Jan 16, 2017 01:00 pm
The Duchess of Cambridge, Patron of the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, visited the Centre’s Early Years Parenting Unit (EYPU) last week to learn more about their work with families who have children under five years old.
The Duchess of Cambridge visits the Anna Freud Centre’s Early Years Parenting Unit
Credit/Copyright: Royal.UK
The visit marks The Duchess’ continued desire to draw attention to child mental health issues and the importance early intervention, and working with the whole family, can make to those in vulnerable situations.
The Duchess of Cambridge met parents who have completed the treatment programme, hearing about their experiences of what bought them to the unit, their time in the programme, and where they are in their lives now.
The Early Years Parenting Unit opened in April 2011 and offers an assessment and treatment programme for groups of parents with personality disorders, and their children under five, who are at risk of being taken into care.
The treatment seeks to address the parents’ personality disorders; children’s developmental needs; and the parent-child relationship. The ultimate aim is to keep families together, and help parents become more aware of, and responsive to, their children’s needs, leading to more emotionally attuned parenting.
The Duchess met current families as they participated in a ‘theraplay’ session, which promotes the attachment relationship between parents and children.
Her Royal Highness also met staff who provide this important and highly specialised treatment programme.
The Duchess then met families who have benefited from another of the Centre’s early years service, Parent Infant Psychotherapy (PIP). The PIP service supports expecting and new parents, placing the relationship between parent and baby at its centre, acknowledging the need to understand and to make sense of the impact that the baby has on the parent and vice-versa.
The visit marked the launch of the Centre’s spotlight on childhood adversity and trauma. For more information on the Anna Freud Centre visit their website.
BeautyKind, an online retailer where consumers can shop prestige beauty brands while raising funds for charities of their choice, announced today they will be hosting a first-of-its-kind concert on March 25th at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas as part of their new BeautyKind Unites: Concert for Causes series.
The inaugural concert will raise funds for the American Heart Association and feature award-winning artists including Demi Lovato, The Band Perry and Jake Owen, who will kick off the debut of the BeautyKind Unites: Concert for Causes series by entertaining a crowd of 45,000.
The concert is expected to raise up to $3M for thousands of charities. Fifty percent of each ticket sale will be donated to the charity of the customer’s choice. This concert, which is the first of many, is a perfect fit for supporting BeautyKind’s mission of connecting cause, commerce and community through beauty and music. In addition, corporate partners, both locally and nationally, will have the opportunity to work with AHA for the event.
BeautyKind originally envisioned hosting this first concert at a smaller venue, but due to the high demand from the public, the charities, and an esteemed roster of performers, a larger venue became a necessity.
“Our goal with the BeautyKind Unites: Concert for Causes series is to reshape cause marketing by creating a fun and engaging way for people to give back to the charities they know and love,” said Founder & CEO, Hil Davis. “BeautyKind’s concert series is just another step in furthering our mission to partner and support charities, and survivors. We would like to thank the brands, charities and musicians who have made this possible, and look forward to many more that will join our movement in the future.”
From GRAMMY nominated multi-platinum selling recording artist, Demi Lovato, GRAMMY Award-winning sibling trio, The Band Perry and RCA Nashville Recording Artist, Jake Owen, these talented artists will give attendees a concert experience to cherish.
“Being able to give back is the most important contribution we make as entertainers,” says Owen. “I’m proud to be part of this event at AT&T Stadium. It’s so cool that the person buying the ticket gets to make a donation to the charity of their choice. That’s awesome.”
As the lead beneficiary of the concert, the American Heart Association will offer ultimate fans and supporters premium packages for purchase for an unforgettable concert experience. Packages will include preferred parking and seating, a private entrance, access to the artists during a pre-party in the VIP areas and more.
“We are excited to be working with BeautyKind on the first of this groundbreaking concert series where supporters can help save lives through the purchase of their ticket,” said Midge Epstein, Executive Vice President of the American Heart Association’s SouthWest Affiliate. “BeautyKind’s innovative approach to beauty and social good is inspiring. The American Heart Association looks forward to sharing our message about heart and brain health, and we are proud to be part of this concert series.”
Ticket prices range from $40 to $230 and will be available for public purchase starting Friday, January 20th. All concert attendees can use BeautyKind’s social media handle @WeAreBeautyKind and official hashtag #BeautyKindUnites when engaging on social media.
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States, announces producer and Golden Globe nominated actor, Ryan Reynolds as the recipient of its 2017 Man of the Year Award.
