In the past I have spoken about entertainers and celebrities donations to various causes. There are those that do the now seemingly obligatory benefit concert, which many take a fee or percentage to appear at, or televised program. That is not to say that Live Aid or other such programs and events are bad. To the contrary, I think it’s a great thing when people give some of their time, energy and money to a cause they believe in. The key is that they believe in it. If an entertainer believes in what they are doing, I do not think they need to be paid to appear or to perform. It’s not like a benefit concert for what they believe in will remove their ability to live their lifestyles. Or impede their income stream.
Now I mention the above because of something I noticed. Mr. George Clooney is not a stranger for speaking up on subjects and causes he believes in. Where it is a statement in the form of his exceptionally well done Good Night and Good Luck or his statements to being attention to Darfur and Africa. And to my knowledge Mr. Clooney has never been brusque or rude in his manner of making his statements. But I must take a moment to commend his most recent action. It involves his attempt at opening a resort/casino complex in Las Vegas.
It seems the plan was to create a primarily residential complex, that would also contain a small casino and hotel, that was based on an old style of Vegas. At 25-acres it was no small venture, and he was not involved alone as the cost of the land to be developed was $90 million. Of course like building almost anything anywhere in the country, costs escalated and the need for a larger casino caused Mr. Clooney and his partners to change their minds. They instead sold the property to other developers for $202 million. A tidy profit indeed. But here is the point.
Mr. George Clooney has stated that he will be providing his portion of the profits to the African Debt Relief Project. Now that sounds impressive to me. I realize that not all of the $112 million is his. Mr. Clooney may only be a small portion of the funds involved. Yet the fact that he is willing to put those proceeds directly to the organization is impressive.
And the attention that this generosity will provide for the organization is enormous. These are the kind of donations I would expect a celebrity or entertainer to do. Lending money and their name to an organization they believe in to help that organization and bring attention to the cause it represents. Hopefully others will follow his lead and give of themselves honestly, without remuneration. That impresses me and makes me want to know more about their cause. Otherwise I feel entertainers are just on one big television commercial, telling me what they got paid to say to sell a product.
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