Saturday, June 28, 2008

Drew Barrymore donates $1 mln to feed Kenyan kids

Actress Drew Barrymore listens during a news conference where she was named Ambassador against Hunger... Enlarge Photo Actress Drew Barrymore listens during a news conference where she was named Ambassador against Hunger...

Tue, Mar 4 03:44 AM

U.S. actress Drew Barrymore donated $1 million of her own money on Monday to the World Food Programme (WFP) that the U.N. agency said would be used to feed thousands of schoolchildren in Kenya.

Barrymore, 33, a WFP ambassador against hunger, announced her pledge on The Oprah Winfrey Show to kick off the agency's $3 billion "Fill the Cup" campaign that aims to feed 59 million hungry school children in developing countries for a year.

WFP hopes the United States will be able to donate enough money to feed 10 million of those children.

"I have seen with my own eyes what a difference a simple cup of nutritious porridge can make in a child's life," said the "Charlie's Angels" star, who has traveled to Kenya twice in the past two years for WFP.

"It helps them learn, stay healthy and sets them on track for a bright future. I urge everyone -- everywhere -- to help WFP 'Fill the Cup' for hungry children, and make hunger history," she said in a statement released by the agency.

Barrymore, who gained fame as a child star in the film "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial," is the eighth-highest-paid actress in Hollywood, according to The Hollywood Reporter, earning more than $10 million a movie.

Josette Sheeran, WFP's executive director, said $50 "fills a child's cup for a year" and called on people to donate through the Web site www.wfp.org.

The organization said last year it provided more than 20 million school children with a daily cup of porridge, rice or beans and also gave many girls a monthly ration to take home to their families. It said up to 70 percent of its food used for school meals is bought from farmers in developing cpountries.

Source

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