Archive for the ‘Charity’ Category
Earlier today, Rosario Dawson at the “United We Win” Campaign shoot for Voto Latino in Los Angeles and I have just added 41 photos of her during the shoot!
Earlier this week, Rosario Dawson was at a grocery store in Los Angeles bagging groceries with Homeboy Industries to promote the use of reusable grocery bags! I have just added 10 photos of Rosario and fellow actresses/EMA members Amy Smart and Rachelle LeFevre into the gallery.
I have just added 25 photos of Rosario from the “Children Mending Hearts” Gala. You can see the photos by clicking on the previews below…
The world would most definitely be a better place if all celebrities were like Rosario Dawson.
Ever since the actress got her big break playing Ruby in the controversial Larry Clark-helmed film, Kids, she’s been finding ways to give back to her community.
From the Lower East Side Girls Club to VDay (a global movement to end violence against women) to Voto Latino, Dawson is not afraid to get her hands a little dirty and get involved, and her interests reach far and wide.
Although Dawson’s non-profit organization Voto Latino was founded in 2004 in response to the news that Latinos were officially the largest “minority” group in the country, yet we’re not being represented at the voting booths, the effort has expanded to include environmental and educational initiatives. The organization¿s latest initiative is a big push for Latino involvement in the 2010 US Census.
We talked to the actress about what motivates her to advocate around issues affecting the Latino community.
“I’m proud to be a citizen of the United States of America and I want to give back in every way I can,” she says of her passion to get involved.
“I was raised community-based. I grew up in a spot in the lower east side where it was really obvious how poverty and low-down neighborhoods can affect people-not being able to have access to education and how that just sets people up for life to have less and less of choices.”
Education is also of utmost importance to the Voto Latino mission and to Dawson, who knows first-hand what it means to miss out on school. The actress, who broke into the industry in high school, never had a chance to go to college.
“I started working at 15, I graduated high school and I made the choice to not go to college because I thought: I could take a shot at this career, and possibly pay for my brother to go to school and maybe I can go to school later.
But if I go to school right now, I could lose this opportunity that I had to be in this industry which could be very lucrative for my family.”
Although Dawson may have forgone a formal college education, she makes sure to learn about the issues she is passionate about and may even head back to school later on in life.
“I have a lot of great teachers around the world and I feel really blessed, she says. ‘But I have family members who started college in their 40′s and 50′s so maybe I’ll do that when Hollywood stops giving me roles!”
Currently, Dawson is focusing on a campaign to encourage Latinos to participate in the 2010 US Census. Although some Latino leaders had encouraged our community to boycott the census, Dawson says, “I would be very weary of anyone telling you not to fill out a census.
It’s imperative to do so and most likely they’re saying that because they don’t want districts to be redrawn and certain politicians to loose their seat and unfortunately, that includes Latinos. People are afraid of change in a lot of ways. They don’t know what’s coming around the corner, they like how things are right now.”
As far as Voto Latino is concerned, Dawson isn’t interested in taking sides. “All that Voto Latino is trying to do is give folks as much clear information as possible to empower themselves.
It’s unbelievable the overwhelming response that’s there’s been. It’s there, it’s ready, it’s seething. People, young people especially, want change, serious change.”
From Terra
Actress Rosario Dawson wants Latinos to know that the Census is just as important as voting, so it’s a natural cause for Voto Latino, the non-profit organization she co-founded.
“In some ways I say it’s even more important than voting,” said Dawson, who starred in “Seven Pounds” and “Sin City.”
Dawson was in Washington on Wednesday night to celebrate the five-year anniversary of Voto Latino. A panel discussion about the group’s newest project — “Greening the Next Generation of Workforce” — brought together President Obama’s Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan at the Navy Heritage Center at the US Navy Memorial.
From Politico
Rosario Dawson, Wilmer Valderrama, and “Ugly Betty” star Ana Ortiz came together to film a TV spot for MTV Tr3s and Voto Latino. The three Latin stars are reaching out to fellow Latinos to take the 2010 Census.
With the “Be Counted?Represent” 2010 campaign, the stars are urging the participation of Latinos in the Census in order to receive better representation in congress and have the necessary funds for the community’s needs allocated properly. Based on the results of the census, more than $400 billion in funds from the federal government will go to local hospitals, job-training centers, and public work projects.
“By taking part in the Census, you will help secure funding for your community’s schools, emergency services, and other important community needs,” Dawson says in the first PSA released from the campaign.
The stars also also joining other famous faces like Disney Channel star Demi Lovato and actor Jorge Garcia for other ads which promote the importance of Latino representation in the 2010 Census.
By visiting the campaign’s website at www.becountedrepresent.com, filling out a form that pledges to participate in the 2010 Census will get you 25 free songs from artists like Pitbull, Aventura, Mos Def, Morrissey, Jaguares, and Los Tigres Del Norte.
Dawson adds, “Mi gente, we cannot do this without you.”
From All Headline News
Stage and screen star Rosario Dawson will direct a benefit reading of Eve Ensler’s newest work, I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World, at Urban Zen Center at Stephan Weiss Studio, on Friday, February 5 at 7:30pm.
The piece chronicles the struggle of girls everywhere to overcome the obstacles, threats, and pressures that rob them of their originality and power. The readings will be performed by teen girls, including Samantha Mozes and girls from V-Girls pilot sites in New York City – the Harvey Milk High School at the Hetrick Martin Institute, the Young Women’s Leadership School, and the Lower East Side Girls Club.
Proceeds will benefit V-Day’s work with women and girls worldwide. Tickets are $100 for general seating with packages at $1000 – $5000, which will include an intimate cocktail reception immediately after the reading.
For more information, call 212-924-1229 or e-mail events@vday.org. To purchase, click here.
