I really love this story, because it’s about celebrities doing a good deed together nearly two years ago, and for nearly two years straight, without a leak to the press until now. (I couldn’t do justice to this story in the title as there’s not enough space!) You get the sense that these two did this out of the goodness of their hearts and that they never expected the news to get out. So Renee Zellweger and Zach Galifianakis live in the same neighborhood in Santa Monica, and there’s a homeless woman who works at a local laundromat. (I doubt these two do their laundry in a public place, but they might, these are two celebrities who I could believe would do that and not think they’re slumming.) Anyway they were really upset to learn that this lady is homeless, and according to Star Magazine Zach made sure he got her an apartment, which he’s paid the rent and utilities on for over two years. His friend Renee Zellweger furnished the apartment and makes sure the lady has food in her fridge. This is getting me teared up!

Zach Galifianakis and Renee Zellweger have come to the rescue of one very lucky lady in Los Angeles. According to a source, Zach and Renee teamed up to take care of a homeless woman living in their neighborhood. “Zach befriended an elderly woman named Mimi, who worked at Fox Coin Laundry in Santa Monica,” a source tells Star. And when the Hangover funnyman learned that Mimi had no home or family, Zach took action! “It just broke his heart, so he decided to rent an apartment for her – and he has been covering her rent and utilities for two years now,” says the tipster, adding that fellow fluff-and-fold patron Renee wanted to help too, so “she furnished the apartment and makes sure that Mimi always has food in her fridge.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, February 28, 2013]

This is so nice! We’ve heard several stories of Renee doing random acts of kindness, and I bet that she does it way more than we hear about. Plus Zach just seems like a decent guy. Again, the reason this story touches me so much is that it’s not just someone writing a check. Renee is visiting this lady and bringing her groceries while Zach is paying all her utilities and her rent every month. It’s really amazing.

Update! I found an interview with Mimi. Some reviews of Fox Coin Laundry say she’s in her late 80s.

After Warner Bros. canceled the European promotion for The Dark Knight Rises, it seems like Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Anne Hathaway were brought back to LA via Warner’s private jet. All three of those actors issued personal statements of condolence to the victims of the Colorado mass-shooting, and everyone involved with the film seems genuinely devastated by what happened. Batman himself, Christian Bale, even decided to make a personal, non-studio-endorsed trip to Colorado to meet with some of the survivors of the massacre:

Christian Bale is making a quiet trip to Aurora, Colorado to visit with the victims of last week’s movie theater massacre.

With free time thanks to the cancellations of premieres and press appearances for The Dark Knight Rises in Mexico and Japan, Bale took it upon himself to visit, a rep for Warner Bros. told The Denver Post.

On Friday, the Oscar-winner issued a brief statement expressing his sympathies to those impacted by the mass shooting, allegedly carried out by James Holmes, at the midnight screening of Bale’s final Batman film.

“Words cannot express the horror that I feel,” he said at the time. “I cannot begin to truly understand the pain and grief of the victims and their loved ones, but my heart goes out to them.”

Last week, a petition urging Bale to visit the victims in Colorado emerged online.

[From THR]

I was fine until I read the part about the petition. Really? That makes me feel queasy – while I think it’s a really nice thing that Bale would take it upon himself to fly to Colorado and meet with these people, I hate the idea that some people were like, “Yeah, he SHOULD do that. Start a petition.” It negates Bale’s good intentions and makes it seem like he was giving into external pressure, or that it’s a PR move – which I doubt it was, honestly. Mostly I don’t think it’s a PR move because Bale doesn’t seem to give a sh-t about good PR. He probably just wanted to spend time with the injured kids, and I bet most of those kids just wanted to shake his hand and have their photos taken with Batman. Maybe we should start a petition to have Christian Bale scream at and berate the POS shooter for the next 40 years too. That should be a petition.

