Hilary Duff encouraging food donations to The Salvation Army

Hilary Duff encouraging food donations to The Salvation Army

VANCOUVER, Aug. 3 /CNW/ - Recording artist Hilary Duff is asking fans to bring canned goods to her concert in support of The Salvation Army and Canadian Harvest. Duff's Dignity Tour lands at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum on Friday, August 3 and at the Save-On Foods Centre in Victoria on Saturday, August 4. Her last two Canadian tours have raised more than 125,000 pounds of
food.

"Working with Canadian Harvest is a way for me to give something back to the community," said Duff. "The last two times I toured Canada, my fans did an amazing job of providing canned goods and I'm certain this time they can do even better!"

The partnership between Duff, The Salvation Army and Canadian Harvest launched this summer in Winnipeg on July 28, with the kick-off of Duff's six-week North American tour. Food donations will be collected at 12 shows across Canada. Food will be collected at concert gates by Salvation Army volunteers and will be distributed in the communities where it was collected. Duff is encouraging fans to bring as much as they can carry.

Canadian Harvest and its American counterpart USA Harvest began in 1989. Since then, the organization has collected more than 11.6 billion pounds of food for missions, soup kitchens and food banks across North America. The Salvation Army will assist in distributing collected food to those who need it.

The Salvation Army is the largest non-governmental provider of social services in British Columbia. For more information on The Salvation Army, visit www.SalvationArmy.ca.

For further information: Janice Lee, Communications & Media Relations, Direct: (604) 296-3819, Cell: (604) 340-6324,
janice_lee@can.salvationarmy.org; Carol Barton, Public Relations
Representative, Direct: (250) 386-3366 ext 2, Cell: (250) 858-0808, carol_barton@can.salvationarmy.org; Stan Curtis, Canadian Harvest, Direct:
(502) 641-3663, scurtis@hilliard.com

Courtesy: Newswire.ca

Also Read "Salvation Army thrilled to partner with Hilary Duff"

24 Seconds Hilary Duff Interview by 24 Hours

24 seconds with Hilary Duff
By BUZZ BISHOP

Courtesy:24 hours

She has sold more than 13 million CDs, made movies, and created a perfume and clothing line. Tonight she brings her tour to the Pacific Coliseum. Buzz Bishop spent 24 seconds with Hilary Duff on the phone from Edmonton.

24hrs: What's it like being young in Hollywood? Are there people dragging you into trouble, or do you have to go and find it?

Hilary: It's everywhere, it's really easy to find it. I love L.A. I live there, it's my home, but it's really easy to lose yourself in that town. You have to really know what you believe in and stick with it and have good friends.

24hrs: So being focused on yourself and what you want to put out there has kept your head above it?

Hilary: That and my family. I don't like to live very publicly, like so many people do. I feel like I've worked so much as it is, I want privacy.

24hrs: For most of us, running into an ex at the mall would be painful. How is it for you to see your ex (Joel Madden with new girlfriend Nicole Richie) paraded across the tvs and tabloids this week?

Hilary: It's not really a problem for me to deal with it. I want them to be happy. Joel and I ended on very good terms and we ended knowing that it was the right thing to do and it made us both happy. So it's not hard for me to see it.

24hrs: You still balance music and movies very well. You've got three more movie projects coming down the line, including War Inc (with Ben Kingsley and John Cusack) set to debut at the Toronto Film Festival. You've said this role is controversial. What's it all about?

Hilary: It's a dark comedy. It's about war and how Americans go into a place and blow it up and take it over and try to act like heroes. It's pretty messed up. I play this over-sexed pop star that has a big spark, but not much to back it up. One thing that was so much fun about doing this movie, is that it's nothing like who I am. It's nothing like my music, I look totally different in it. It's an artsy independent movie and getting to work with all those people was a treat.

24hrs: When did you become a hockey fan?

Hilary: I don't know anything about hockey.

24hrs: Well, with Mike Comrie (NY Islanders) on your arm in some photos, you're going to have to learn something.

Hilary: Do you want to give me a crash course?

24hrs: Get down to Vancouver and get a good Canucks jersey on your back!

Hilary: (laughs) Okay.

Hilary Duff's Answer to the question about Mike Comrie and about Hope Mission

edmontonjournal.com
Elizabeth Withey
Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Hilary Duff helps serve lunch at the Hope Mission at the Herb Jamieson Centre.
CREDIT: Bruce Edwards/Edmonton Journal
Hilary Duff helps serve lunch at the Hope Mission at the Herb Jamieson Centre.

EDMONTON -Pop singer Hilary Duff dished up chicken stew for hundreds of homeless men at the Herb Jamieson Centre today 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 the downtown emergency shelter, and also visited Hope Mission's nearby headquarters.

"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."

Duff, who performs at Rexall Place tonight, kicked off the Canadian leg of her North American Dignity tour in Winnipeg Saturday.

She is soliciting non-perishable food donations from Edmonton concert-goers, which will be distributed in the city through 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.

Hope Mission spokeswoman Janelle Aker said Duff's efforts will help raise awareness with a younger demographic that might not be aware of 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."

Duff's appearance also brought smiles to the faces of men who live on the streets of Edmonton, Aker said. Many were surprised to see Duff handing them their meal.

"It's nice when someone who makes a lot of money will look you in the eye and treat you like a real person," Aker said.

Hunger and homelessness are intertwined and deceptively simple problems to solve, Duff said, and 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 star chatter that Duff is dating former Oiler 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."

ewithey@thejournal.canwest.com

See the pictures of the tour here
See the pictures during the Serving for Hope mission here...

Courtesy: Canada.com