Wednesday, April 25, 2007

"Idol Gives Back": What's It All About?

So we know that “Idol Gives Back” will help children in the United States and Africa, but how did it all come about? And where is the money actually going?

Here’s a closer look…

“Idol Gives Back” is the American counterpart to the UK’s Red Nose Day, a fundraiser to fight poverty started by writer/director Richard Curtis (“Love Actually,” “Notting Hill”). Curtis is serving as the executive producer of “IGB”—which explains the large contingent of British stars participating…

Donations are going to Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF), a U.S. non-profit organization created to distribute the money from “IGB.” Curtis and “Idol” guru Simon Fuller sit on the CPEF board…

Four U.S. charitable organizations and five African charitable organizations will benefit from “IGB.” According to the CPEF website, “the money will be distributed after the event, on submission of proposals from each of these organizations.”

The U.S. organizations are: Save the Children, America’s Second Harvest: The Nation’s Food Bank Network, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and The Children’s Health Fund. The African organizations are: U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Save the Children, The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Malaria No More and Nothing But Nets (which also fights malaria)…

Because I have absolutely no idea what’s going on tonight, I will not be doing my as-it-happens blog. Instead, I’ll do two posts—one about the elimination (if there is one) and one with my thoughts about the “IGB” extravaganza…