Speaking of good PR moves mixed with good intentions, Warner Bros. has also made some large donations to the charities working with the victims of the Colorado shooting. Considering TDKR made $160 million-plus in its opening weekend, and it’s in line to make a billion (or more), Warner can definitely afford it. Still, they don’t NEED to do it – it’s just a really nice gesture:

The studio behind ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ has been in contact with the state governor’s office and will make a lump sum contribution. Warner Bros., the studio behind The Dark Knight Rises, is making a donation to charities supporting victims of the Aurora, Colo., shooting rampage.

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the studio has been in contact with Colorado governor John Hickenlooper’s office and will contribute to a fund identified by the governor on the website givingfirst.org, which is a program of Colorado’s Community First Foundation. The fund distributes monies across several charities that will support victims of the July 20 killing spree that left at least 12 dead and dozens injured.

The studio will not release publically the amount of the lump sum donation but sources say it is “substantial.”

Warner Bros. CEO Barry Meyer also is set to send a companywide email on Monday evening advising employees of the donation and explaining how they can donate personally to the victims.

Warner Bros. has reacted swiftly in the wake of the July 20 killing spree at a midnight screening of the latest Batman movie. The studio quickly released a statement saying that Warners “and the filmmakers are deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time.”

The studio then canceled a planned Paris premiere and other press events and declined to release box office figures for Dark Knight Rises over the weekend out of respect for the families of the victims. The Christopher Nolan-directed film grossed a robust $160.9 million in three days, the best opening ever for a 2D film.

Warners is the first of the Hollywood organizations to make a charitable gift. Cinemark, which owns the Century Aurora 16 theater where the shooting took place, has yet to announce any donation, nor has the MPAA or the National Association of Theatre Owners.

[From THR]

I have to say, I think Warner Bros. hasn’t made a false step thus far. It was very smart for them to go through the governor’s office and existing charities instead of trying to reinvent the wheel and create their own, separate victims’ foundation or something. They’ve treated the victims of the tragedy with respect, they avoided being drawn into the debates about violence and guns, and what could have been a huge PR disaster for Warner ended up becoming an example of a Hollywood studio managing a crisis with timely, respectful efficiency. Someone at Warner Bros, knows what the hell they’re doing, you know?

PS… If you want to have a good cry, you should read this story about how three of the young men died protecting their girlfriends.

UPDATE: Here are some photos of Bale in Colorado, meeting with some of the victims.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Have you ever had a Jerry Maguire moment in life when you realize that things need to change and that you’re the only one holding yourself back? I wanted to take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to tell the story of an inspirational guy I met yesterday. Just talking to him for an hour changed my perspective and got me thinking about what is meaningful. Admittedly he was British and hot, that definitely got me to pull over and pay attention. He has an amazing story, and it’s one I wanted to share here and maybe help his cause.

Alan Slater has been walking alone across the United States for the past seven months. I met him walking down the road in my state of Virginia, and he explained to me that he’s “almost done” with his trip from San Francisco to New York City, even though he has about another month to go. He walks about eight hours a day at around 3 miles an hour, covering roughly 25 miles a day. His website is AlanWalksAmerica.com, where he chronicles his journey and raises money for cancer research. (The entries are a few weeks behind as he updates them when he is able to get to a computer, and is trying to go in order. He does have a phone with him.) He does not take rides from anyone at all, and he didn’t let me drive him anywhere even before he knew I was a “journalist.” He does accept lodging from people and he said that he has been so touched by how kind and open everyone has been to him. He’s impressed with America and with how courteous and nice we are. He told me he’s had about three run-ins with “rude” people whom he wouldn’t want to meet again, but it didn’t sound like his safety has been threatened at all.

I took Alan out to eat at a local diner along his route. Alan, who turns 26 this week, explained that he finished his university degree in physical activity, exercise and health three years ago in the UK. He traveled around the world after college, trying to figure out what he wanted to do. He said that he was wary of getting in a rut and not stopping to examine his life or career path. After his grandfather was sick and passed away from cancer in February of last year, Alan decided to embark on a journey that would both raise money for cancer research and help push him out of his comfort zone. He compared it to an Aboriginal walkabout, adding that we all “need to be put on the other side of things and see it from another perspective.”

