Celebrity Shoe Drive |
Perhaps
President Bush has had enough of shoe-throwing recently, but sunny
blue skies
and the chance to help charity attracted dozens of others interested
in competing
to toss their footwear at Rancho Golf Course on Saturday.
The tongue-in-cheek
competition, set up to collect shoes for the Salvation Army,
was organized
by media host JaneenMansour, of the Beverly Hills-based Web
site Dubai.TV.
Nuttin'
But Stringz Damien Escobar; Janeen Mansour,
Eduardo Garcia and Ziad Batal.
(click on photo to enlarge)
Mansour said the event was inspired
by the unfortunate shoe incident in Iraq
involving the president. Organizers
even sent a letter to the White House
inviting him to attend, but his staff
declined.
Janeen
Mansour & Kim Kardashian
at Celebrity Shoe Drive
"But
this is not a political event," she said. "We are turning a negative
into
a positive while bringing awareness to the need for shoes."
The Celebrity Shoe
Drive gathered a few familiar faces including
tabloid favorite Kim Kardashian
who went to the event with
Cheetah girl Adrienne Bailon.
The duo were hounded
by paparazzi while lesser-known celebrities
attracted fewer photographers
but spent more time tossing
shoes onto the golf green.
El Camino Real High
School senior Steffani Brass, 16, who has
worked on dozens of television shows
since she started acting at
age 4, said she enjoyed throwing her under-used
soles for the cause.
"It's definitely not something you do every day and I
wanted to come
out and support the Salvation Army," Steffani said.
Janeen
Mansour, Beverly Pomerantz
(women's Golden Shoe winner), Major
Henry Graciani,
Salvation Army
Salvation Army Maj. Henry Graciani said the donations
couldn't
come at a better time for the organization, which has seen requests
for aid surge in the last year.
"Donations of money and goods are down but
there is a swelling need
and that is a challenge," Graciani said.
Graciani
said the Salvation Army, which serves about 20,000 needy
people each month
in Southern California, often lacks shoe donations
vital for those looking
for work, as well as for children, who outgrow
shoes so quickly.
"When
we think of dressing ourselves we often think of shirts and
pants, but shoes
are very important."
If
the Shoe Fits…
Posted
date:
By
JOEL RUSSELL
When George McQuade, vice-president at PR agency Mayo Communications, heard a Web TV anchor’s proposal for a shoe-throwing contest inspired by a famous toss at President Bush, he tried to end the conversation quickly. But then he became intrigued and decided to sign on.
Janeen Mansour, Eduardo Garcia,
winner of Men’s Toss and Ziad Batal.
The
client, Dubai.TV, is a video Web site that wants to develop cross-cultural exchange
with
Shoes for Salvation Army
McQuade
organized the contest on the driving range at the Rancho Park Golf Course. He
invited celebrities to toss their shoes, and encouraged participation by promising
the footwear would be donated to the Salvation Army. The Jan. 10 event attracted
celebutante Kim Kardashian, Disney Channel star Adrienne Bailon, and Katharine
Gill of “
McQuade
organized the contest on the driving range at the Rancho Park Golf Course. He
invited celebrities to toss their shoes, and encouraged participation by promising
the footwear would be donated to the Salvation Army. The Jan. 10 event attracted
celebutante Kim Kardashian, Disney Channel star Adrienne Bailon, and Katharine
Gill of “
“It speaks to what the entertainment business should have done a long time ago – namely, bring back the gimmicks,” said McQuade. “So many of these events seem to be cookie-cutter planned, just grabbing a celebrity and calling it an event. We were trying to remind the community that in this economy, you can help just by cleaning out your closet and donating the shoes.”
“It
speaks to what the entertainment business should have done a long time ago – namely,
bring back the gimmicks,” said McQuade. “So many of these events seem to be cookie-cutter
planned, just grabbing a celebrity and calling it an event. We were trying to
remind the community that in this economy, you can help just by cleaning out your
closet and donating the shoes.”