Author: Raven Patzke

SEATTLE — The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR)  has announced a new Goodwill Ambassador, who many may already know from the films Dodgeball, Meet the Parents and Zoolander. The organization has appointed producer, director and actor Ben Stiller as its newest global UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Though Stiller has been working alongside UNHCR and meeting with refugees in places such as Germany and Jordan since 2016, he has just recently accepted a formal title after his latest journey abroad to Guatemala. What Is Ben Stiller’s Role as UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador? In Guatemala, Stiller had the opportunity to witness the hardships of these refugees firsthand. Most of these people had been violently forced from their homes due to the…

SEATTLE — Cuban-American superstar Camila Cabello’s partnership with Save the Children has led to a benefit concert this fall for Hurricane Maria victims. Some may know Cabello as the singer of the hit single “Havana”, which was number one on the charts in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Hungary and the United States. Due to the popularity of her songs “Havana” and “Never Be the Same”, Cabello became the first artist to top the Mainstream Top 40 and Adult Top 40 airplay charts with the first two singles from a debut studio album. This is just one of the…

SEATTLE — Emmy Award-winning actress Uzo Aduba, who some may recognize as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren from Orange Is the New Black, has been announced as Heifer International’s first celebrity ambassador. She is being appointed for two years in order to help with Heifer International’s initiatives of ending poverty and world hunger. How Did Uzo Aduba Become Heifer International’s First Celebrity Ambassador? In 2016, Aduba had the opportunity to travel to Uganda and see some of the projects Heifer International was working on at the time. There, Aduba was able to help out with processing milk at a community-owned dairy…

SEATTLE — Halima Aden, a Somali-American activist and supermodel who is also known for being the first woman to compete in a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, was recently announced as the newest UNICEF Ambassador. For Aden, working with UNICEF is a very personal reflection of her life and background. When war broke out in Somalia in 1992, her family’s home was set on fire, which forced them to flee to Kenya. Aden was born in a refugee camp in Kakuma, and lived there until her family resettled in the United States. She has since visited the camp with…

SEATTLE — One Drop, an international water foundation, is partnering with Phillips Auction House to present Art for One Drop. The auction will feature contemporary art that will be auctioned off to raise funds for safe water initiatives in Latin America. The charity auction will begin on September 21 under the orders of Phillip Kaiser, a distinguished curator and critic. It will be open for public viewing from September 15 through September 21 at the Phillips Auction House in New York. Most of the artwork has been donated by famous artists, such as Barbara Kruger, Kara Walker, Ed Clark, Nicolas Party and Tracey Emin,…

SEATTLE — UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visited West Mosul, making her fifth trip to Iraq since 2001 with the U.N. Refugee Agency. While there, she saw the destruction in the streets and met with residents to discuss the future of the city. People throughout the city are working to rebuild after the devastation in hopes of restoring West Mosul and its population numbers. Angelina Jolie Visited West Mosul to Highlight Its Struggles For three years, West Mosul was imprisoned by ISIS, and its people’s fight to regain their freedom was an extensive and difficult task that endangered the hundreds…

SEATTLE — In 2018, UNICEF Soccer Aid has already raised £5,540,259 with help from the U.K. public, ITV and STV viewers and the U.K. government (who matched each donation pound for pound) to protect children who are struggling or in danger around the world. This is a record number for donations raised on the night of the UNICEF Soccer Aid event. UNICEF Soccer Aid Breaks New Ground in 2018 Even so, the donations were not the only aspect that broke records. A total of 71,965 people attended the match between the England and World teams, both of which were made up of celebrity players as well…

SEATTLE — On June 6, 2018, the BeyGOOD/DoGood Campaign kicked off in the United Kingdom. As part of their ongoing efforts to alleviate global poverty and help vulnerable youth, music icons and power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z have partnered with Global Citizen and The Prince’s Trust in order to incentivize fans to do good and “bey” good to others. How the BeyGOOD/DoGood Campaign Promotes Individual Involvement The BeyGOOD/DoGood campaign encourages fans to volunteer and take part in philanthropic acts to make an impact in their communities and around the world. One of the campaign’s goals is to inspire and support individuals in…

SEATTLE — Priyanka Chopra, a 35-year-old actress who became the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for child rights in 2016, went on a four-day trip to informal settlements and refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, near the southern tip of Bangladesh, to meet Rohingya refugee children as a part of her work with UNICEF. Children Often the Most in Need During Refugee Crises The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund works in 190 countries to create a better world for those children who were not born into the luxury of having the basic necessities to live. Without a global effort to alleviate poverty, UNICEF predicts that by 2030, 167 million children will live in extreme poverty, 69 million children under the…

SEATTLE — Gwyneth Paltrow is renewing her partnership with Frederique Constant, the Swiss watch brand, for the 3rd year in a row. Together, they are helping fulfill the world’s classrooms with the funding and supplies needed to succeed. Gwyneth Paltrow and DonorsChoose.org Gwyneth Paltrow is an Oscar-winning actress and philanthropist who works as the Global Charity Brand Ambassador of Frederique Constant. She chose to become involved in supporting education for children through DonorsChoose.org, where the focus is on finding classrooms, supplies and field trip funding to help further education rights and access. DonorsChoose.org is composed of a team of 80 who have completed over 600,000 classroom projects thus far. To put the…