Cher Charitable Foundation Says Hello

Great news: Cher issued a press release Monday!  Her new Charitable Foundation is doing a fundraiser…finally. 🙂

(photo right: Cher at a Charity at LA’s Magic Castle in 1973; taken by Kim M. Lynch)

The shindig will go down November 28 in Century City and will include a VIP reception, dinner and a short film screening.  The movie will be Love Sees No Color (here’s the 4 minute YouTube version) – which is described as something like a music-based peace film running at 12 minutes. I hope discussions will follow because that short program might send you to bed before Letterman comes on.

The press release alludes to “the screening and celebrity performance” but what exactly that celebrity performance is or which celebrity will be performing seems vague at this point. Remember Cher sometimes doesn’t show up to her own parties. I guess I know a hyper (and set-up) Cher fan or two who will post bank to find out. The event costs $500 for a plebeian ticket and 1k for the V.I.P. treatment.

Although I live here I must pass. If I had $500 spare dollars I’d own a third of a Bob Mackie sketch right about now. I propose five of us pick a presentable Cher fan to sponsor for $100 each. Their only obligation will be to obsessively report on the event to other poverty-stricken (in a relative European-US sense, that is) fans.

But seriously, this is really great news. Cher is amping up her charity profile and not making it Cher-centric – which fulfills a requirement that her charity work not be self-celebrity-obsessed. It’s perfect!

The movie actually highlights musician and peace activist Nassiri. You can read his vision statement and you can listen to his music online. It sounds uplifting. Allmusic.com describes it as lush, literate, hypnotic world fusion.

There’s also a pretty substantial review in the press release of Cher’s philanthropic efforts to date which include:

• The Children’s Craniofacial Association, National Chairperson and Honorary Spokesperson, creator of Cher’s Family Retreat
• Get A-Head Charitable Trust – serves people with head and neck diseases
• Operation Helmet – support to American active soldiers
• Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund – support to American military veterans
• Habitat for Humanity, – Honorary Chair of the poverty initiative “Raise the Roof”
• Keep a Child Alive, Spokesperson – they serve to reduce the global AIDS epidemic
• Peace Village School in Ukunda, Kenya – provides food, medical care and education to children

Not mentioned but she has also supported Comic Relief, High Priority – a breast cancer information network, Pediatric AIDS Foundation, PFLAG, The Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation, United Cerebral Palsy Association and probably others we don’t know about.

For contact information on these charities, visit http://www.cherscholar.com/cherstock.htm and scroll down to Cherities.

Read the press release.

I just hope The Cher Charitable Foundation starts up a website soon so people can mail in some benjamins.

Peace – love – unity – and TV specials!