The first two months were incredibly hard for Alan. He felt understandably anxious when he first set out and he lost weight, was in physical pain and had to deal with blisters on his feet as he navigated the very barren west. Now, camping out on the side of the road and walking every day are routine to him. He said that he sees it as a job and that it’s taught him that anything is possible when you set your mind to it. He didn’t consider his journey extraordinary or inspirational at all, and the things he told me about what he’s learned along the way were both simple and profound. These are concepts I’ve read and thought of about countless times, but it meant so much more coming from someone who has lived it. I will remember meeting this guy for the rest of my life. Here’s some of what he told me about his journey and about what it meant to him.

Anyone can do this, it just takes getting past the anxiety at first…

Somehow when you picture adventures… like climbing Everest, you think every minute is going to be agony, you’re going to be in miserable.

In reality a lot of it is quite arduous and boring, not a lot happens all the time. Hence this is kind of like my job… it doesn’t seem like an adventure when you do it every day.

We all need to go on a walkabout in life and be put on the other of things and see it from another perspective.

There is this big fallacy that people are born with adventurous genes.

I really do believe everyone is just equal, and if you really want to go on an amazing adventure, just go for it.

Anything is possible these days, I’m just an average guy so if I can do it anyone can.

This trip has taught me to push in my anxiety and don’t be comfortable. It’s the same in life, with [going outside your comfort zone] comes freedom. I want to do something more rewarding than just accepting my lot in life. I want to keep pushing myself to find what makes me happy…

You can do anything, I truly believe, you have to just be persistent.

Alan said that when he reaches the end of the trip he’ll be returning to see his family in England. His journey honoring his grandfather has ultimately taught him how much his family and friends mean to him. He also joked that he’s looking forward to taking a nice bath and having a break from walking every day.

I hope that if I take away anything from meeting Alan it’s that we’re capable of great things in life, and that there’s no reason not to start our own journey toward our goals. You can learn more about Alan’s trip, and help out his cause of cancer research on AlanWalksAmerica.com. (Note that donations are in British pounds, which are roughly 1.6 US dollars.)

Update: Here are some additional articles about Alan’s journey:
February 21: Greenville, TN, Greenville Sun
December 27: Tahlequah, OK, Tahlequah Daily Press
December 7: Woodward, OK, Woodward News
November 30: Guymon, OK, Guymon Daily Herald
September 4: Placerville, CA, Mountain Democrat
August 31: Rio Vista , CA River News Herald

If you’d like more stories about celebrities doing nice deeds, please comment on this one, even if you’re dissing Bradley Cooper in any other area of his life. The dude is milquetoast but he does random kind deeds, just like his ex girlfriend, Renee Zellweger. I actually like him a lot more after this story, which could be leaked by his publicist but if so they did it expertly. Only the National Enquirer has this news, which makes it sound real to me. I know a lot of you diss the Enquirer, but they get more genuine scoops than the other gossip rags, they just paint everything with the same awesome, sensational brush. I love that rag so much. Anyway supposedly Bradley Cooper was filming in Philadelphia, which is where he’s from, and sent his assistant to buy thousands of dollars of winter coast for the homeless. He then personally handed them out, and when one guy told him he liked his coat, Cooper gave it to him!

The 36 year-old actor, who is filming “The Silver Linings Playbook” in his hometown, Philadelphia, shelled out thousands of dollars on coats, gloves, hats and scarves for the homeless.

“While filming in Philly, Bradley noticed a lot of people shivering on the streets,” a source told The Enquirer.

“He knew that the weather was only going to get worse, with early snowfall and blistering cold temperatures predicted, so he sent his assistant to several discount stores to buy thousands of follars of clothing.