The Pudding is proud to honor such a talented and diverse actor, whose seamless transition across multiple genres captures audiences and keeps them coming back to see what’s next.
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ Man and Woman of the Year Awards are presented annually to performers who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment. The Man of the Year award was established in 1963. Its past recipients include, among others, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Justin Timberlake, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Pratt and most recently, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who was the 50th Man of the Year.
The Man of the Year festivities, presented by the Related Companies, will take place on Friday, February 3rd, 2017. The Hasty Pudding Theatricals will host a celebratory roast for Mr. Reynolds and present him with his Pudding Pot at Farkas Hall, which has been the Pudding’s historic home in the heart of Harvard Square since 1888. A press conference will follow the roast at 8:40 p.m.
For the first time ever, the press conferences for Hasty Pudding’s Man and Woman of the Year will be live-streamed and available to the public free-of-charge. More information will be available on the Hasty Pudding’s social media channels soon via Facebook www.facebook.com/thehastypudding, Twitter @thehastypudding and Instagram @thehastypudding. After the press conference, Mr. Reynolds will attend the opening night performance of the Pudding’s 169th production, Casino Evil.
“We’re thrilled to present Mr. Reynolds with our Man of the Year award, especially after he proved his ability to simultaneously break box-offices records and the fourth wall in 2015,” said Guan Chen, President of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. “And if his headline-stealing kiss with Andrew Garfield at the Golden Globes is any indication, it looks like he’s getting ready for his roast.”
RYANREYNOLDS is one of Hollywood’s most diverse leading men seamlessly transitioning through varied genres of drama, action and comedy in his rich and ever evolving career.
Reynolds is the Golden Globe nominated star of the 20th Century Fox record-breaking film DEADPOOL. The movie opened in February 2016 and shattered expectations, opening to $152.2-million over the four-day Presidents’ Day weekend making it the biggest R-rated opening of all time and the biggest February opening in box office history. The superhero juggernaut also replaced “Matrix Reloaded” as the highest-grossing R-rated film in history with more than $750- million globally. The film continues to break records with 2 Golden Globe nominations. A “Best Actor” nod for Reynolds and Best Picture nomination for the film, making it the first live-action superhero movie to pick up a Golden Globe nomination in the Comedy or Musical category. The film also received a Writers Guild of America nomination for “Best Adapted Screenplay” and a PGA Award nomination for “Best Picture.” Reynolds, who is a producer on the film, will begin shooting DEADPOOL 2 later this year.
Next up Reynolds can be seen opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson in Sony Pictures’ LIFE. Teaming up once again with Reese & Wernick and director Daniel Espinosa for the space thriller out March 2017. He also has THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD with Samuel L. Jackson coming out August 2017.
Reynolds body of work continues to be extremely diverse. In 2015 he starred in a variety of feature roles including MISSISSIPPIGRIND, WOMAN IN GOLD, THEVOICES and SELFLESS. MISSISSIPPIGRIND directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden premiered at Sundance to rave reviews. In The Weinstein Company’s WOMAN IN GOLD, Reynolds starred alongside Helen Mirren to tell the story of Maria Altmann (Mirren), a Jewish refugee who is forced to flee Vienna during World War II and her personal mission to reclaim a painting the Nazis stole from her family: the famous Lady In Gold. In Lionsgate’s serial killer comedy THEVOICES by famed French director Marjane Satrapi, Reynolds stars as a troubled, med-addicted factory worker driven to murder by his talking pets, a psychopathic cat called Mr. Whiskers and Bosco, his peace-loving dog. Reynolds also voices both of the animals. He also starred opposite Sir Ben Kingsley in the independent feature SELFLESS, directed by Tarsem Singh.
Reynolds voiced two DreamWorks Animation films in 2013. TURBO, in which Reynolds voices a snail named ‘Turbo’ who has dreams of winning the Indy 500. The movie also features the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Maya Rudolph, Snoop Lion and Michelle Rodriguez. Prior to that, Reynolds had his animated film debut as the voice of ‘Guy’ in DreamWorks Animation’s, THECROODS. The movie also featured the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Catherine Keener and earned over $508 million worldwide. Reynolds has signed onto the sequel, which is already in development.
His other film credits include; the Universal action thriller, SAFEHOUSE opposite Denzel Washington. The film opened to $40 million domestically in its first weekend and went onto earn $208 million worldwide. The Universal comedy, THECHANGE UP, opposite Jason Bateman, the Warner Brothers adaptation of the popular DC Comic, GREENLANTERN and the mystery/thriller BURIED. In the acclaimed and cinematically challenging film, Reynolds is the only actor to appear on camera for the duration of the piece.
