Herb Alpert Still a Chart Topper

The Giving Back Fund has released its list of Most Generous Celebrities. GBF looked at public records of donations in 2007 and ranked the stars' philanthropy. Oprah Winfrey tops the generosity chart, donating more than $50 million to various charities throughout 2007.

Herb Alpert is ranked #2 in giving, surpassing the benevolence of power couple Brangelina (6), Hugh Hefner (14) and Tiger Woods (18).

The Herb Alpert Foundation sponsors awards in the arts ranging from elementary students through to fellowships for professionals. At California Institute of the Arts, the foundation provides annual fellowships of $50,000 to five artists.

In 2006, Herb Alpert released a re-mastered version of Whipped Cream and Other Delights. It went to #5 on Billboard's Jazz Chart.
Herb Alpert and former business partner Jerry Moss received the Lifetime Achievement Award and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Forty-six years after The Lonely Bull broke into the top 10 and Alpert's still there. Makes me wonder where Chuck Mangione is.

GBF'S 10 Most Generous Celebrities
1. Oprah Winfrey
2. Herb Alpert
3. Barbra Streisand
4. Paul Newman
5. Mel Gibson
6. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
7. (tie) Lance Armstrong
7. (tie) Michael Jordan
7. (tie) Eric Lindros
10. Rush Limbaugh

Tags: [Giving Back Fund] [Herb Alpert] [A & M Records]
[Oprah] [Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie]
[Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame] [Jerry Moss]

Put Away the 'Discrimination' Placards

Stacey Fearnall, a waitress at Nathaniel's Restaurant in Owen Sound, was laid off after she shaved her hair off in a local fundraiser for a cancer charity.

The 36-year-old raised almost $2,700 in pledges over four months and then had her thick, red locks shaved off in a local Cops for Cancer event on the weekend...When she showed up for work Tuesday at Nathaniel's restaurant in Owen Sound, an upscale eatery, her employers told her to take the summer off -- without pay.     (Full article...)

In April, Fearnall approached owners Jeff Ferris and Dan Hilliard. They told Fearnall "they would not be pleased" if she shaved her head in the fundraiser. They encouraged her to participate in a way that would not affect her job at Nathaniel's.

At first, I thought this was a case of a woman who lost her job because of her cancer.
That would be discrimination.
That's not what happened here at all.

Rather, and despite being warned, Fearnall chose to participate in the fundraiser by shaving her head. Removing her hair violated Nathaniel's dress code standard for employees. They're allowed to outline acceptable standards. Tim Horton's doesn't allow visible piercings. Show up for a shift with a nose stud and you'll be sent home. McDonald's doesn't allow a visible tattoo; cover it or go home.

And she wasn't fired. She was laid off until she was able to comply with the company's expectations. Hilliard offered some accommodations to her, by suggesting she cover her head - a hat appropriate to the restaurant's ambiance would have been sufficient - and return to work.

If Fearnall lost her hair due to alopecia, chemotherapy or any unavoidable circumstances, and was fired my reaction would be completely different.

Sorry, but I can't turn the wheel of sympathy for her. She made her choice - the fundraiser over her job. She knew that consequences at work were likely. Ferris and Hilliard are just following through.

Poorly handled? For sure. Discrimination? No.

I commend her on the contribution to the fundraising...but the charity should have come up with a different name - Cops for Cancer? Are the police in Grey-Bruce really FOR cancer?


[Stacey Fearnall]  [Nathaniel's Restaurant]
[Owen Sound]  [Cops for Cancer]
[Ontario Human Rights Commission]

Photo by: James Masters (Owen Sound Sun Times)

Dolphins Play For A Cure

The Etobicoke Dolphins Midget BB hockey team hosted the Brampton Canadettes at Centennial Park Arena on Saturday, October 20, 2007.

The Dolphins donned pink jerseys for the home game as part of the EDGHL's Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. Gate fees and donations were collected and forwarded to The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Photo by John Krieger

The Dolphins were 4-1 victors in the gritty match, that included ejections for 2 Brampton players.

The Etobicoke Dolphins play in the North Central Division of the Lower Lakes Hockey League. Their record in the regular season improves to 2-0-1.

Tags: [Etobicoke Dolphins Girls Hockey] [Brampton Canadettes] [L.L.F.H.L.] [Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation]

Survey Says...

Finding it hard to provide a clever post just now.
Here's an update to tide you over a day or two.

Gloria has less than a month to get the gazebo painted!

[Original Post]

Poll Results

Is it Acceptable to Replace Chris's Vote Completely?
Yes-there is a consequence	18%
No-we all make mistakes	24%
It's Gloria's turn to paint the Gazebo	59%

Please don't forget about this:

Wish Counter

739 wishes were made

6147 wishes were sponsored

Gifter.org

[How to... Answers] [Million Dollar Blog]

How To Do Anything

Mc-Urgent

I heard the sirens before I saw the emergency vehicles.

A procession of various emergency service vehicles early in the afternoon, travelling along a major east-west artery. Lights ablaze, sirens wailing.