“The Bradley returned to the area and began to hand out the clothing himself…

“One homeless man mentioned that he liked the designer jacket Bradley was wearing,” recalled the source. “It had been given to him by his pal Robert De Niro, but Bradley still gave the guy the coat off his back – literally.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, November 21, 2011]

Ok, I was buying this story until they added the detail that Cooper gave a guy the jacket off his back and that it was given to him by De Niro! That’s a little much. Still, if Cooper’s dad used to take him to homeless shelters I could see him going to his hometown, remembering what his dad taught him and wanting to help. Cooper’s dad passed away earlier this year and he started wearing his dad’s wedding ring as a remembrance to him. The guy may have a soft heart underneath that confusing GQ exterior. Plus, this was in The Enquirer, not in one of the publicist approved magazines like People or US. After reading this nice story, I almost forgot that Cooper is fake-dating J.Lo!

The simple fact that many of us love to hate on Gisele Bundchen is easily evidenced by the responses to this recent post, in which the very effusive supermodel just doesn’t seem to realize when she’s leaking not-so-subtle airs of condescension towards the unwashed masses (including her own sisters). Quite simply, the woman has a chronic case of verbal diarrhea and could easily use a few lessons in diplomacy.

I do agree that Gisele doesn’t come off well in print interviews; and certainly, she must be least slightly insufferable in person at times. So when I first heard about Gisele’s surprise visit to children suffering from cancer, my first thought was, “What the hell are these poor kids going to do with modelling lessons?” Yet the story itself turns out to be genuinely sweet and rather moving as well:

She’s known for striding down some of the world’s most famous catwalks, so it was an altogether different kind show for supermodel Gisele Bundchen when she surprised a group of young cancer patients this weekend.

The Brazilian beauty, 31, met the girls – all patients at the Jimmy Fund Clinic at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – at a Boston salon, where, after a pampering session, she taught them how to strut like a model.

The world-famous fashion figure, ranked 60th in Forbes’ list of Most Powerful Women, was so moved by the experience that she left in tears.

As part of a special Girls’ Weekend Out, the 29 youngsters were treated to hair styling, make-up, manicures and pedicures at Salon Pini & Co. Little did they know they were about to meet the “model of the millennium.”

WEEI show host, John Dennis, helped organise the model’s unexpected appearance through the Gisele’s husband, New England Patriots star, Tom Brady.

Mr Dennis told the Boston Herald about the surprise: “I asked them to turn down the music, and said ‘Can I have your attention, because we’re not done yet. You all look beautiful. This looks like a room of supermodels. I think the only way we could raise the level of supermodel-dom in this room is to bring out the world’s most famous supermodel.’”

Her effect on the patients was special, he said: “I’ve spent some time with the kids from the Jimmy Fund, and the one thing you notice is that there’s a deep and abiding sadness in their eyes. And even today, it was there still. But when she came in, it went away.”

Patient Hannah Baiona, 15, described meeting the Boston-based star. “We all started clapping and everyone was excited… She individually met with us all and gave us each a rose, and gave us each a hug, and we got to take pictures with her. She was mostly saying hi to everyone, being like “It’s nice to meet you! You look so pretty. You look so good!’”

The high school sophomore, who is in remission from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, told the Herald: “We made a fake little catwalk in the salon, and we each walked down it. Then there were three girls that were in wheelchairs, and she strolled them down the catwalk. Another girl and I didn’t want to walk alone, so she waked arm-in-arm with us.”

The supermodel was so moved by meeting the patients that she left the salon in streams of tears.

Mr Dennis said: “Her face was turned away from the kids and she started crying uncontrollably. The tears were streaming down her face. She was emotionally drained. She said ‘I love all of you,’ and got in the elevator before they could see her face. It was unbelievable.”

[From Daily Mail]

If you so desire some pictorial evidence of this event, a few rather blurry Facebook photos are available here, and here is some video footage of Gisele pushing the wheelchairs of these kids down an imaginary runway:

Now here’s the obvious question — did Gisele make this visit out of sheer selflessness, or was she simply trying to improve her public image? At this point, the reason behind her actions really doesn’t matter because she reportedly did grow overwhelmed with emotion, and she definitely did make these kids feel important for the day.

So while Gisele will probably go back to acting like her blissfully pompous self once again in short order, she did a good thing here. Model behavior, if you will.

