Hilary Duff serves launch to poor and homeless

Spotted: Hilary Duff serving lunch to the homeless and poor at the Herb Jamieson Center in Edmonton, Canada, on Wednesday. The Duffster, such a do-gooder!

Courrtesy: perezhilton.com

The news Item from Canada.com

Duff Dishes Out
Pop singer Hilary Duff dished up chicken stew for hundreds of homeless men in Edmonton on Wednesday as part of her personal campaign to raise awareness about poverty and hunger.

The teen celebrity served the hot lunch and dessert for an hour at a downtown emergency shelter, and visited the nearby headquarters of Hope Mission, a Christian social care agency.

“The Hope Mission was a priority and we wanted to lend a hand,” she said after completing her kitchen shift. “It’s so rewarding for me. I love to get down and dirty and help out.”

The singer kicked off the Canadian leg of her North American Dignity tour Saturday in Winnipeg.
In Edmonton, she was soliciting non-perishable food donations from concertgoers, which will be distributed in the city through the food-raising charity Alberta Harvest.

The singer often collaborates with lead organization Canadian Harvest, and has raised more than 125,000 pounds of food on her past two Canadian tours.

Founder Stan Curtis said each concert can bring in as many as 3,000 cans of food, enough for 6,000 meals.

Hunger and homelessness are intertwined and simple problems to solve, Duff said, adding that compassion is key.

“A big misconception of charity work and celebrities is that it takes a lot of money,” she said. “It doesn’t take a lot of money. Your time is the best thing you can give.”

At the mention of reports that Duff is dating New York Islanders player Mike Comrie, the 19-year-old singer’s face brightened with a girlish grin, calling it a funny coincidence to be performing in Comrie’s hometown.

“I’m in Edmonton, he’s from Edmonton,” she said, squirming in her chair. “Some of the guys (at the shelter) asked me about him, about hockey.”

Hope Mission spokeswoman Janelle Aker said Duff’s efforts will help raise awareness with a younger demographic that might not know about the emergency shelter. Many of Duff’s fans are children.

“She stayed for the whole lunch,” Aker said. “Until the last man received his food.”
© CanWest News Service 2007

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