da camara's "flowers for a smile" was a mission: accomplished

One of my favourite favourite Canadian artists Suzana da Camara recently completed what she likes to call Flowers for a Smile, as part of her "Missions of Kindness." My girl has recently undertaken a new venture entitled "Random Living" - and it is just that; random acts of kindness that bring smiles and love.

Her most recent mission is documented on her own blog - RandomLiving.com - and what a documentary it was; genuine, selfless and above all, heart-warming. Her story made me smile, laugh and caused a slight amount of welling in the old teardrops. An except:

She had these big beautiful light eyes that I could see from afar and there she sat, at the restaurant window looking somber as though she already waited 20 minutes longer than she should have. Eva, with a big smile on her face, approached her table and beautiful eyes JOLTED back and had this look on her face as though we had just been caught looking through her purse.

Eva gently gave her the flower and beautiful eyes asked "Why" and Eva said "Just Because" and all of a sudden the furrows between her eyebrows became a clean slate and her face lit up like she was on a balloon ride. She awkwardly twitched her head and said "Thank You" and openly reached over for the flower food in Eva's hand... She was going all the way with this gesture...

It really is a wonderful story and Suzana is quite a brilliant writer; a SUPREMELY talented lady! Not to mention... a phenomenal musical talent and entrepreneur. Click here to be experience some RandomLiving of your own ... You absolutely won't be disappointed!

emma watson's visit to bangladesh for people tree uk

My best girl Emma Watson recently took a trip to Bangladesh in order to better understand the conditions there and to see the process of her "Love by Emma" Clothing Collection coming together first hand. People Tree conducted an interview with her (which you can read via the link below) that is just so compelling and true. She is really really making a difference there. A video of her visit, as well as a preview of the line and some footage of her modelling her fave pieces is below:



You can really tell in the video that Emma acknowledges the VAST difference between the slums and the swallows (where people are able to earn at least a little bit of money by sewing for People Tree.) The difference on her face is obvious, she knows. She helps the children with their schoolwork, it is so sweet! I'm glad she also participated in the production of fabrics as well; dying yarn, working the loom and SEWING! The process is unbelievable! I know I enjoyed watching this - it was so interesting - and also because I could tell she really wanted to be there. I wish I had the talent and resources to make something like this happen and I am glad that someone who absolutely does is doing so!

Click Here to read the full press release of Emma's journey to Bangladesh (which includes photos from her trip and new Fall line-up) and how she hopes to change the lives of so many people with her "Love by Emma" Collection. You can also read what Emma had to say about her journey after the jump, as well as see some snaps from Bangladesh!

jessica simpson to speak at charity student leadership event

My girl Jessie Simps is a busy gal this year! Already confirmed for the 2010 Women's Conference, Jessica is now in Denver, Colorado speaking at the International Student Leadership Conference on behalf of her cherished organization Operation Smile as their International Youth Ambassador.

Triple threat Jessica Simpson – singer, actress, and a rocking philanthropist, that is – will bring her passion and resilience formed from years in the unforgiving entertainment industry to empower 500 college and high school students from 12 countries. The 4-day event, which starts on August 1, is Operation Smile’s 18th annual International Student Leadership Conference and will take place at the University of Denver in Colorado. As the keynote speaker, Jessica Simpson will try to get youth amped up about their theme – “Be the Change!” – promoting activism and change in their communities. The conference-meets-boot camp is designed to have youth participate and interact in teams to help each other develop a strong mentality and spread optimism.

An ambassador of eight years, Jessica Simpson is one of Operation Smile’s biggest celebrity supporters. Inspired by a collaboration of VH1 and Operation Smile where Simpson traveled the world filming a documentary tracking the lives of victims of cleft conditions, Simpson has helped launch a Smiles for Smiles campaign, where people are welcomed to upload photos of their smiles to VH1Smile.com, generating over 10,000 responses.

A Beautiful Me is Simpson’s latest project for the organization, where the Newlyweds star leads a campaign for the youth of the world to appreciate their inner beauty and follow in Simpson’s footsteps by spreading the work of Operation Smile and its mission, hence the International Student Leadership Conference. Having witnessed a cleft surgery and assisted Operation Smile on medical missions around the world and not to forget the honor of receiving Operation Smile’s Universal Smile Award in 2004, Jessica Simpson is a role model fitted for the change that the organization hopes to bring.

I'm going to go ahead and say that Jessica's devotion to philanthropy is probably the strongest out of all of her talents, well right now anyways. She is a woman of many, that's for sure. While her amazing voice was the first to be recognized, it is now on the back-burner, third in line to her charities, and fashion and footwear lines. While I love to jam to her beats in my cherished Jessica Simpson strappy wooden sandals, I'm glad her talent of most importance is currently receiving the most attention.

daniel radcliffe records psa for lgbt charity

Harry Potter himself - Daniel Radcliffe - has recorded a lovely segment for the Trevor Project, which is an organization focused on support for LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transsexual, Questioning) teens. Of course, this is something close to my own heart, as I just spent five years surrounded by hot topics in the field of human sexuality, such as LGBT issues, among others.



Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe has lent a powerful voice to The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining crisis support and suicide prevention amongst the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) teen community. His commitment to this cause hits close to home: “It’s something I’ve always been quite passionate about. Because I grew up around gay men, it was always a natural thing to me.”

Taking to the camera to record a public service announcement, Radcliffe unveils alternative solutions to reckless suicide: “If you’re feeling helpless or hopeless, there’s always a safe place to turn.”

In his public service announcement, the actor relays a principle message to his listeners, “Be proud of who you are.”

This article is from a little while back but I don't think I was blogging at the time. Anyways I recalled reading it when I was doing some digging for Harry Potter news and came across it again. I'm so glad Daniel is putting himself out front and using his immense popularity and influence in order to bring the Trevor Project to a greater population. I've known about Dan's many projects, as I've been obsessed with him a fan of his ever since he was cast as Potter. I know he is also heavily involved with Demelza House (a charity for children with life-threatening illnesses) and reaches out to his fans asking for donations in lieu of sending him birthday and Christmas gifts, which is so responsible of him. Read more from this article after the jump.