New York Restoration Project

Bette Midler Helps Restore New York

Filed under: Auctions, Charity, Big Givers

Bette Midler is more than a woman -- she's like an army. We're not just talking about the power of her singing voice; she's also a dancer, an actress, a comedienne, and a well-known humanitarian, and a champion of both the arts and the Earth.

Since 1995, she's been working on her New York Restoration Project (NYRP -- she founded it), which has been helping NYC get greener and cleaner. Just recently, Bette herself planted the 250,000th NYRP tree in a Queens neighborhood and unveiled a new garden near Yankee Stadium. Now, she's auctioning off some very unique experiences with celebrities on CharityFolks.com, experiences which would make unbeatable holiday gifts.

Among the current gifts available are:

Meet John Stamos Backstage at Bye Bye Birdie & Enjoy 2 VIP House Seats - $1,500.00
Private Lesson with Tennis Great John McEnroe & Roundtrip Travel on JetBlue Airways! - $2,750.00
Meet Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Steve Winwood, One of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time According to Rolling Stone, with 2 VIP Tix to a 2010 European Show Date - $1,500.00

Those are current bid prices; buyouts are available at higher numbers. All the proceeds will benefit NYRP, which plans to plant 1 million trees by 2017 (and totally will). Other items include a chance to meet Cher, a walk-on role with Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd, a getaway to Richard Branson's Necker Island, and more. She's convinced nearly 100 of her celebrity friends to contribute, so keep your eye on the NYRP CharityFolks page to see what's up for auction next.

"We've turned 55 vacant lots into beautiful community gardens and planted more than 250,000 trees, and we're just getting started, so I hope you'll join in the merriment by placing a bid today!" says Midler.

Tags: bette midler, BetteMidler, John McEnroe, John Stamos, JohnMcenroe, JohnStamos, New York Restoration Project, NewYorkRestorationProject, NYC, NYRP, Steve Winwood, SteveWinwood

How Does Your Garden Grow, Bette Midler?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Green

Our sister blog, WalletPop recently interviewed the fabulous Bette Midler on her New York Restoration Project. The non-profit, which works to revitalize parks and public spaces throughout New York City, built a community garden in one of New York's toughest neighborhoods, in the Bronx. The garden opened October 6 and will also host cooking demonstrations, gardener workshops, summer concerts and community movie nights.

Most of the plots of land will go to school children at neighboring P.S. 73 so they can learn more about gardening. Midler is working on establishing green jobs in New York City and the New York Restoration Project has a goal to plane one million trees in New York in ten years. They recently celebrated the planting of the 250,000th tree. Target has funded the project, backing both the Target Community Garden in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn which opened in 2007 and the Target East Harlem Community Garden which opened in 2008 Target also established a fund to help maintain the gardens. Check out more from Midler in the video above.

Source

Tags: bette midler, BetteMidler, blogactionday, community gardens, CommunityGardens, green, new york city, new york restoration project, NewYorkCity, NewYorkRestorationProject, nyrp, target