Tag Archives: celebrity

That’s One Large Card

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It’s been a few days since we last brought you an update on the Alright With Moo fundraiser, but we’ve been busy here at Heifer upholding our end of the bargain. Just this morning, the printer delivered the custom-made birthday card we’ll present to Kris. That’s happening soon, and once it does we’ll post another update here on the blog. After we give Kris his card, we’ll also post a link to a PDF version that you all can view and use to find your names.

For now, I’ll leave you with these photos I snapped in the break area of our office. Notice the regular-sized roll of paper towels in the second photo below. Hopefully, that will give you an idea of just how large this card is.

As I was doing the layout for the card, I truly enjoyed seeing all of your names; it reminded me of just how wonderful Kris Allen’s fans are and just how much we appreciate your support of Heifer International’s mission.

Kris Allen Fans: You’re Alright with Heifer

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Alright with Moo, you’re alright with us. Heifer has been astounded by the outpouring of support Kris Allen fans have shown us in their effort to honor Kris Allen’s 25th birthday and follow his example of giving back. At first the goal was a to buy Kris a cow that would go to help a hungry family lift themselves out of poverty. In just a few days the team had raised over $25,000, enough to buy 50 cows. Kris Allen was evidently impressed by the support his fans showed through Heifer.

At a birthday concert he even mentioned Alright with Moo and Heifer (3:20 into the video):
MTV wrote about the event, and Bill Gates put it on his daily Twitter blog. It’s been a whirlwind and we just have to say thank you to everyone involved. Our team is at work creating a special birthday card to send Kris with the names of those who contributed in his honor. We’ll present it in a few days, so you still have until Wednesday to honor Kris and help families in need.

An Ark for Adam

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Eva Amurri and Adam Lambert at the January Critics Choice Awards after party in Hollywood. Heifer International is the official Cause Partner to the Broadcast Film Critics Association.

If you’re following this blog, you likely heard that some Kris Allen fans have started an impressive grassroots fundraiser for Heifer.

Well, we also heard from some Adam Lambert fans. It turns out that some of his fans are working to raise enough money to buy a Heifer Ark in his honor with the Glamberts for Adam’s Ark page. Good luck to everyone as we all work to make the world a better place, and be sure to watch this blog for updates on the Glamberts fundraising successes.

Alright with Moo: Kris Allen Fans Give a Cow (or 50)

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Kris Allen, in case you didn’t know, will be 25 on Monday. We at Heifer were surprised to find out that several Kris Allen fans are honoring him by purchasing heifers in his honor. These fans have set up a team fundraising page called Alright With Moo and are spreading the word through Twitter (#AlrightWithMoo).

The fans have also put together a YouTube video explaining that they were inspired by Kris’s desire to give back, so they decided to give back in his honor:

At Heifer we usually offer cards for people who want to give an animal in someone’s honor, so we are going to send Kris Allen a special Heifer birthday card with the names of everyone who contributes to the Alright With Moo page by Wednesday.

Thanks Kris Allen for the inspiration and thank you Kris Allen fans for joining Heifer’s work to end hunger and poverty.

Update: 6/21/10, 10:00 a.m.

The Alright With Moo fundraiser has now raised more than $25,000 to further Heifer’s work to fight hunger and poverty. From all of us here — Thank You!

Given this overwhelming support, we’ve decided to wait until 5:00 p.m. Wednesday (Central time) to make the cutoff for names to be added to the card. Anyone who donates to the page by that point will have their names in the card. We hope this will allow even more fans to make a belated birthday contribution in Kris’s honor.

We’re going to work to deliver the card to Kris by the end of this week.

On Heifer’s Birthday, a Challenge for You

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A young Dan West had come up with the idea of Heifer while distributing powdered milk to desperate people displaced by the Spanish Civil War. These people need not a cup, but a cow, he said.

Today Heifer turns 66. On June 18, 1944, the first shipment of 17 dairy cows set out to help families in Puerto Rico. These heifers were the first of millions of animals that have changed countless lives. West was if nothing else, audacious. He was unafraid of a big challenge.

That’s why June 18th was chosen to officially launch the program “Heifer Challenge.”

This new program for schools, congregations and work places was inspired by a unique challenge about ten years ago. The staff of Marie Claire sent Susan Sarandon into the streets of Manhattan with a long list of dares, and for each one she met, the magazine donated animals to Heifer.

