Kimbra’s Guitar Being Auctioned at Banquet

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Kimbra-and-Gotye-at-2013-Grammys-GettyIf you love Kimbra and want a piece of her personal history, then watch for the Hospice Waikato’s Montana Catering Bucket List Banquet coming next month. Grammy award winner and Hamilton-born Kimbra has donated the guitar that helped her get to where she is today.

The Fender electric guitar was purchased in 2002, but Kimbra’s parents, and it was her first serious guitar. It cost $900 at the time of purchase.

Now, it’s going to be auctioned off at the fundraising dinner that Waikato Hospice is having next month. As their chief executive, Craig Tamblyn, said, the guitar should bring in big money. Someone has already placed a bid for $500 when they heard that it had belonged to Kimbra.

Ben Affleck Giving Up Starbucks For Charity

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affleckBen Affleck has agreed to forgo his beloved Starbucks coffee for five days to bring awareness to the global problem of poverty. He has committed to living on $1.50 a day for five days to bring awareness to global hunger and poverty. He is teaming up with the “Live Below the Line” charity team.

On Monday, April 22 Ben tweeted, “1.4 billion people live on less than $1.50/day. I’m joining Live #BelowTheLine on behalf of @easterncongo. Will you?”

Stars joining Ben’s efforts include Sophia Bush and Josh Groban. The campaign begins on April 29th and will run through May 3. So don’t expect any of those constant pictures of Ben on his way into and out of Starbucks on those days.

Prizeo: A New Way to Raise Money for Charities

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logo-symbolPrizeo is making waves in the celebrity charity world. They are a start-up that is working with celebrities to create what they call “once-in-a-lifetime” experiences for the average person, while helping to raise money.

As founder Bryan Baum explained, “The raffle structure is the best way to fundraise and collect consumer data. Auctions only get money from highest bidder, but raffles open this up to masses and get money from everyone.”

The way that their model works is as follows. People enter a Prizeo raffle by making a small donation to a celebrity’s designated charity. A winner is then chosen from the people who made a donation to receive the designated adventure. The adventure might be an afternoon of tea with your favorite band or a chance to meet a great performer. Runners up will also get prizes.

In order to make this model work, Prizeo obviously needs a pool of celebrities who are willing to be part of the program. The start-up has teamed with talent agency WME to make this portion of the plan work.

Celebrity Fight Night XIX

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muhamThe recent Celebrity Fight Night raised over $7 million in the support of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute and other locations. Many of Hollywood’s most famous converged on the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa on March 23 for Muhammad Ali’s Celebrity Fight Night XIX.

The black-tie event featured a live auction, a silent auction and a night of mingling and enjoying. The hottest tickets on the auction block included dinner with Reba McEntire at her home in Beverly Hills. This went for $800, 000. There were also two tickets for Tom Hanks’ Broadway show “Lucky Guy,” a VIP performance by Andrea Bocelli with a  private dinner and more.

In the 19 years that it has been taking place, it has raised $87 million dollars for Parkinson’s research and other causes.