commissioned 13 architecture firms to design affordable, eco-friendly houses. Pitt decided to build these houses -- nearly 50 at last count -- on the exact spot where the Industrial Canal levee breached on Aug. 29, 2005.

Pitt is in New Orleans this week to attend Katrina anniversary events. A true Hollywood workhorse, seldom getting a day off, Pitt spoke to me following a brutal 50-hour-a-week production schedule on a Hollywood set.

When did the idea of Make It Right houses come into focus?

I got involved with Global Green and various Bill Clinton initiatives. I met a lot of smart people. But nobody was doing what I thought needed to be done. Look, I’m an architecture junkie. And the holy grail of architecture is finding ways to design sustainable urban communities. The Lower 9th had become a clean slate. Everything had been washed away. So quite naively — and I know I’m naive — I said let’s start at ground zero, the very historic neighborhood that got devastated by Katrina. We brought architect William McDonough into the picture and things took off. We started building prototypes. The Lower 9th is the iconic spot of Katrina. It’s where the levees breached. It represents a marginalized people stuck in a man-made disaster. I met Katrina victims who had been given FEMA trailers and had nothing to hook them up to. Others had formaldehyde problems. What was the message? We were telling people to come home and yet when they got back to New Orleans they were treated in a substandard way. I just thought it was atrocious.

Angelina Jolie

In 2001, Jolie began traveling the world on behalf of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Jolie continues to be an advocate for people in need. In 2006, the actress teamed up with partner Brad Pitt to establish the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which provides humanitarian assistance to people across the globe.

Advocacy is a key element in UNHCR activities to protect refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people and stateless people. It is a cornerstone of protection strategies, used in combination with activities such as information dissemination, monitoring and negotiation. These can help transform policies and services on national, regional or global levels to better protect people for whom UNHCR bears responsibility.

In both countries of asylum and countries of origin, UNHCR works within national political, economic, and social structures that directly affect the lives of refugees and other people of concern to bring policies, practices and laws into compliance with international standards.

In situations of forced displacement, UNHCR employs advocacy to influence governments and other decision-makers, non-governmental partners and the public at large to adopt practices ensuring the protection of those of concern to UNHCR.

The UN refugee agency is lucky to be able to call on a small group of VIP friends who have reached the top in their chosen professions and who use their influence and popularity to help spread awareness about UNHCR's work, raise funds for its operations and lobby governments. They complement the work of UNHCR's most valuable asset - our national and international staff around the world.

UNHCR's high-profile supporters are relatively few in number compared to some other major humanitarian organizations and they come from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds. But they share a singular determination to help the world's displaced and to help raise world awareness about the suffering and needs of the vulnerable.

They include royalty, musicians, actors of stage and screen, authors, sports stars, academics, style icons, photographers, aid workers and students. Some are former refugees, while others have come from privileged backgrounds but felt a calling to help others in need.

They range from International Goodwill Ambassadors Angelina Jolie and Adel Imam to National Goodwill Envoy Khaled Hosseini and valuable supporters like basketball star Luol Deng, photographer Zalmaï and lighting artist Gerry Hofstetter.

They help in various ways to promote the work of UNHCR, raise funds and spread awareness about the world's millions of displaced people. Some give free concerts, others use their influence to lobby governments, while many go into the field to shine a bright light on the suffering of refugees and internally displaced people and to let them know that people care. Without them, UNHCR would have a much harder job.

Name: __________________________

Date: / /

Celebrities who Give Back

Directions: You and a partner will read an “article” about a celebrity who gives back to the community in various ways. Please answer the following questions according to the article that you read.

|Who is the article about? |

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|Which organization is the person involved with? Describe the mission of the organization. |

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|What has the organization accomplished? |

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|Who has the person/organization affected? |

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|What is going on with the organization now? OR what are their next steps? |

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