Get out those wallets and get ready to bid! Bette Midler is raising some serious green for the New York Restoration Project and wants you to get involved.

Famous folks like John Mayer, Daniel Craig, Richard Branson, Steve Carrell, and many more have donated celebrity experiences to the organization, which are currently being auctioned at  CharityFolks.com. The fundraiser boasts over 100 “once-in-a-lifetime” prize packages, including:

• Lunch with Richard Branson during a week-long getaway at Necker Island
• Meet Robin Williams with VIP tickets to his NYC stand-up show
• Walk-on Role & Lunch on Set of ”It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”
• Meet Cher with VIP tickets & backstage passes to her Las Vegas show

The auction is already up and running and lasts until November 13, 2009. Want a exclusive celebrity experience? Visit CharityFolks.com to bid on one of the awesome prize packages.

“Just remember in the winter, far beneath the biter snow, lies a seed that with the sun’s love in the spring becomes the rose.” 

One of my favorite lines from one of my favorite songs sung by one of my favorite performers….. Ladies and gentlemen: The one and only…. Bette Midler!

On Monday May 18th, 2009 Ms. Midler helped celebrate the opening of New York City’s first certified nature explore classroom with New York Restoration Project’s (NYRP) newly designed The Home Depot Foundation Community Garden in East Harlem.

The best part? Midler was joined by 20 of the most adorable students you’ve ever seen from East Harlem’s PS 155!

After being introduced to the students as “our force of nature” by Drew Becher, executive director of the NYRP, Midler gave her two cents (hey, it’s her project, we’ll let her give as much as she wants!)…. “I’m from Hawaii…. You know who else is from Hawaii? President Obama, a true forward thinking guy and we’re crazy about him.” In her speech Midler also stated “children and nature make a perfect marriage…. a perfect couple.”

In addition to playtime, NRYP will use the space to host classes from the award-winning “Nature in My Neighborhood curriculum.” I had the pleasure of sitting down with NYRP chief education officer, Akiima Price (who Midler hailed as “the greatest educator I have ever met!”). I asked Ms Price about the benefits of bringing urban children and nature together. Her response: “Kids need options. These parks and programs help break the cycles. It’s nothing for some of these kids to think about going to jail.”

Another perk of the park? Mr. Bechner showed me how they use solar and wind power for the activities and maintenance of the garden… including movies for the community beginning in June!

Until then, what excites the kids most about the new Home Depot Community Garden? As Ms. Midler pointed out: “You can get your hands dirty and no one is going to yell at you!”

Now that’s something to sing about!

Check out more pictures from the event below.

Monica McCarthy is the newest member of the Ecorazzi team and the founder of BeeGoodNow.com — a website that puts the spotlight on women who are being good by doing good for the greater good.  Monica lives in New York City and we think she’s neat.

– Bette Midler, founder of the New York Restoration Project, commending Governor Patterson for recognizing the need for New York City to have a more stringent program for recycling plastic bags. Starting January 1st, large retail spaces and chains must provide bins for the collection of used plastic carryout bags, recycle the returned bags and keep records for three years describing the amount of plastic bags collected and recycled.

Photo credit: PR Photos

Michael Kors judged the costume contest, Griffin performed her “D List” stand-up comedy routine and Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine brought guests back to the ‘80s as the featured musical performer.  The honoree was internationally acclaimed chef Alice Waters, who was honored with the ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ award for pioneering advocacy for locally grown and sustainably harvested food.

We hope this event raised lots of money for the NYRP, which is performing an extremely valuable service in areas of need. Bette founded NYRP to be the “conservancy of forgotten places”, bringing color and life back to places in need of cleanup and restoration.

Check out all of the photos over at Broadway World, including Pink as one of the cutest (and least disturbing) clowns we’ve ever seen, and Gloria Estefan looking like a goth chick on her way to an S&M club.

via Broadway World

It’s a little greener in New York City today, thanks to the combined efforts of Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project and rapper 50 Cent’s G Unity Foundation. The celebs teamed up to restore a community garden in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New York. The newly dedicated Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Community Garden’s restoration is the vision of acclaimed landscape architect and designer Walter Hood. It was generously funded by 50 Cent.

“He stepped up to the plate to fund this project,” said Bette Midler, “And when it ended up costing $100,00 more than we anticipated, he didn’t bat an eyelid. He wrote the check!”

A native of the community, 50 Cent wanted to helped revamp the garden as part of his personal efforts to give back to the neighborhood in which he was raised. The opening celebration of the garden featured children from Myrtle P Jarmon Day Care Center who use it as a part of their curriculum. Council members, teachers and members of the community were there to mark the occasion with a Halloween themed party.