Photos courtesy of WENN

This story comes from Mike Walker in the National Enquirer. Walker regularly runs celebrity hero stories that seem implausible and too good to be true. I know this and I’ve read his column for years, but I still got choked up hearing this story about how Jeff Bridges allegedly collected food after the Golden Globes and handed it out to homeless people afterwards. Somehow only Walker has this story, which again could be fan fiction. It’s still really touching and sounds like something Bridges would do.

After attending the Golden Globes, Jeff raised eyebrows when he raided tables and the kitchen area for food, stuffing several bags with cold cuts, bread, cookies, cakes, cheeses, crackers and an array of leftover gourmet meals. Jeff’s assistants humped the mini-deli of yummies out to his limo while he exited via the red carpet and signed autographs for clamoring fans. Said my source “When Jeff finally got into the limo, he directed his chauffeur to a freeway underpass on the outskirts of L.A. When they pulled up, Jeff hopped out, waved a band of about a dozen homeless people over to the car – then started handing out the bags of food. After chatting a while, the star – who’s actually made several trips to the same underpass, passing out warm bedding and clothing as well as food – got back in his limo and took off as the homeless people applauded and cheered!”

[From National Enquirer, print edition, Mike Walker's column, March 28, 2011]

I like to think that Bridges has a soft spot for the homeless, that he took time out on the night of the Globes to deliver food, and that he’s been quietly doing charity work without telling anyone for years. That would be the Bridges we know and love, the nice guy who doesn’t seek publicity for his good deeds.

Jeff Bridges is shown at a True Grit photocall on 2/10/11. Credit: Fame Pictures

These are some newish photos of Johnny Depp, dressed up in character as Jack Sparrow, on set in England yesterday. While he had all of his junk on this morning (or maybe it was yesterday), he also paid a visit to a London school. The photos are here – Johnny looks hilariously deranged standing next to normal children. What would you do if you were a kid and Jack Sparrow came to visit your school? You would freak the f-ck out, right?

OH to be a kid again. Hollywood Lord JOHNNY DEPP was a surprise guest at a London school’s assembly this morning.

The actor – who is currently filming the fourth Pirates Of The Caribbean movie in Greenwich – took some time out to make an impromptu trip to Meridian primary school dressed as his character Captain Jack Sparrow.

His visit came after one of the school’s pupils, Beatrice, wrote a letter to him saying: “Captain Jack Sparrow, at Meridian Primary School we are a bunch of budding young pirates and we were having a bit of trouble mutiny against the teachers. We’d love it if you could come and help. From Beatrice De Lap aged nine, a budding pirate.”

Teachers only found out the actor was coming ten minutes before he arrived and parents were shocked when their kids came running out telling them what had happened.

[From The Sun]

Aw… a kid wrote a fan letter and Johnny showed up! That’s magnificent. I imagine there were a few damsels-in-distress/teachers who were swooning too. But just one little criticism, because my mom’s a teacher: I bet those kids weren’t able to be calmed down for the rest of the day. Ideally, this is the kind of visit that should be scheduled for the end of the school day, not the morning. Still, it’s an adorable thing to do, and bless him.

Photos of Depp in costume in Greenwich on October 6, 2010. Credit: Bauer-Griffin.

This is a cute story that kind of warms my heart. However, it also smacks of positive PR and I wouldn’t put it past Renee Zellweger and her people to stage something like this. That may sound too cynical and normally I wouldn’t assume something like that about Renee, but she seems to be playing the game lately and this is Hollywood. The official version is that a guy paid Renee’s expired meter while she was getting coffee and she gifted him with a sweet note and a $100 Starbucks gift card. It all seems too convenient that the paparazzi just happened to be there to capture the moment and even get a photo of Renee’s note. (And several agencies have these photos so it’s not like one guy just happened upon the scene. Still, she’s wearing the same workout gear she wears everywhere so she didn’t dress up for the occasion.)

She’s usually the one drinking (and carrying) the coffee. But on Wednesday, Renée Zellweger was the person serving it.

