Love Twitter? Like helping out pets in need of a good home? Want to be just like Kevin Nealon? No? How about Alyssa Milano? Kind of? Cool.

Celebrities from Milano to Nealon to David Cook to Care Bears On Fire (I have absolutely no idea…) have been taking advantage of a new online service from Adopt-A-Pet that allows you to “tweet” the word about adoptable pets in shelters. “TwitterACritter is a fun, easy way for people to actively save the life of a shelter pet, even if they can’t adopt one themselves or afford to donate,” says Abbie Moore, executive director of Adopt-a-Pet. “Homeless pets are powerless to promote themselves to potential adopters, so it’s up to those of us who love animals to lend a hand, and a set of thumbs, and tweet about them. In these difficult economic times, when so many pets are being relinquished to shelters, they need our help more than ever.”

Basically, this service works in the same way that the “Retweet” button in the upper left-hand corner of this posts works. Each animal has a little Twitter link that you can hit to spread the word about their page — and hopefully, hook up with a new family. Have a look here to give these furry guys some social media promotion!

Former SNL star Kevin Nealon has recorded a series of funny radio ads as part of a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe that will raffle off a $650,000 home. The actor often participates (with dire results) in the annual American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Lake Tahoe. “I love that area up there. It’s close to my heart. And I love playing in the golf tournament,” he said.

The goal is to raise $1 million for the club. So far, 1,100 have been sold ($150 for one — or $200 for 2!), with 7,000 available until March 1st. Here are two of Nealon’s ads:

“Even in these times of nonexistent credit, there are plenty of ways to get into a home, including that trusty oversized key known as the crow bar,” Nealon said in one. “Yes, but a simpler more legal method is buying a $150 raffle ticket from the Boys and Girls Club that may win you a $650,000 South Lake Tahoe home.”

“Nothing says I love kids like building them a fort. Starry nights, crickets, girlie magazines, strip poker. The problem is, building that fort is a royal pain. Construction, materials, power tools. And unless you are a high-powered politician with access to illegal immigrants, good luck. There is, however, one simple solution. You could just buy a house _ a $650,000 house at South Lake Tahoe.”

Hilarious — and spending $150 to win a $650,000 home isn’t a bad deal! Especially with the odds being 1 in 7,000. For more info — or to enter the raffle — check out the official site here!

The event will be held this Saturday, September 20th at 10 am. Participates will meet at Manhattan’s South Street Seaport’s Pier 17 where Modine and Olympian Sharon Seagrave will kick off the ride.

Besides the biking, the day includes a Luke Haas concert, a speech by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and prizes such as Puma “Glow” Bicycles and a Segway. Plus lets not forget about all the awesome celebs that are getting involved, like Kevin Nealon, Heather Graham, Lucy Liu, Gina Gershon and many, many more.

Modine said: “The environmental situation is a great opportunity for us all to work together to find solutions. Bicycle for a Day is just that— citizens of the world joining together globally and acting locally.”

For more info, visit bicycleforaday.org!

via: plentymag.com

Proceeds from the tournament will go to the Oscar de la Hoya Foundation, a nonprofit that works to improve the quality of life of the people of East Los Angeles.

Celebrities at the event will include George Lopez, Bruce McGill, Kevin Nealon, Dennis Haysbert, James Denton, Jesse Metcalfe, Carlos Bernard, Eric Close, Ron Pearlman, Joe Mantegna, and others. To find out more, click here.

It wasn’t just bunnies on Hef’s mind this past Saturday night as the Playboy Mansion played host to the Much Love Animal Rescue 2nd Annual Bow Wow WOW! Celebrity Fundraiser. A bevy of gorgeous and philanthropic stars turned out to hang at the Mansion and raise money for the non-profit, Much Love, which is a no kill charity that finds homes for hard to place dogs and cats in LA animal shelters, as well as providing medical care, rehabilitation, and spay and neutering services. Founded in 1999, and run by a team of dedicated volunteers, they have already managed to place over 2000 animals in good homes.

Hosted by the hilarious and spontaneous talents of Rachael Harris from Notes from the Underbelly, and Kevin Nealon of Weeds fame, the evening honored celeb activists Amy Smart (Iconic Activist Award), Good Day LA’s Jillian Barberie Reynolds (Superstar Spokesperson Award), Jerry O’Connell (Celebrity Rescuer Award), Hef’s lovely gal pal, Bridget Marquardt (Gold Heart Award), and Chela Landau (Community Liaison Award), who were all commended for their service to animal welfare. Guests were treated to a lavish vegetarian buffet courtesy of the Mansion’s personal chef, music by DJ Stryker, and a live auction including a 2008 smart fortwo car and walk-on roles in TV shows and movies, with all proceeds benefiting Much Love Animal Rescue.

Out in support of our animal friends was the gorgeous Kate Walsh (Private Practice) who, even after being pooped out after an intense red carpet sess, graciously stepped back on to say hi to all you “Razzi’s.” Also attending were Inn Love and Home Sweet Hollywood love-bugs Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott. Sadly Tori recently lost her best friend, Pug Mimi La Rue, but has launched the “Mimi La Rue Foundation,” a non-profit to raise funds to rescue sick and injured pets in shelters.

Ravishing in red was Girls Next Door and “PETA” pin-up Holly Madison who gave us a fab pirate impression whilst sporting one of the Mansion’s cockatiels, Cloe, on her shoulder. Antonio Sabato Jnr, Grant Show, Sheri Stringfield, Paula Abdul, Gary Shandling, and Joy Lauren were also in attendance, and to cap off the event, the big dog himself, Hef, made a surprise appearance.

