DO-GOODERS

This past Friday, May 11th, famed rapper 50 Cent showed his support of hunger relief at City Harvest's Food Rescue Facility in NYC. He was joined by his audio company SMS Audio. The company recently partnered with Feeding America, where each purchase on SMSAudio.com in the US provides over 200 meals to hungry Americans. The rapper volunteered with City Harvest in Long Island City to bring attention to the difficulty many Americans face putting food on the table. In addition to helping pack fresh produce for City Harvest to distribute to local New York families, 50 Cent also toured the Food Rescue Facility with City Harvest director Jilly Stephens. Do as 50 does and get involved in charity! See below for some of City Harvest's upcoming events.

Jay Hayes, an NYU student (and former Joonbug staffer!), is taking on the fight against stigmas LGBT youth in sports often face. Hayes is currently the the captain of the men's volleyball team at New York University and wants to help knock down the barriers LGBT individuals experience as athletes. In conjunction with The Trevor Project, Hayes produced and starred in "It Gets Better," a video to help bring awareness to an often ignored issue.

"Athletics is the next frontier for gay rights," Jay explained to NYU Local. "When you look at the civil rights movement, it wouldn’t have been as successful if a person like Jackie Robinson hadn’t been there. I really hope that a gay athlete comes out soon. I think that professional sports these days are just a business and these players know that it could hurt the brand and the bottom line if they came out."

Yesterday afternoon, pop superstar and American Idol winner Kris Allen came to Robert Frost Middle School in Los Angeles to kick off Starburst's Music With The Masters Series; which benefits the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. The first of three events held in various cities over the coming months included Allen performing his hit single "Live Like We're Dying" with the school band and walking them on a tour through his musical history.

The presentation also featured Allen covering some of his favorite songs throughout time (including Coolio's "Gangstas Paradise" and to "keep the crowds interested," "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears). He capped the presentation by performing his new hit "The Vision of Love." To top off the event, in conjunction with Starburst, he donated the piano used in both music video and his performance to the school. Overall, the event served as a great kick off to the series in conjunction with which Starburst is donated $250k to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation.

It’s easy to forget that we share this planet with so many other people. Too often we act selfishly, hoarding over land, possessions, and money that we never realize how much we take from the Earth and never give back. Being eco-friendly requires some sacrifices but here, in New York, partying will not be surrendered.

Last Week, one of the City’s only, and most popular eco-friendly nightclubs, Greenhouse, helped celebrate Earth Week by hosting their “Greenhouse Gives Back” campaign. Each night from April 16th to the 22nd, proceeds were given to Global Green, Cans for a Cure, Prospect Park Alliance, American Cancer Society, Riverkeeper, Green Festival, and Plant a Billion Trees, each an environmental or health-based charity.

Justin Bieber is officially a spokesperson for the new film "BULLY," a documentary on the prevalence and effects of bullying in U.S. schools. Justin joins a host of celebrities supporting the film and its campaign to take action on bullying including: Ellen Degeneres, Meryl Streep, Victoria Justice, Andersoon Cooper and Kelly Ripa.

“My fans are always up for supporting a great cause. It’s one of the things I’m most proud of as an entertainer,” said Bieber. “I hope they see BULLY with their friends and help start the conversation so we can end bullying.” Watch the Biebs' promo for "BULLY."

This year, 13 million students will be bullied and 3 million will be absent because they don't feel safe at school. Learn more about The Bully Project here.

Ricky Gervais is officially a spokesperson for Cruelty Free International, a newly-established worldwide campaign to ban testing cosmetics on animals. Launched by the long-standing British Union Against Vivisection, CFI will work with governments, companies and partner organizations to place animal testing at the forefront of policymakers' agendas.

On the issue, Ricky says: "Animal testing for cosmetics is still allowed in most of the world. That means thousands of animals can continue to die for the sake of a new shampoo. We urgently need a worldwide ban on this cruel and unnecessary suffering. Get involved. Please join me in supporting Cruelty Free International in its global mission to consign animal testing for cosmetics to the history books.”

While the European Union has banned the testing of cosmetics on animals, 80% of countries still allow the practice. Common test procedures include force-feeding large amounts of chemicals to assess toxicity and applying caustic ingredients to eyes and skin to measure irritation (one now infamous mascara test measures how long a chemical ingredient takes to burn away a rabbit's cornea). Rats and mice are the most frequent test subjects, but guinea pigs, rabbits, cats, and dogs are also commonly used. Cosmetics companies are not required to use animals to test for safety and can instead use human skin cultures. Numerous studies, including several published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the British Medical Journal have concluded that animal tests do not reliably predict outcomes in humans due to basic biological differences.

Consumers can now find cruelty-free cosmetics for every need and at every price point. Some mainstream examples include Revlon, wet n wild, Burt's Bees, Prestige, Bare Minerals, Stila, Urban Decay, Bath & Body Works, The Body Shop, Paul Mitchell and Aveda. Because there is no regulation of "cruelty-free" labeling, be sure to check the label for the BUAV's leaping bunny logo. View a complete list of cruelty-free cosmetics and household cleaning products here.

Learn more about Cruelty Free International and how you can get involved.

Frida Giannini, Creative Director for Gucci, has a soft spot for some of the world's least fortunate children, who face the challenges of hunger, lack of clean water, and a life of severe poverty in Africa. Not only does Frida Giannini work for one of the biggest fashion names in the world, she travels to Africa, devoting countless hours to helping impoverished children and other relief efforts through her partnership with UNICEF.

Gucci and UNICEF have been in a partnership since 2005. Since then, Gucci has donated over $12 million to the foundation for the prevention and research of HIV/AIDS and funding for improving the education system of Africa.

From standing on the red carpet to standing up for a cause, not only has Kenneth Cole been a successful designer in the fashion industry, he has used his fame and fortune to make a difference in the world.

For years, Cole has striven to bring AIDS relief efforts into public awareness in order to enact real change. Committed to finding a cure for AIDS, Cole joined the board of directors at amfAR in 1987 and is now chairman of the board for the organization. AmfAR is the world’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to ending the global AIDS epidemic through innovative research. Since 1985, amfAR has invested more than $340 million toward its goals and research, and the organization has awarded more than 2,000 grants to research teams worldwide.

Lindsay Bard is an ordinary, working New Yorker with a 9-5 job. But she also makes time out of her busy schedule to organize her own charity events for the American Cancer Society and participate in their annual marathons. In March, she will be hosting a charity event in New York City for cancer research. “I lost two grandparents to cancer and one of my best friends has recently lost her father to it as well,” explained Bard.

Bard’s personal efforts will culminate in a cancer benefit to be held this month at Side Bar, located at 120 East 15th Street in New York City. Admission fee is $10, with a one-hour open bar. Proceeds of the event will go to the American Cancer Society.

Not only is Micheal Kors leading the world in fashion, he is also leading the world into a better place. Throughout his career, Michael Kors has created stylish pieces, handbags, scarfs, watches, etc, donating a portion of the proceeds to researching cures for breast cancer. Kors had made generous donations to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, the Mass General Cancer Center, and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), to name just a few.

"My assistant in the '80s grew up in a family where three generations all died of breast cancer. She was in her 20s and healthy but thinking about having a mastectomy. So we started thinking of how we could make noise about the issue,” said Micheal Kors. (Courtesy of Marie Claire Magazine)