In 2009, Reynolds served as Disney’s romantic comedy lead in THEPROPOSAL, opposite Sandra Bullock. The film opened at #1 at the box office and grossed $315 million worldwide. Reynolds was also seen as ‘Deadpool’ in the X-MEN spin-off, X-MENORIGINS:WOLVERINE. He starred opposite an all-star cast including Hugh Jackman and the film grossed $365 million worldwide. Additionally that year, Reynolds starred in ADVENTURELAND opposite Kristen Stewart, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated in the “Ensemble Performance” category at the 2009 Gotham Awards.
Some of Reynolds other film credits include; PAPERMAN and the Working Title film DEFINITELY, MAYBE for Universal Pictures, writer/director John August’s THENINES, director Joe Carnahan’s SMOKIN’ ACES for Working Title and Universal Pictures and THEAMITYVILLEHORROR, a remake of the classic cult film which opened #1 at the box office and made $107 million worldwide. As well as cult favorites WAITING and VANWILDER.
DarkFire, Reynolds’ TV production company, recently sold its first two projects, the live action comedy “Guidance” and the animated comedy, “And Then There Was Gordon” to 20th Century Fox TV. Reynolds will executive produce alongside Allan Loeb, Jonathon Komack Martin, Tim Dowling and Steven Pearl.
In addition to his numerous leading roles, Reynolds also serves on the board of directors for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. In November of 2007, Reynolds ran the New York City Marathon in honor of his father – who has long suffered from ravages of Parkinson’s disease. Reynolds marathon run raised over $100,000 for the Michael J Fox Foundation.
The Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770’s philanthropic mission is to provide educational and developmental support in all aspects of the performing arts for the underprivileged, to encourage satire and comedy, and to cultivate young talent around the world. The Institute is comprises the Hasty Pudding Club (the oldest social club in the United States), the Hasty Pudding Theatricals (the third oldest theater group in the world, after the Comédie-Française and the Oberammergau Passion Players) and the Harvard Krokodiloes (the foremost collegiate a cappella group in the United States). Over the last two centuries, it has grown into a premiere performing arts organization, a patron of the arts and comedy, and an advocate for satire and discourse as tools for change worldwide.
Bloomberg Philanthropies today announced that seven cities across the globe have been selected for the latest expansion of its Innovation Teams program.
The program helps City Halls drive bold innovation, change culture, and tackle big problems to deliver better results for residents. Multi-year grants will be awarded to help cities create better results for a range of pressing problems – from tackling poverty and neighborhood revitalization to recruiting and retaining public employees. Cities include Be’er Sheva in Israel; Toronto in Canada, and Anchorage AK; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Detroit, MI; and Durham; NC in the United States.
“Mayors must always be looking for new ways to improve the critical services that people depend on,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and three-term Mayor of New York City. “Our Innovation Teams program helps mayors do that by giving city governments around the world the capacity to make their innovative ideas reality.”
Now in the third round of funding, the Innovation Teams program allows mayors to fund in-house innovation teams — or “i-teams” – which investigate complex local challenges, design solutions with clear goals, and rigorously measure progress to better improve citizens’ lives. The newly announced cities join nearly 20 City Halls in the program, including Mobile, AL who is eliminating blight; Minneapolis, MN who is improving the quality of rental housing; and Syracuse, NY who is employing cost-effective measures to respond to aging infrastructure.
The seven cities were selected from a pool of municipalities with a demonstrated commitment to designing and delivering bold solutions to complex problems. Eligible cities with at least 100,000 residents and with mayors who have at least two years left in office were invited to apply. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ i-teams expansion deepens the investment in the United States and Israel and, for the first time in the history of the program, introduces the program in Canada.
“Bloomberg Philanthropies’ i-teams program has already demonstrated that approach can be successful in cities that range in size, structure, and geographic region,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory. “The City of Toronto is proud to become the first Canadian city to join this impressive network of civic innovators and many of the most innovative City Halls in the world. We look forward to building on our existing strengths and capacities to combat serious issues impacting urban areas around the world.”
New Innovation Team cities will receive up to $500,000 annually for up to three years. In addition to the grants, cities receive robust implementation support and opportunities to exchange lessons learned and best practices with peers in other cities. Newly formed i-teams will hit the ground running in each city no later than spring 2017.
“Innovation Teams bring 21st century problem-solving skills to City Hall,” said James Anderson, head of Government Innovation programs for Bloomberg Philanthropies. “The teams implement creative solutions by breaking down silos within City Halls, engaging residents to jointly understand citizen needs, and testing ideas before taking them to scale.”