All in all, and in true Playboy style, it was a swinging event. Between the Much Love spokes-dogs, girls in full bunny regalia, and naked painted lady all mingling with the stars on the red carpet, it was exactly what you’d expect of a party chez Hef. But beneath all the excitement the message was passionate and clear. Let’s get to work on decreasing the number of pound pups and kitties needlessly euthanized in shelters each year, and put puppy mills out of business.

Photo credit: Courtney Dailey

I enjoy a lot of things: really good margaritas, paid vacation time, that noise bubble wrap makes when it’s popped, but none of those compare to how much I love the annual Farm Sanctuary Gala. In case you’re late to the party, Farm Sanctuary was started in 1986 with the rescue of Hilda, a “downer” cow left for dead in a stockpile. Today they are considered to be the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization and work tirelessly to expose and stop cruel practices in the food animal industry. After over 20 successful years they now have 2 fully running sanctuaries in New York and California that are home to hundreds of animals, tons of staff and plenty of curious visitors.

Each year the organization holds a ritzy, celebrity-packed gala to help raise money for their many noble causes. Two yeas ago, before my Ecorazzi days, I volunteered at the event and was truly inspired by a room full of like-minded people all coming together to celebrate those that are so rarely even thought about. This year I got to attend with a full access, fancy-pancy press pass and pick the brains of those very famous VIP’s I once so fondly cooed over.

I arrived at 4:30, signed in and was told I had “full-access” to the event. Score! After getting my photographer Andrew Ford set up on the red carpet I headed inside for some investigative work (and perhaps a little appetizer munching). The space was pure elegance with beautifully decorated tables, a silent auction area and, of course, the second floor VIP loft. I started slowly and perused some of the items on the silent auction tables. There were signed photographs, paintings, jewelry and plenty of eager volunteers to help answer any questions I might have.

Next I headed upstairs to the VIP lounge where I had the chance to speak with Melissa Rivers (a regular Ecorazzi reader), Emily Deschanel, Rory Freedman, Dennis Kucinich, Swoosie Kurtz, Kevin Nealon, Victoria Moran, Ally Sheedy, Loretta Swit, Russell Simmons and Farm Sanctuary president and co-founder Gene Baur. The celebs were kind, well-spoken and all agreed on one thing: Farm Sanctuary is pretty damn incredible. FYI — throughout the week Ecorazzi will feature The Farm Sanctuary Gala Interviews, a series of exclusive one on ones with the many celebrity guests in attendance.

After celeb-time, the ceremony began with host Heather Mills admitting that she wanted to “convert all the meat-eaters in the house.” Awesome! The dinner came a bit later and was partially designed by Mills herself. Now even though I had “full-access”, I didn’t have “full-access” to dinner!! However, you better believe those years of waiting tables taught me a thing or two about getting on the good side of servers. I quickly befriended a waiter and made sure I got a plate of vegan lasagna with bechamel sauce. Sadly, I must admit that I was far from impressed. The plate appeared rather sloppy, adversely juxtaposing the elegance of the evening, and the overly sweet bechamel sauce left much to be desired. Luckily I filled up on delicious appetizers like fresh guacamole, vegan chicken and green tomato soup.

The ceremony continued with awards given to many, including Karen Dawn for her outstanding activism and the Jivamukti Yoga School for their leadership in compassionate living. As the evening began to wind down Susie Essman got on stage and auctioned off a few pretty incredible gifts — my favorite being a portrait sitting with world-renown painter Peter Max. The ceremony closed with a twilight reception and a musical performance by Grammy Award winner Shawn Colvin.

As I chowed down on my out of the this world vegan brownie cheesecake, care of Vegan Treats, I looked around the room at a group of people who were all spending their time and money on a cause they truly believed in and I felt so proud to be among them. It was getting late and my feet were tired so I headed for the exit and was offered a remarkably heavy gift-bag with enough vegan products to last me for the next month!

A big thanks to the folks at Farm Sanctuary for pulling off such a lovely event and for inviting your beloved Ecorazzi team to take part in the festivities. If you’d like to visit the farm or learn how you can get involved, visit FarmSanctuary.org. Also, don’t forget to check Ecorazzi all week long for the Farm Sanctuary Gala exclusive interviews!

Photo Credit: Andrew Ford

What’s more fun than spending a fancy schmancy evening in downtown New York City eating classy vegan fare with some of today’s hottest celebrities? Um, nothing! 

On May 17th from 6pm-midnight Farm Sanctuary will hold it’s annual gala at Cipriani Wall Street in NYC — and trust me, you don’t want to miss it! Farm Sanctuary was founded in 1986 and aims to expose and stop cruel practices that take place in the “food animal” industry. They now have two shelters — one in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and the other in Orland, Calif. — where they provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals. 

This year the Farm Sanctuary Gala will be hosted by Heather Mills, emceed by Melissa Rivers and will feature a delicious three course vegan dinner, an awards ceremony, a silent auction and a musical performance by Shawn Colvin. And the guest list is just as exclusive with celebrities like Kristen Bell, Rachel Leigh Cook, Jennifer Coolidge, Emily Deschanel, Christine Ebersole, Swoosie Kurtz, Kevin Nealon, Loretta Swit, Persia White and Debra Wilson Skelton scheduled to attend, as well as many others.  

Tickets may sound a bit pricey at 400 dollars a pop, but save those pennies because this evening is totally worth it. Last time I went I heard an incredible speech by Loretta Swit, said hello to James Cromwell and pointed Alicia Silverstone to the restroom. 

To find out more visit FarmSanctuary.org and get those tickets before they run out! I’ll be covering the event this year so make sure you find me and say hello!