SANDRA BULLOCK DONATES
$1 MILLION TO JAPAN

Thereby demonstrating MASS Congeniality

Yesterday Sandra Bullock was photographed on the streets of Manhattan enjoying the first day of spring with her young son Louis, who is downright adorable to the max.

        Photo by Marcel Thomas, FilmMagic

But before that - while we were all sleeping last week - Sandra Bullock went and did something amazing and heartfelt... she donated $1 million to Japan disaster relief! Here's the story as reported in the New York Daily News:

Sandra Bullock isn't turning a blind side to those in need in Japan.
The Oscar-winning actress donated $1 million to the American Red Cross to help victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami last week, her rep told the Daily News.
"The American Red Cross is extremely grateful for this generous support from Sandra Bullock and her family," the organization said in a statement Thursday. "This contribution is vitally important as the Red Cross works to provide critical assistance and essential relief items in this time of urgent need for so many people in Japan."
Bullock's hefty contribution is the largest known donation to the Red Cross since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake rattled Japan, which consequently triggered a horrifying tsunami and nuclear crisis.
This isn't the first time Bullock has made a generous donation. The actress, 46, gave $1 million to Doctors without Borders to aid earthquake victims in Haiti last year, and donated tens of thousands of dollars to a public school in New Orleans that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Isn't that just the best? I mean, I've done the text donation thing myself to try to help out Japan, but I don't got no one million dollars like Miss Congeniality over there. And to learn that this is not the first time she's been so giving, well, that just warms the cockles, n'est-ce pas?

I wonder if other rich 'n famous types have made donations to Japan, but we just don't know about it yet? I can think of ALOT of well-known others who appear to be in a financial position to be generous with Japan... that's right, Oprah, I'm looking at you. You too, Bill Gates.

MADONNA TO BUILD GIRL'S SCHOOL IN AFRICA
Singer clearly fit enough to assume all construction work

I've been on a fairly insane Madonna kick for the past 2 or 3 weeks, ever since I was able to attend her FIRST EVER concert here in Vancouver back on October 30th.

I've been *continuously* playing a shite-load of so much Madonna music that my neighbours probably think there's a Paula Goodspeed/Paula Abdul situation happening in my apartment.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not poking fun at that tragedy, but I'm simply aware that my current Madonna obsession will soon be topping the "bit-too-much-o-meter".

One of the reasons I loves me some Madonna so much is that for as long as I can remember, she's been kickin' ass and takin' names and doing it all her own way. No question she's a trendsetter.

But that all started to change a bit - in my mind, at least - when she went off to Africa and adopted David Banda in Malawi.

Some might say she's gone off and done the same thing that someone like Angelina Jolie has already done. But that doesn't bother me on bit. The main thing to remember is that Madge is doing some real good and really trying to help her little boy's home land, through her organization Raising Malawi.

But now, with all the drama surrounding her impending divorce from Guy Ritchie and as her Sticky & Sweet Tour gets set to wind up its North American leg, Madonna has made a very smart move.

She has begun to publicize her latest and bravest endeavour in Africa which looks and sounds *alot* like something we've seen done by another one-named famous lady.

And I don't mean Charo (unless she's now the black host of a daytime talk show based in Chicago - and if that's was true, Love Boat re-runs would be even more confusing to watch than they already are).

Back to Madonna - let's pick up the story now running on US Magazine's website:

Madonna wants to follow in the footsteps of Oprah.

The singer has released a video on her Web site asking fans for donations to a girls' school in Malawi.

"There are very few girls in Africa in general who are encouraged or allowed to go to secondary school so after spending a lot of time there I realized that one of the ways I could help was to build a girls' school," she said.

She continued: "I would really be grateful if you would get involved and help me in any way that you can with donations, spreading the word, visiting my website, reading about the progress that we've made so far.... I would appreciate any help you could give us."

Wow, eh?! Let's pause for a moment to read Madonna's letter just posted on her website, and there's also a link below to watch Madonna make her request for help from you:

To All My Friends,

I am really excited to share with you a new video message about a project that you can be a big part of: The Raising Malawi Academy for Girls.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

After witnessing the potential of Malawi's girls firsthand, I made it my mission to give them an opportunity to become their personal best.

I hope you will share my urgency and make a donation today. Every donation counts toward helping impoverished girls to reach their full potential. And every dollar will make a difference.

Visit: http://www.raisingmalawi.org/rm_girlsacademy.php

Thank you for helping me to bring education and opportunity to the girls of Malawi. They are deeply grateful to you for your support, and so am I.

With Love, Madonna

Totally, totally cool. I love it! Although one has to wonder how someone reportedly worth approximately half a billion dollars finds it necessary to go on the Internet and ask her fans to help donate to her project. Sure, I get it, it's a way to get people engaged in helping others, but really Madge ... open your heart and your wallet ;-)

Here's the rest of the Us article...

Madonna has made regular visits to Malawi since adopting her youngest son David, 3.

Madonna found David at an orphanage through her Raising Malawi charity and was later granted temporary custody. The High Court in the capital of Lilongwe approved the adoption this past May after a two-year battle.

Oprah Winfrey opened a school for promising girls from deprived backgrounds in South Africa in January 2007. "The school is a symbol of leadership, it stands for what is possible for African children," Winfrey said at the opening.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, is located in the small town of Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg.

So there we have it. Madge has gone and impressed me all over again. I have to say, it was amazing to finally be able to see her live in concert a few weeks ago on the Sticky & Sweet Tour. And today, I'm also really jazzed for her latest venture for the girls of Malawi.

She just never stops! And frankly I hope she never does. If you wanna know more about Raising Malawi, here is its website.