Charity Projects Entertainment Fund Teams With Fox, FremantleMedia North America, 19 Entertainment and 'AMERICAN IDOL' for 'IDOL GIVES BACK' Special To Benefit Children and Young People Living in Poverty

Charity Projects Entertainment Fund Teams With Fox, FremantleMedia North America, 19 Entertainment and 'AMERICAN IDOL' for 'IDOL GIVES BACK' Special To Benefit Children and Young People Living in Poverty

IDOL GIVES BACK Donations Will Support Charities Including America's Second Harvest, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Children's Health Fund, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Malaria No More, Nothing But Nets, Save the Children and UNICEF

LOS ANGELES, April 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF), a new organization established to raise money and awareness for people living in poverty and at risk in the United States and throughout the world, is teaming up with FOX, FremantleMedia North America, 19 Entertainment and "AMERICAN IDOL" to present "IDOL GIVES BACK," airing April 24 and April 25 on FOX. The historic television event will bring together world-renowned artists and celebrities including Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Josh Groban, Pink, Michael Buble, Annie Lennox, Il Divo, Borat (aka Sacha Baron Cohen), Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Forest Whitaker, Helena Bonham Carter, Teri Hatcher, Brad Garrett, Brian McKnight, Daniel Radcliffe and Rowan Atkinson.

The two-night star-studded "AMERICAN IDOL" special will raise awareness and funds for organizations that provide relief programs to help young people in the United States and Africa. The funds raised by the event will benefit children and young people living in extreme poverty in the United States and Africa, with half of the funds dedicated to support programs in the United States and half dedicated to programs in Africa.

"I have always been passionate about the issue of eradicating poverty," said Richard Curtis, co-founder of the UK's Red Nose Day charity and renowned writer/director of such films as "Love Actually," "Notting Hill" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral." "'AMERICAN IDOL' is the perfect forum to help spread the word about such a noble cause and I am grateful to be working with them on this endeavor."

CPEF was established to raise awareness of poverty conditions and issues facing the poor and disadvantaged across the United States and throughout the world. In keeping with their mission, CPEF will allocate funds collected through "IDOL GIVES BACK" to the nominated beneficiaries that have been selected by the CPEF Board for their excellent track records on issues related to extreme poverty.

In the United States, CPEF has selected America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Children's Health Fund and Save the Children as beneficiaries. These organizations deliver support to children in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the United States, providing poor children with medical care, food and grocery products, health and life skills, literacy programs and obesity prevention, among other important initiatives.

In Africa, funds will be dedicated to The Global Fund, Malaria No More, Nothing But Nets, Save the Children and The U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Each organization will receive funds to support their efforts to battle poverty through various health and education programs, including delivering medical supplies and providing clean water. These organizations also aim to control and prevent malaria through practical resources and programs, including providing life-saving bed nets and other activities tied to Africa Malaria Day on April 25.

"CPEF has selected charities that work tirelessly day in and day out to deliver much-needed support to children and young people living in extreme poverty all over the globe," said Simon Fuller, creator and executive producer of 'AMERICAN IDOL.' "I am so pleased that FOX, 'AMERICAN IDOL' and CPEF were able to collaborate to support the important efforts of these dedicated organizations."

"One of my priorities was that 'IDOL GIVES BACK' benefit children and young people in both the United States and Africa," said Simon Cowell. "I'm especially pleased that CPEF has selected such effective, extraordinary organizations to help carry out this important mission."

The CPEF Board will meet shortly after "IDOL GIVES BACK" airs to conduct the first round of grant-making to the selected charities, with the aim of disbursing all grants by the end of 2007. Viewers will have the opportunity to learn about some of the programs they helped to fund through future "AMERICAN IDOL" shows and updates and reports from CPEF. Both the CPEF and "AMERICAN IDOL" web sites (www.cpefund.org and www.americanidol.com/idolgivesback) will also provide details and information to viewers about the progress achieved through "IDOL GIVES BACK" fundraising efforts.

CPEF was established through Richard Curtis' and Simon Fuller's shared passion for tackling the problems of extreme poverty in the United States and throughout the world, and is supported by the team behind the Red Nose Day charity in the U.K. Aside from its work with "IDOL GIVES BACK," CPEF plans to develop and distribute educational tools and initiatives for school children and teachers to help individuals better understand how poverty is perpetuated and the steps that can be taken to eradicate it.

Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF) www.cpefund.org

CPEF is a new charitable organization established to raise money and awareness to help combat extreme poverty in the U.S. and throughout the world, particularly in Africa. CPEF's mission is to use the power of entertainment to drive positive change to achieve its vision of creating a just world free from poverty. CPEF is inspired and supported by the UK charity that invented Red Nose Day.

America's Second Harvest -The Nation's Food Bank Network www.secondharvest.org

America's Second Harvest is the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the country with a Network of more than 200 Member food banks and food-rescue organizations serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The America's Second Harvest Network secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually; and supports approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies operating more than 94,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs and Kids Cafes. Each year, the America's Second Harvest Network provides food assistance to more than 25 million people at risk of hunger in the United States, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) www.bgca.org

Boys & Girls Clubs of America comprises a national network of some 4,000 neighborhood-based facilities annually serving more than 4.6 million young people, in all 50 states and on U.S. military bases worldwide. Known as "The Positive Place for Kids," the Clubs provide guidance-oriented character development programs on a daily basis for children 6-18 years old, conducted by a full-time professional staff. Key Boys & Girls Club programs emphasize leadership development, education and career exploration, financial literacy, health and life skills, the arts, sports, fitness and recreation, and family outreach. National headquarters are located in Atlanta.