The actress was preparing to leave a Santa Monica, Calif., Starbucks when a fellow coffee-drinker noticed that her parking meter was about to expire. In the nick of time, the man slipped some coins into the meter, saving the actress from a possible ticket. Her reply? Zellweger gave him a $100 Starbucks gift card – with a sweet message.

“Wow,” the note read. “Thank you so much for the kindness. Warmly, with gratitude, Renée!

[From People]

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard a nice story about Renee extolling kindness on strangers. In late 2007, she gifted a pair of Manolo Blahniks to a girl who worked at a makeup counter at Neiman Marcus who was admiring them. That story could have been PR too, but it sounded genuine to me. Maybe Renee is just the type of person who likes to share her success in small meaningful ways with the people who brighten her day. If this is PR, it’s genius and more celebrities should follow suit. I would love to hear about a campaign to spread joy to the nice people we encounter during the day. Even if it was a marketing campaign for a product or service it could go a long way to spreading kindness. I loved that free hugs campaign, but this would be a little less touchy-feely. I would love to give some small token to the guy who holds the door open for me (I’m visiting the South now, and they all do it, but it still makes me smile every time!) or the cashier who is especially friendly. Maybe Renee started a trend!

Update: the guy was a photographer: I wrote this whole story and was then downloading the photos from WENN, when I saw the photo agency’s version. This guy wasn’t a random citizen as People reports – he was a paparazzo! They write: “The unnamed photographer spotted a parking attendant doing his rounds as he was waiting for the movie star to leave her coffee shop retreat after a shopping trip in Santa Monica, California. The quick-thinking snapper dropped coins into her meter to make sure Zellweger didn’t get a ticket.” So Renee may have given the gift card to thank the guy with the benefit of getting into the paparazzi’s good graces and receiving some positive press out of it. She seems to have succeeded on both counts! Aw, now I like her more.

Photo credit: WENN.com

Yesterday we discovered that Angelina had flown straight from the Super Bowl in Miami to the Dominican Republic to meet with Haitian earthquake survivors and refugees. At first, I thought Angelina was just doing a day-long trip to the Dominican Republic, but she stayed on and traveled to Haiti, arriving in Port-au-Prince to view the earthquake damage first-hand, and to meet with more refugees and survivors living in-country. We still don’t have access to so many of the photos coming out of her trip, but PopEater has a great slideshow. UNHCR online also updated their site with comments Jolie made in-country, and there are more details about where she traveled and what issues she was focused on, including the Haitian SOS Children’s Village.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, February 9 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie arrived on Tuesday in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, where she visited earthquake survivors and met aid workers from local and international organizations.

Jolie, who said she was in Haiti to “listen and to learn,” visited medical centres, the UN mission and met with vulnerable children. On her arrival in the Haitian capital, Jolie was briefed by the United Nations Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General Edmond Mulet on the scale of the humanitarian operation to date and the challenges that remain.

She also visited a cash-for-work programme run by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in the Carrefour district of Port-au-Prince, which is enabling Haitians to earn an income as they help their country to recover. “To give people the ability to work towards their own future is so important at this time. It helps to restore their hope and respects their dignity,” said Jolie.

The programme is assisting some 40,000 people with an aim of reaching more than 400,000. She commended the participants who told her they were happy to clean up their country and then sang her a song about Haitian pride.

In the Santo area of Port-au-Prince, Jolie visited SOS Children’s Villages, a worldwide programme to raise children inside their own countries. Since the earthquake, the organization has begun providing additional care for children who have been newly orphaned or who have lost contact with their parents as a result of the catastrophe. SOS is working to reunite children with their family members and will continue to care for those without any caregivers.

Jolie applauded their work, while stressing that “new adoptions should definitely not be encouraged as an immediate response to the emergency. Haiti had many trafficking problems before the earthquake and now must keep a very close watch on the children. I would encourage as much support as possible to groups like SOS and UNICEF providing care for children in country.”

The acclaimed actress also visited a tented hospital set up and run by UNHCR partner, Médecins Sans Frontières, in the commune of Delmas, also in Port-au-Prince. “I was struck by the strength and spirit of the Haitian people. Children as young as nine months old were coping with amputations with extraordinary resilience. I even met a little 10-year-old boy who had recently had his leg amputated, who was giggling to himself about a silly book as he sat on the floor,” Jolie revealed.

