Hello from the Clinton Global Initiative! Hollywood film star Brad Pitt just pledged $5 million toward rebuilding the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans at the Clinton Global Initiative on Wednesday afternoon.
"We're prepared to break ground by the end of the year, but we need your help," the actor said of his commitment to helping rebuild the New Orleans area hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. "We will match dollar for dollar any and every single contribution up to $10 million."
Pitt is working with film producer Steve Bing on the 'Make It Right' project. The effort seeks to install 150 affordable and sustainable homes. Bing also pledged $5 million in matching donations.
The male half of the Brangelina celebrity phenomenon spoke of the work his group already had performed in support of the project. The three day event in New York is an opportunity for the keepers of 602 such 'commitments' to report progress on pledges they made at earlier CGI gatherings, and make new ones.
The star of last year's Oscar-nominated film 'Babel' also sounded off on architectural design. He joked that it was important to make the houses affordable, "and not have it look like a Prius," before he admitted that he owns two of the boxy hybrid cars.
Will that be it for the excitement? In our elbows out news cycle, Pitt's star power gives off light and has a gravitational pull. But do we care as much about Merck's work to spread its Gardasil vaccine to protect women and girls from cervical cancer and HPV, or the use of micro-loans through Kiva.org to offer up seed capital and help the world's poor?
There are certainly a lot of other good stories to tell here, and we're waiting to hear what comes next.