Children's Health Fund (CHF) www.childrenshealthfund.org

The Children's Health Fund (CHF) is committed to providing health care to the nation's most medically underserved children and their families through the development and support of innovative primary care medical programs, response to public health crises, and the promotion of guaranteed access to necessary health care for all children.

The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria www.jointheglobalfund.org

The Global Fund is the world's leading funder of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, which taken together kill over 6 million people per year. Created in 2002, the Global Fund has approved 450 grants worth $7 billion to programs in 136 countries. Of this, $2.3 billion has been committed to AIDS programs in Africa. As of December 2006, Global Fund-financed programs had put 770,000 people on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment; distributed 18 million insecticide-treated bed nets to combat malaria; and detected and treated more than 2 million TB cases - which are rising sharply due to co- infection with HIV. All Global Fund-financed programs support 2 million orphans around the world.

Malaria No More www.malarianomore.org

Malaria No More's mission is simple: to end deaths due to malaria. The world has known how to beat this disease for more than a century, yet it remains the number-one killer of children under five in sub-Saharan Africa, claiming more than 1 million lives a year. Malaria No More engages individuals, organizations and corporations in the private sector to provide life-saving bed nets and other critical interventions to families in need. Together, these investments will significantly reduce malaria infections and make malaria-related deaths a thing of the past.

Founded in 2006 by leading non-governmental institutions, Malaria No More works in partnership with the President's Malaria Initiative, UNICEF, American Red Cross, The Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Millennium Promise, United Way of America, United Nations Foundation, Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and others.

Nothing But Nets www.NothingButNets.net

Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Inspired by Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, thousands of people have joined the campaign that was created by the United Nations Foundation. Founding campaign partners include the National Basketball Association's NBA Cares, The People of the United Methodist Church and Sports Illustrated. Other partners include VH-1, The Mark J. Gordon Foundation, AOL Black Voices and Rotarians' Action Group on Malaria. It only costs $10 to provide an insecticide-treated bed net that can prevent this deadly disease. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches donations dollar for dollar.

Save the Children www.savethechildren.org

Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating real and lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. The agency transforms children's lives, providing families and communities in some of the poorest, most unstable parts of the world with the tools needed to break the cycle of poverty, poor health and illiteracy. Beginning in Appalachia 75 years ago, Save the Children continues to help children in remote, rural areas of our own country with programs to improve literacy and improve healthy lifestyles. The agency is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, which is a worldwide network of 28 independent Save the Children organizations working in 120 countries to ensure the well-being of children everywhere.

U.S. Fund for UNICEF www.unicefusa.org

For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been the world's leading children's organization, saving more young lives than any other humanitarian organization. Working in over 150 countries and territories, UNICEF knows how to save the lives of children with low-cost, high-impact programs. From child health and nutrition, water and sanitation, education and protection, UNICEF's experience, resources, global presence and perspective are unsurpassed in helping save children's lives.

Visit www.cpefund.org for more information about CPEF and Americanidol.com for more information on 'IDOL GIVES BACK' as well as exclusive videos, photos, special behind-the-scenes information and all of your 'AMERICAN IDOL' news.

For all photo requests, including the 'IDOL GIVES BACK' logo and photos of Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest in Africa, please go to www.foxflash.com.

Website:

http://www.cpefund.org

http://www.americanidol.com/idolgivesback

Source: Charity Projects Entertainment Fund

CONTACT: CPEF: Casey Morse, +1-212-582-9795, or casey.morse@freud.com,
or Jonathan Bing, +1-323-866-6060, or jonathan.bing@freud.com, both of Freud
Communications; FOX: Jill Hudson, +1-310-369-2953, or jill.hudson@fox.com, or
Alexandra Gillespie, +1-212-556-2519, or Alexandra.gillespie@fox.com; 19
Entertainment: Eric Green-BWR, +1-310-248-6150, or egreen@bwr-la.com;
FremantleMedia North America: Manfred Westphal, +1-818-748-1148, or
Manfred.Westphal@fremantlemedia.com; Boys & Girls Clubs of America: Brian
Hill, +1-404-487-5798, or bhill@bgca.org; Children's Health Fund: Gabrielle
Schang, +1-212-535-9203, or gaschang@chfund.org; America's Second Harvest:
Ross Fraser, +1-312-641-6422, or rfraser@secondharvest.org; U.S. Fund for
UNICEF: Marissa Buckanoff, +1-212-922-2485, or MBuckanoff@unicefusa.org; The
Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: Jon Liden,
+41-79-244-6006, or Jon.Liden@TheGlobalFund.org, or Goli Fassihian
+1-202-789-0805, or goli@theglobalfight.org; Save the Children: Wendy
Christian, +1-203-241-9722, or wchristian@savechildren.org, or Sharon Cohen,
+1-203-221-4217, or SCohen@savechildren.org; Nothing but Nets: Katherine
Miller, +1-212-697-3315, or KMiller@unfoundation.org; Malaria No More: Martin
Edlund, +1-212-710-5891, or press@malarianomore.org

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