The Innovation Teams Program is one of seven Government Innovation offerings at Bloomberg Philanthropies. Government Innovation equips mayors and other city leaders with the tools and techniques they need to solve urban challenges and improve citizens’ lives. I-teams are currently hard at work in Albuquerque, NM; Boston, MA; Centennial, CO; Jersey City, NJ; Long Beach, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Mobile, AL; Minneapolis, MN; Peoria, IL; Seattle, WA; and Syracuse, NY; and Tel Aviv, Israel and Jerusalem, Israel.
Key Facts About the Innovation Teams Program:
• The i-teams have developed 90 new innovations for their cities – In Mobile, AL, leaders utilized Instagram to geo-locate blighted properties while documenting the impact to residents of more than $83 million in lost market value for properties within 150 feet of a blighted structure
• 95% of cities in the program said their i-team has changed the way their city approaches solving complex problems – Los Angeles’ i-team worked with bilingual Angelenos who were facing eviction from their homes to develop solutions that empowered the city’s most vulnerable communities
• 100% of cities in the program believe their i-team created solutions that will improve quality of life for local residents – Minneapolis is currently institutionalizing a pilot that helps improve the quality of privately held rental housing in North Minneapolis
• To date, the i-team cities have secured $70 million in additional public and private sector matching funds to advance their work – Tel Aviv has secured private funding to support the team’s mapping initiative, which involves identifying new spaces around the city—including government buildings and other public spaces—that could be opened up as childcare space
Forest Whitaker, UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, will be awarded with the 2017 Crystal Award at the opening of the 47th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on 16 January 2017.
Forest Whitaker will be celebrated as one of the winners of the 23rd Annual Crystal Awards for the leadership in peace-building and conflict-resolution he has demonstrated throughout the years, notably by empowering youth as leaders and entrepreneurs in communities touched by violence and poverty.
The IIP at Rutgers University, Newark, USA, is a UNESCO Category II organization dedicated to peacebuilding, conflict transformation through non-violent struggle, and the promotion of peace education and a culture of peace.
WPDI is an enabler and incubator providing capacity-building, resources and opportunities to young women and men in Mexico, South Sudan and Uganda. A global advocate, Forest Whitaker is also one of the 17 Advocates appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations to promote the Sustainable Development Goals.
Forest Whitaker will be honored during the opening session of the Davos Annual Meeting 2017 with two other awardees: violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and singer/songwriter Shakira.
Established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation by Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. The 47th Annual Meeting will convene from 17 to 20 January 2017, under the theme “Responsive and Responsible Leadership”.
Designated Survivor star Maggie Q will lead PETA supporters in a spirited “bloody” protest against Canada Goose’s fur-trimmed and feather-filled jackets outside the company’s Toronto headquarters on Monday.
The actor will then donate a Canada Goose coat that she received as a gift to Toronto-based Wully Outerwear — in support of the company’s Trade-Up Program, which allows shoppers to exchange their fur-trimmed coats for a stylish cruelty-free winter jacket. Afterward, she’ll attempt to enter the building and request an in-person meeting with Dani Reiss, the CEO of Canada Goose, in order to ask him to remove fur from his coats, too.
Where: Canada Goose Headquarters, 250 Bowie Ave., Toronto
When: Monday, January 16, 12 noon. Time is subject to change.
PETA (whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”) points out that trapped mother animals desperate to get back to their starving pups have been known to attempt to chew off their own limbs to escape and that if trapped animals don’t die from blood loss, infection, or frostbite, they’re often bludgeoned, stomped on, or shot to death — as this video that went viral shows — when the trapper returns. In addition, birds used for down spend their entire lives in crowded, filthy sheds until their throats are slit.
One of the most spectacular voices in any genre of music, McBride has sold more than 18 million albums and has garnered six No. 1 singles. She is the “most played female artist on country radio for the past 11 years,” according to both Mediabase and Broadcast Data Systems (BDS). The breadth of her talents – as recording artist, producer, songwriter, and concert entertainer – has made her an in-demand performer and personality. Among her hits are such empowering songs as “Independence Day,” “This One’s for the Girls,” and “A Broken Wing,” all of which have underscored her incredible popularity as one of music’s preeminent female vocalists.
Martina McBride works with a variety of charities. She is the spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and the National Spokesperson for the Tulsa Domestic Violence and Intervention Services. She was awarded the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award in 2003.
Charities & foundations supported
Martina McBride has supported the following charities:
