I was born in 1983 which made Saved By The Bell pretty much a major staple in my childhood. So of course when I see Elizabeth Berkley I can’t help but think about brainy, over-achieving Jessie Spano. That’s not really fair though because Elizabeth has done way more than just cheesy sitcoms, including her newest stint as reality television star with a mission.

MTV has given Berkley her own show based on a project she started called Ask Elizabeth. An MTV exec said, “She does these workshops around the country with teen girls and gets them to really open up about their issues, like self-esteem and body issues. We had been looking for a program that tackled the same issues, so it seemed like a perfect match.” 

This isn’t the first time Berkley has given her time to a good cause. Earlier in the summer Ecorazzi premiered an exclusive video hosted by our very own deliciously British Anna Griffin featuring a bevy of celebs, inlcluding Elizabeth, who took the time to stop by Whole Foods and show their support for the Feed 100 Campaign. And speaking of food, Elizabeth is also long-time vegetarian (and I’m like 96% positive she’s vegan…can anyone confirm?) and famously posed in a dress made out of lettuce for PETA…which you KNOW gives her like super extra points in my book! 

To learn more about Berkley’s project, visit Ask-Elizabeth.com. And now I’d like you to join me in raising a glass to Elizabeth Berkley as we toast career comebacks. CHEERS! 

via:perezhilton.com

Last Monday saw the celebration of the FEED 100 bag, created by activist and model Lauren Bush, and partner Ellen Gustafson of FEED Projects, a socially conscious company with a commitment to feeding the world.  The intimate catered event, held at the Whole Foods Lifestyle store in West Hollywood, attracted Desperate Housewives star, Marcia Cross, and Elizabeth Berkley of Step Up and Dance!  Both are huge fans of Lauren’s and the FEED 100 bag. 

Modeled after the grain bags that the UN distributes in the field, it retails at $29.99 at Whole Foods in the US, Canada, and the UK, and is an eco friendly organic cotton tote which conveniently folds up into small burlap pouch.  A full one-third of the purchase price ($10) goes to provide 100 school meals to the children of Rwanda through the UN World Food Program.  The meals are served in schools as an incentive to get the children back into the classroom, and receive both education and a nutritious meal that they might not otherwise get in a day.  And girls can get additional rations to take home if they stay in school, an incentive aimed at closing the educational gender gap.   

As Ellen told us, “Everyone remembers the terrible history of Rwanda in the 90’s, and we thought it really important to pick a country everyone would know of and make a measureable difference for those children.  The goal is to sell 580,000 bags and be able to feed the entire school population of Rwanda for 2008.”

Marcia Cross, who got together with the “Desperate Housewives” cast and bought the entire crew an original “FEED” bag last Christmas was effusive in her praise.  “In this day and age when we spend so much time thinking about celebrity and other silly things young women are doing, these two incredible women have come up with this genius idea and are doing something so vital and important on the Planet.”  Marcia, who is really aware of her own family’s abundance, is committed to passing it on and giving it to people in need, whilst teaching her daughters how to take care of the Planet as they grow up. 

Elizabeth Berkley was also proud to be supporting FEED Projects and of her friend Lauren’s commitment to being of service to hungry children worldwide.  Elizabeth, who is not new to living a green lifestyle, told us, “It’s much easier, cooler, and sexier to be conscious and if we start demanding from companies, they’ll take note.  It’s empowering to take care of yourself in that way.”  She’s taking that message throughout the country, and soon the world via her “Ask Elizabeth” self-esteem based workshops created for adolescent girls. 

It’s tragic to consider that there are children in the world who do not get a single meal a day and that a child dies every five seconds from malnutrition, making it a bigger killer than TB, Cholera, and AIDS combined.   This is definitely one small way we can all make a contribution to end childhood famine.  In addition, for all you Eco-Fashionistas, the FEED 100 tote is quite stylish, and possibly the Anya Hindmarch “I’m Not A Plastic Bag”

Bag of 2008!  Luckily for us, these fab hold-alls are in plentiful supply, and with the goal of selling 580,000 (approximately 40,000,000 meals) and feeding the school children of Rwanda for an entire year, we can all buy one without having to get on a list or stand outside a store at 4 am in line!  Most importantly, for every single bag we buy, $10 of our purchase price feeds 100 children.  Now, what could be more eco chic than that?

For more information on the project, please click here.