Two lead police officers on motorcycles entered the intersection and motioned for traffic to stop. Two more officers on motorcycles sped through followed by 2 marked cruisers. Next came an unmarked cruiser, an ambulance and then an unmarked Regional Police SUV. A fire hall ladder truck sped by trailed by another ambulance. A fire engine and one final cruiser anchored the convoy. Did I mention that each vehicle had its lights and siren in action.

The big emergency?
Upon each vehicle was a sign, the kind used to identify funeral processions. On the face of each sign,

McHappy Day.

That's some marketing muscle. Stop traffic on a major thoroughfare until your advertisement passes.
I'd consider it a stroke of genius if the 9-1-1 Dispatch script was changed to: 9-1-1 Emergency. Do you need police, fire, ambulance or a Big Mac?

The Dog Guide Program is our designated local charity.

[McHappy Day] [McDonald's Restaurants - Canada]
[Guide Dogs]

The Scoop

Ben and Jerry's has announced their newest flavor:

Seems to me, Marketing missed the boat. Shouldn't they have looked for a Colbert tie-in to a sherbert?

Over the past 8-months, Colbert has

• been rumored to host The Grammy Awards (he didn't) ;

  
  

• had a mascot named in his honor: Saginaw Spirit's Steagle Colbeagle of the Ontario Hockey League ;

  
  

• had a day named in his honor: Oshawa will celebrate Stephen Colbert Day on March 20, 2007 ;

  
  

• forced Wikipedia to shut down access to its entry about elephants, after Colbert suggested viewers of his show modify the information about the worldwide Elephant population, and

  
  

• coined the word 'truthiness' and seen it named Word of the Year (2006)
  

Colbert is said to be donating his earnings from the ice cream to The Americone Dream Fund, a newly-formed charitable foundation that will distribute money to as-yet-unnamed causes.

You know what happens when ice cream is over-exposed? It gets freezer burn and loses its flavor.

Tags:
Ice Cream/	Saginaw Spirit/	Stephen Colbert/	Ben & Jerry's

Note: The use of sherbert above is deliberate. Goes with Colbert.
Sherbet is the more widely-used term that describes a fruity frozen dessert similar to an ice. Sherbert is also accepted, as is sorbet.

Post Scripts

Updates on some previous posts:

Obesity is the #2 preventable killer of adults in the United States. 20 Things You Didn't Know about obesity.
Read the ~Original Post~.

Today, I'm reading

and

I turned in my Superhero Club card too early. These auditions are right out of Mystery Men!
Read the ~Original Post~.

The Hibiscus needs serious help. First round after moving it indoors, we had about 20 blooms. Now, it's headed for Intensive Care.
Read the ~Original Post~.

The Deering sisters had the stem-cell transplant in China and are at home again.
Read the ~Original Post~

Roni has completed a full round of chemotherapy. She provided this update from her final treatment:

Oh, and EVERYONE!!!!! INCLUDING EVERY PERSON in the waiting room, including new patients that didn't even know the story, the DR. every nurse in the place, and the woman who delivers the lunches commented on my KILLER KICK-ASS CANCER BOOTS. Suggested that someone could lose an eye with that heel.

Read the ~Original Post~


Gifter.org won an Award. Their quest for a million continues...

6147 wishes sponsored Sponsor A Wish

554 wishes made Make a Wish

Read ~Random Act of Kindness~

---

Million Dollar Blog

Gifter.org invites you to make a wish and/or sponsor a wish.

They have initiated a campaign to collect one million wishes sponsored by one million dollars in donations made to charities around the world, hence, The Million Dollar Blog Post. Follow the instructions at the Gifter site to ensure your wish and sponsorship are included.

Here's my own humble offering to the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto and CanadaHelps.org.



Go ahead, make a wish... it's on me!

Thanks to Joe Summers for sending the link.

[Gifter.org] [Daily Bread Food Bank] [CanadaHelps.org]
[Million Dollar Blog]

Cause Célèbre

I was stopped behind a vehicle that had been extensively decorated with ribbon-campaign markings. I'm not against campaigns that bring public attention to the cause, but, like so many other great ideas, ribbon campaigns have been exploited.

This car owner had ribbons and decals for:

Breast Cancer Awareness		End Male Violence Against Women
Support our Troops		September 11, 2001

MADD

All very worthwhile campaigns.

I was impressed with the social consciousness until this:

I'm sure there are some compelling soccer needs, but I don't buy that any of them would be in the same class as cancer or drunk driving!

The victim to remember in this ribbon campaign is the mark who forked over $4.95!

[Ribbon Campaigns]

Thank You

Thank you to all my sponsors who have pledged contributions for the Breast Cancer Foundation's Run for the Cure. Ten days until the event and I've reached and revised then surpassed my fundraising goals.

I'm not surprised...I know some pretty terrific people!

If I do make it to Kingston that day, be assured that the picture you are seeking will be posted.

Pledges can be made until October 31, 2006 at Run for the Cure .

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