For example, by getting herself into a photo with a bride and groom, they gave a cow. She organized a “Hands Across Wall Street,” convinced a man to dye his hair blond, took a bite out of a stranger’s sandwich — all totaled she met 18 challenges, earning llamas, chickens, water buffalo, and other livestock that ultimately would help dozens of families around the world move from poverty to self-reliance.

Heifer Challenge now makes it possible for you to dare others — for good. You can download the new leader’s guide here.

So, Happy Birthday, Heifer! As we celebrate, let’s think about how we can challenge ourselves to make a greater difference in our world.

Beatrice: Small Inputs, Big Outcomes

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Beatrice (right) at Clinton School ceremony.

On Saturday I saw something that made me feel great: Beatrice Biira walked across the stage, receiving her masters degree from the Clinton School of Public Service.


Many people are familiar with her story. In 1994 Beatrice was featured in a Heifer video — because of the gift of a Heifer goat, this nine-year-old Ugandan girl in her torn red dress was able to fulfill a dream and begin first grade.


But that was just the beginning. She learned quickly and was soon able to attend a private school in Kampala.


The subject of Beatrice’s Goat (published by Simon & Schuster and a best seller on The New York Times Illustrated Children’s Book list), Beatrice appeared on many radio and television shows, including “Good Morning America” and “60 Minutes.” Oprah Winfrey once flew Beatrice in from Uganda to surprise her guest, Heifer supporter Susan Sarandon.


Through the help of Rosalee Sinn, Dick Young and others, Beatrice received scholarships to attend a prep school and later Connecticut College (with a degree in International Development and Gender Studies). She has interned for Sen. Hillary Clinton and for the Clinton Foundation, shared the stage with President Clinton, and had a theory named for her by Economist Jeffrey Sachs for whom she later worked. (The “Beatrice Theorum” says that small inputs can lead to big outcomes!)


Beatrice is a testament to both the power of a goat (and the training that came with it) and to what can happen when young people have access to quality education.


I’m proud to have Beatrice Biira as a friend and wish her the best as she continues to serve others and prove her Theorum.

Musician Lissie Plays Well with Heifer

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Singer-songwriter Lissie recently talked with the music/cause blog Plays Well With Others about her music and her love for Heifer International. Check out Lissie’s music and hear her talk about her family’s tradition of giving Heifer gifts for the holidays (about 3:30 min. into the video).

Lissie Plays Well With Heifer International from Plays Well With Others on Vimeo.

Bono on the End of Aid

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Bono had a great op-ed in Saturday’s New York Times introducing us to some of the most important players in African development–business people, artists and activist who are working toward a new kind of hope.

Toward the end of the piece Bono begins to wonder if the idea of aid for Africa is outdated with so many indigenous leaders.
He concludes:

Aid, it’s clear, is still part of the picture. It’s crucial, if you have H.I.V. and are fighting for your life, or if you are a mother wondering why you can’t protect your child against killers with unpronounceable names or if you are a farmer who knows that new seed varietals will mean you have produce that you can take to market in drought or flood. But not the old, dumb, only-game-in-town aid — smart aid that aims to put itself out of business in a generation or two. “Make aid history” is the objective. It always was. Because when we end aid, it’ll mean that extreme poverty is history. But until that glorious day, smart aid can be a reforming tool,demanding accountability and transparency, rewarding measurable results, reinforcing the rule of law, but never imagining for a second that it’s a substitute for trade, investment or self-determination.

Refering to Mo Ibrahim, an innovative leader fighting corruption in Africa, Bono concludes:

I for one want to live to see Mo Ibrahim’s throw-down prediction about Ghana come true. “Yes, guys,” he said, “Ghana needs support in the coming years, but in the not-too-distant future it can be giving aid, not receiving it; and you, Mr. Bono, can just go there on your holidays.”

This sentiment is exactly what we are working for at Heifer. Already, in communities from Sierra Leone to Cameroon, Mo Ibrahim’s prediction is coming true. Through Heifer’s model of Pass on the Gift development recipients are becoming donors, year after year. With a rising generation of leaders and donors an end to aid is on the horizon–soon we will have only the exchanging of gifts.