Madonna Charity Event
A Night to Benefit Raising Malawi and UNICEF Held at UN
Madonna joined forces recently with Gucci, and a myriad of A-list celebrities to raise a few eyebrows and $5.5 million for UNICEF.
The event was held Wednesday February 6th at the United Nations’ north lawn in New York City. It was hosted by comedian Chris Rock and drew fellow Kabbalists Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, as well as Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, long time Madonna pal Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Brooke Shields, Gwen Stefani and Salma Hayek, among others.
Raising Money
The price for the lavish meal was as much as $10,000 per head and guests were treated to music from current trendsetters Rihanna, Alicia Keys, and Timbaland.
The most expensive item auctioned off was an experience touring and taking a dance class with Madonna, which fetched $600,000 for the charity. Another pricey item, raking in $350,000, was the chance to spend an hour with Alex Rodriguez at Yankee Stadium and kick a ball around with legendary British soccer champ David Beckham.
Raising Eyebrows
No stranger to controversy, the Queen of Pop ruffled a few feathers as she skirted UN regulations to hold the event. According to UN rules, “outside entities, including non-governmental organizations, may not hold meetings or events on United Nations premises to conduct their own organizational business or to advance their own purposes or aims.” So Gucci’s commercial tie-ins (they used their logo and gave away product samples) as well as Madonna’s charity Raising Malawi may have been technically out of bounds on U.N. premises.
This fact didn’t seem to rattle the Material Girl’s resolve, however, as she proclaimed, “I’ve earned a reputation for many things: pushing the envelope, for being a provocateur, for never taking no for an answer. For endlessly reinventing myself, for being a cult member, a kidnapper. For being ambitious, outrageous and irreverent. And for never settling for second best….But I don’t just want you to write me a check. I’m more interested in your heart. I want to take you on that journey with me tonight. I want you to feel as inspired as I do right now.”
Raising Awareness
Apparently Madonna has been inspired for some time, first becoming interested in charity work in the 1980s after her notorious rise to superstardom. She played various charity events including the first Live Aid concert. She first teamed up with Gucci in 1997 when she was Honorary Co-Chair of a groundbreaking AIDS charity event.
Recently she has been especially captivated by the tiny African nation of Malawi where she caused uproar over her seemingly fast-tracked adoption of an orphan there. Malawi is one of the world’s poorest nations, with over a million people living with AIDS.
So, while her methods have raised eyebrows, she has also raised cash and a fair bit of awareness. Five and a half million isn’t pocket change. Hopefully Madonna and Raising Malawi will ensure the money is well spent.
To "Open Your Heart" for charity, visit the UNICEF and Raising Malawi websites.
