Celebrities

Jon Bon Jovi's "pay-what-you-can" charity restaurant in New Jersey is open for business. The rocker says Soul Kitchen is designed to help the hungry without the stigma of a soup kitchen.

There are no prices on the menu. Diners pay whatever they're able to. Those without money can still eat provided they're willing to work in the restaurant or perform some community service.

Miley Cyrus announced she will be joining the Starkey Hearing Foundation for a return visit to  bring the gift of hearing to Haiti after making a generous donation that helped tip the scales at this year’s So The World May Hear Awards Gala held on Sunday, July 24, 2011.

In a country that spent the last three decades getting rich, Yang Lan wants to show that giving back is glorious.

Yang, a television host and one of China's wealthiest women, is leading a movement to encourage the growth of philanthropy.

She aims to gather some of the best resources from the U.S. nonprofit sector to help China build a modern system of philanthropy, and bring Chinese philanthropists here for exchanges with American foundations.

Seth MacFarlane, creator of the hit animation series "Family Guy," "American Dad" and the "Cleveland Show," is paying tribute to his mother by teaming up with Heaven on Earth Society for Animals, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit.

On the year anniversary of his mother's death, Seth MacFarlane and Heaven on Earth Society for Animals announce the establishment of Perry’s Place — The Perry MacFarlane Sanctuary at Heaven on Earth.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research seems to have it all wrong, going against conventional fundraising wisdom at seemingly every turn. Yet the $57 million MJFF raised last year ($50 million of which went toward its mission) tells a different story. The foundation, which has funded more than $240 million in research since its founding 10 years ago, is light on its feet and built for speed.

Pirate’s Booty, manufacturer of all-natural snacks, is pleased to announce its participation with Diana Taurasi of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury in Hoop Heroes, a fundraising initiative that benefits After-School All-Stars (ASAS), a 501(c)3 charity that provides free after-school programs to disadvantaged youth across the nation.  Pirate’s Booty will donate $10 for every point WNBA Taurasi scores during the 2011 WNBA season. Taurasi is a two-time WNBA champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and named to the All-WNBA First Team six years in a row. She is the first WNBA player to become a Hoop Hero.

Etsy is partnering with pop singer-songwriter Lady Gaga to raise money for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation. Lady Gaga commissioned three Etsy artists to design limited-edition posters inspired by her album "Born This Way." She signed some of the posters, on sale in the Etsy Store.

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has formed the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to reduce homelessness in Los Angeles. Bryant will hold a news conference Tuesday at My Friend's Place, a nonprofit resource center that offers free emergency services to about 1,600 homeless people a year, according to its website.

After 45 years promoting treatment and a cure for children he calls “my kids,” comedian Jerry Lewis announced Monday he is retiring as host of the Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon that has become synonymous with his name. Lewis, 85, issued a statement through the association calling it “time for an all new Telethon era.”

Princess Diana used her celebrity to draw attention to difficult social causes. Now her son William and his bride, Kate Middleton, appear to be maintaining the tradition, potentially delivering a multimillion-pound windfall to a handful of mostly little-known and unfashionable charities.

The couple asked wedding guests and the public to support 26 organisations that comprise the couple's charitable gift fund, covering a range of causes such as mentally ill ex-servicemen, young offenders, former gang members, bullied youngsters, refugee students, homeless people, teenage drug addicts and children in care.