“These doctors are extraordinary,” she said. “For all the patients that had to have amputations there are also a high number of limbs and lives that the doctors have managed to save.”

“It will take years to rebuild Haiti,” Jolie said, after seeing the devastation from the January 12 earthquake. “Every day, the UN, governments, NGOs and local organizations are providing more people with protection, food, water, shelter and health care, yet the needs are still enormous and the displacement could last a decade.

“Providing adequate shelter to the displaced is of paramount importance, especially as the upcoming rainy season threatens to add to the devastation. Everyone is bracing themselves for a second wave of tragedy.”

Before arriving in Haiti, Jolie spent a day in the Dominican Republic, where she visited Haitian earthquake victims in the local public hospital and in nearby shelters. “I was heartened to see the care being provided by Dominican doctors and nurses and to witness the generosity of local society, which is caring for discharged patients and their families in their recovery,” she said.

[From UNHCR Press Release]

While touring the SOS Children’s Village, the Haitian people began chanting “Angie! Angie!” apparently. In addition to that, the President of Haiti Children (Mercy and Sharing), Suzie Krabacher told Radar: “I think Angelina is an angel for visiting the area and bringing more attention to all the work that still needs to be done in Haiti and I wish her the greatest success.”

I get that there is a significant number of people who question Angelina’s motives as a goodwill ambassador for the UNHCR. But she’s been at this for nine years, and at this point, if all she needed was a quick press hit, she would have found an easier way to get it rather than donating millions of dollars and spending the days, weeks and months putting her time and energy where her mouth and wallet are. To my mind, her motives are pure, and I think she does more good than harm for the UNHCR and for the SOS Children‘s Village program.

To donate to the SOS Children’s Village program, go here. To donate to the UNHCR, go here.

UPDATE: There’s a short video of Angelina in Haiti too:

Images courtesy of UNHCR online, PopEater & Getty.

Is this why Angelina flew into Miami solo? So she could jet off from Miami to the Dominican Republic? Maybe. So it seems that right after Brangelina’s PDA-filled Super Bowl, Angelina jetted off to the Dominican Republic to visit with some Haitian refugees, survivors of the January 12 earthquake. According to the Associated Press/Huffington Post, Angelina spent Monday at the Dario Contrera Hospital speaking with several patients. Angelina released a statement about her trip, saying: “”It is incredibly horrible to see a catastrophe of this size hit a people who have been suffering from extreme poverty, violence and unrest for so many decades.” Jolie was accompanied by Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, a representative of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (of which Angelina is special goodwill ambassador):

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has met with hospitalized Haitian earthquake victims in the Dominican Republic.

Dario Manon is a spokesman for the Dario Contrera Hospital in the capital of Santo Domingo, where dozens of survivors of the Jan. 12 earthquake in neighboring Haiti are receiving medical help.

Manon says Jolie toured the hospital Monday and spoke with several patients. He told reporters: “She spoke with several children and a Haitian woman who recognized her and requested help.”

The actress was accompanied by Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, a representative of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the son of Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa.

Jolie is a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency.

[From Huffington Post]

There are a few photos from the trip, but it doesn’t look like many agencies were alerted ahead of time. I found one photo from Angelina’s trip, here. It sounds like Angelina didn’t spend the night in the Dominican Republic, she probably left the same day she came in. Which some people will complain about, but I can see how she probably didn’t want to take any resources that should be used for refugees (bed, blankets, water, et cetera). And hey, at least she wasn’t there to deliver the word of Xenu, you know?

To donate to the UNHCR – who lost several staffers in the Haitian earthquake – go here.

UPDATE: Maybe she did spend the night? I guess. And she’s in Haiti now? Sure. Here are a few more photos of Angelina traveling through the area. And here are even more.

Angelina Jolie at a press conference to talk about ‘The National Center For Refugee Immigrant Children’ in Washington on March 8, 2005. Credit: WENN.