A group of celebrities and dignitaries signed an open letter in Britain’s Daily Telegraph yesterday, urging the G8 to give all people – rich and poor in all countries – the support they need to live decent and dignified lives when they meet for the summit taking place in Italy.

Annie Lennox, Colin Firth, Scarlett Johansson, Angélique Kidjo, Bill Nighy and many others put their names to the letter, which will also appear in the UK’s Financial Times.

“You have a unique opportunity in Italy this year to ensure that all people, in rich countries and poor, are given the support they need to live decent and dignified lives,“ they wrote. “You have taken important steps to this end at previous G8 Summits. In 2001 you acknowledged that industrialized nations had a responsibility to tackle global inequality through deeper debt relief and more aid, and you agreed to establish a Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria. In 2005, you promised to increase annual aid levels to $50bn.

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In honor of Nelson Mandela, Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA) and Hachette Audio produced an audiobook edition of Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales, an award-winning book of stories hand-picked by the Nobel laureate.

Diverse, acclaimed performers donated their talents to the charitable endeavor by voicing stories: Gillian Anderson, Benjamin Bratt, LeVar Burton, Ricardo Chavira, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Whoopi Goldberg, Sean Hayes, Hugh Jackman, Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Debra Messing, Helen Mirren, Parminder Nagra, Sophie Okonedo, CCH Pounder, Alan Rickman, Jurnee Smollett, Charlize Theron, Blair Underwood, Forest Whitaker, and Alfre Woodard. Archbishop Desmond Tutu recorded a message to the world’s children, and African music legends Johnny Clegg and Vusi Mahlasela composed original music.
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Soles4Souls, Inc., the international shoe charity dedicated to providing free footwear to people in need, has announced its celebrity support of Barefoot Week. The annual series of events (June 1 – 7) features the charity distributing thousands of shoes to people in need during the week.

Scarlett, who has donated 2,000 pairs of new shoes in the past, says:

“If you can’t dig deep in your pockets, then dig in your closet! Americans can make a huge difference with Soles4Souls by donating shoes. Soles4Souls gives away a pair of shoes every 13 seconds in over 120 countries, with over 55 percent donated to fellow Americans.”

As you know Scarlett made a trip to Rwanda last year to collaborate with the (RED) project, she visited some AIDS clinics, memorials for the Rwanda genocide, and important institutions from the country. I’ve added some pics of her trip to the gallery, because we just had one, and here* you can see a new video with images of her visiting a children AIDS’ hospital, she looked super tender talking to them and holding a baby.

GALLERY LINKS:

- Charity Work: (RED) Trip to Rwanda

The first ever Stand Up to Cancer Twitterhunt starts today!

Autographed SU2C T-shirts will be hidden in more than 20 cities across the U.S., including New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle and New Orleans. Follow SU2C on Twitter and you will get all the clues!

The SU2C shirts are signed by celebrities including Kirsten Dunst, Robin Roberts, the Cast of 30 Rock, Mekhi Phifer, Jennifer Aniston, Melissa Etheridge and Scarlett Johansson.

On Wednesday, May 27 SU2C will award its first grants to research teams working to find cures. Last year Scarlett also collaborated with SU2C cause.

Click here for further information on this very important cause.

Tonic is auctioning off a new iPod, autographed by Scarlett Johansson and loaded with her favorite playlist as part of the Tonic Auction Series. Scarlett’s iPod is up for auction on March 16, 2009 at 10am until March 26, 2009 at 10am. One hundred percent of proceeds from the auctions go to the non-profit Music Rising that is replacing instruments lost in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

This February will see a publishing first — over 30 covers of the February issues of Elle Magazine internationally will feature Gisele on the cover as she teams up with Scarlett and BONO to help fight AIDS in Africa for (RED).

Inside, Scarlett Johansson shares private details and photos of her travels to Rwanda and (RED) Founder and U2 Front man, Bono publishes a very personal letter.

Scarlett on AIDS tests:

“When I admitted that I’d taken two HIV tests, everyone was completely horrified, the implication being that I was leading this wild lifestyle,” says Scarlett Johansson, whose decision to join Bono in the (RED) initiative was a “no brainer.” “I was only being responsible.”

Scarlett On (RED):

“When you purchase (PRODUCT) RED items – from partners including Apple, Armani, Converse and the Gap – up to 50 percent of profits go directly to fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. Forty cents a day translates to the two antiretroviral pills needed to survive.”

“If that can be achieved by buying a couple of pairs of Converse, it’s worth a shot.”

During her 12/17/08 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Scarlett Johansson blamed her cold on The Spirit co-star Samuel L. Jackson, saying she caught it from him. She believed that for this reason her cold had some “value.” During her appearance on The Tonight Show, she blew her nose into a tissue provided by Jay Leno. All proceeds of this sale benefited the USA Harvest, the charity of Scarlett Johansson’s choice.

The online auction, which took place for a week sold for a winning bid of US $5,300.00.

I have added stills from her appearance and will be adding captures and the clip very soon with a much overdue update of the latest interviews and many more things. It’s been really hectic and I will be catching up sometime soon after the holiday.

GALLERY LINKS:
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: December 17, 2008