Drug companies join forces to combat deadliest tropical diseases

Bill Gates gets pharmaceutical giants to promise drug giveaways and unprecedented pledge to share research on new antidotes

The heads of 13 of the world's biggest drug companies, brought together by Bill Gates, have agreed to donate more medicines and, in a rare spirit of co-operation, to work together to find new ones in an attempt to end many neglected tropical diseases that kill and maim some of the poorest people on the planet.

UK 'Fifth most charitable country on planet' - while world becomes more charitable place

The UK is officially the fifth most charitable nation in the world - up from eighth last year - according to a new survey by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). The survey, called the World Giving Index 2011, shows that the USA is the most charitable country, while Ireland is second and Australia third.

Tragic hockey star’s lifesaving legacy

A sad twist in the Yak-42 tragedy reveals that one of Lokomotiv players who died in the crash was anonymously giving money to sick kids, and the last half-million ruble payment was transferred to a young cancer patient minutes before the take-off.

It was several days ago that the parents of 16-year-old Diana Ibragimova from Voronezh learned the real name of the man who saved their daughter’s life. Ivan Tkachenko, captain of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey club, was sending big sums of money to Voronezh without disclosing his name or expecting any gratitude at all, Lifenews online tabloid reports.

Diana’s mother burst into tears when she learned Ivan had died in a horrible accident. It took her a long time to understand that the man she knew nothing about, just that his name was Ivan, was in fact Ivan Tkachenko, captain of the famous Lokomotiv hockey club.

The hockey player’s secret was disclosed thanks to a well-known Russian blogger, Varfolomeev. In one of his latest posts he wrote that the athlete had regularly been transferring large sums of money to sick children. Diana was one of the several lucky children whom Ivan had patronized.

Ivan transferred money to Diana’s family twice, and both times he asked that his name not be indicated under any circumstances. 

“We did not even know who our daughter’s benefactor was, just his first name,” cried Elena, Diana’s mother. “We received 500,000-ruble transfers twice; they both came from an unknown Ivan. I thought he might be a successful businessman and could not imagine he was one of the best-known Russian hockey players. Such a young man!”exclaims Elena.

After the family received the second transfer, they wrote a letter to Ivan, but they never received an answer. Neither Diana nor her mother knew that just minutes after sending the money, Ivan Tkachenko died in a horrific plane crash not far from the city of Yaroslavl. 

The modest young hockey player did not like to talk about his philanthropy. Only his closest friends knew that Ivan helped children who were diagnosed with terrible diseases. 

“Vanya adored children,” one of Tkachenko’s friends recalled. “His wife is now expecting their third child.”

His relatives say Ivan always rushed to help when he saw a child needed his assistance.

“Ivan did not want anyone to know he was taking part in charity,” said the authorities at the Advita charity fund. “He did not want gratitude; he just helped kids and adults who were in need of his help. He saved many lives!” they added.

via rt.com 

Naomi Campbell to be honored for charity work

NEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Campbell has made plenty of headlines for her bad behavior, but next month, the spotlight is set to shine on the model for something positive — her charitable work.

Campbell and her boyfriend, Russian billionaire Vladislav Doronin, are going to be honored at the annual Angel Ball, which supports cancer research.

"She really is amazing woman and she does a lot for charity. She has her own charity. She raised a lot of money this summer for Haiti and for AIDS relief," said Denise Rich, the songwriter who started the Angel Foundation after her daughter, Gabrielle, died of leukemia.

Rich spoke about Campbell during a party hosted at her home Saturday night. It was co-hosted by Jade Jagger. Tina and Solange Knowles were also in attendance, as was Rich's best friend, singer Natalie Cole.

Cole said people should not be shocked that Campbell, who has pleaded guilty several times to assault, is being honored, and that the model is misunderstood: "She has been behaving herself. She is a good girl. I think there are just certain people who get on her nerves and I understand that."

The Angel Ball will be held on October 17 and will feature performances by Patti LaBelle and Eve.

via Associated Press

Apple to match charitable donations made by its employees

The recently installed Apple CEO Tim Cook sent out an email to employees on Thursday announcing a matching gift program for charitable donations.

According to the email, obtained by MacRumors, when an Apple employee gives money to a non-profit organization, the Cupertino company will equal the donation up to $10,000 annually. The scheme kicks off on September 15.

The new program currently applies only to US employees of the computer giant, though there are plans to include Apple workers around the rest of the world at some point in the future.

When that happens, donations could add up to a sizable sum – Apple is thought to have around 50,000 employees globally.

Cook said in his email that it was the generosity of Apple employees who already make donations that inspired the creation of the program. Fortunately the company is in a healthy enough financial position to be able to launch the new scheme.

Here’s the full text of Cook’s email:

Team:

I am very happy to announce that we are kicking off a matching gift program for charitable donations. We are all really inspired by the generosity of our co-workers who give back to the community and this program is going to help that individual giving go even farther.

Starting September 15, when you give money to a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, Apple will match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000 annually. This program will be for full-time employees in the US at first, and we’ll expand it to other parts of the world over time.

Thank you all for working so hard to make a difference, both here at Apple and in the lives of others. I am incredibly proud to be part of this team.

If you’d like more information on the program, you can get it on HRWeb, which can be easily accessed through AppleWeb.

Tim

via news.yahoo.com