“It’s nice to be able to give back to this next generation of kids,” said 50 Cent. “This is the first of many projects I’m going to do in this community.”

The new garden – which was conceived by famous designer Sean Conway – uses cutting-edge sustainable technology to eliminate dependence on outside energy. Wind turbines and solar panels power the 5,000 square foot garden’s LED energy efficient lighting, and a rainwater harvesting system helps conserve resources by collecting fallen rainwater. Furthermore, the garden rocks some serious compost bins that make recycling organic household and yard waste super-duper easy.

Midler is the founder of the New York Restoration Project, a non-profit dedicated to developing and revitalizing parks, community gardens and public space in New York City. Ecorazzi loves us some NYRP and have covered their accomplishments on many, many occasions.

To learn more about the Target East Harlem Community Garden, visit NYRP.org! Now go get that shovel!

thanks: looktothestars.org

John Cusack, Ellen Degeneres, Sugarland and loads of other celebrities are lending their star power to STOMP Out Bullying. The campaign, sponsored by Love Our Children USA, is a series of public service events to raise awareness about bullying in multiple forms. It will be carried out through V spots, videos, posters, brochures and wristbands.

“STOMP Out Bullying brings awareness and educates kids, parents and schools about the issue. It offers hope for every kid who experiences the harmful effects of bullying and teaches parents to keep open communication with their children and to look for signs. It also educates school administrators across the country, who have swept this issue under the rug for too long,” says Ross Ellis, founder and CEO of Love Our Children USA.

Other celebrities lending a hand for STOMP Out Bullying include Demi Lovato, JoJo, Elton John, Bette Midler, Donny and Marie Osmond, and Ashleigh Banfield. Additionally,  Dancing With The Stars, Live With Regis and Kelly, The View, truTV, “In The Heights”, and the NJ Nets will also be helping to raise awareness.

1 out of 4 kids in the U.S. are bullied. Want to get involved? Charity Folks is hosting an auction for the campaign, running October 6th – 20th. To learn more, click here.

Now, Midler is taking her affection for the planet one step further by announcing an end to her touring days. “Over the years, the number of trucks that I have behind me has grown exponentially and I don’t really like that, I don’t like wasting the gas,” she recently told Matt Smith of Sky News. “Fourteen trucks, that’s a lot of gas. So I decided I’d stay put for a while,” she added.

Midler will instead be throwing down roots in Las Vegas where she’ll be paid a cool $13 million to have folks come to her. She also rambled off an impressive list of green credentials — such as she owns a Smart car, a hybrid, composts, recycles and “is wearing clothing from 50 years ago.” Grin.

Check out the full story — including her views on the current political scene — by jumping here.

via green daily

Get out those recycled, environmentally-friendly costumes Ecorazzi readers; Halloween is just around the corner!

On October 31st, Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project will throw their annual HULAWEEN Gala to raise money for various projects — including the restoration of 57 community gardens and their signature program, MillionTreesNYC. — at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

The star-studded Halloween event will be hosted by Kathy Griffin with a performance by Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine. Chef Alice Waters from Chez Panisse will be honored with the Wing Beneath My Wings Award for her pioneering advocacy for locally grown and sustainably harvested food. And you know Ecorazzi loves us some local, sustainable food!

The evening’s theme is, “A Ghoulish Green Market”, and costumes – which will be judged by Michael Kors — are required!! Balcony seats are now available for $630 and include pre-dinner cocktail party, dinner, and the evening’s program with Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine’s performance. Or, if you’re on a budget, you can attend the Junior Committee After-Party Disco/Casino Night for a mere $150.00 smackers.

For more information call Buckley Hall Events (914) 579-1000 or visit www.nyrp.org.  See ya at the show!

NYC get ready!  On August 19th, Hard Rock International will host a special performance by rock band STAIND live from Times Square. The event will celebrate the release of STAIND’s new album as Hard Rock teams up with VH1 Save The Music to help raise funds and awareness for music education. 

Because green is the new everything, Hard Rock is trying to be as eco-friendly as possible by not only offsetting power usage for the event by purchasing 94 TONS of CO2 offsets, but also teaming up with Bette Midler’s New York Park Restoration Project to plant 25 native trees in New York City.  

Sean Dee, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, said: “Some of the biggest names in music have become part of our Ambassadors of Rock program over the last three years — from The Who, The Police and Eric Clapton, to Bon Jovi, Fergie and John Mayer. We are thrilled that STAIND joins the exclusive list of Hard Rock Ambassadors.’”

So jump on the 1 train and head down to Times Square on August 19th to see STAIND perform live. For more info visit HardRock.com!