Celine for 2009 UNICEF calendar, Faces of Hope, against babies' congenital deformities

[Ronny83]

On July 16th and 17th Céline will be in Montreal to shoot photos for a forthcoming UNICEF calendar with babies affected by congenital deformities from all over the world.

 

The 'making of' the calendar will be filmed and a special 250 pages book will be also available. The calendar will be presented on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

[CellyDee87]

Thanks so much for the information Ronny, Celine is such a sweetheart Can't wait to see it!

[destin139]

thank you for the heads up! i love celine - she is always ready to do things to help others!

[zoea2812]

Celine does so much charity work, that she doesnt get recognition for all the good she does in the world.

[tal-sh2]

Can't believe! WOW, so great. I'll buy it for sure!

[aicee]

She has a big heart.

[VintageCeline]

I can't wait to see the pictures

 

x

[Soloni]

thanks for the info ...

[aicee]

In addition..another achievement to consider.

[celinefanonline]

so another miracle like calendar?

[MusicSmiley]

thank you for the information, that's a good thing!

[Ann]

thank you for the info, celine always cares about other people

[Thomas]

so another miracle like calendar?

I don't think it will be. That calendar has babies dressed up as cabbages and flowers but these babies will have deformities and disabilities so it will be much more serious.

[alextrusca]

so it's going to be something only with celine? she will be featured in the entire book?

[Miha]

I want one!!! Celine=

Hope Celine will be @ Oprah at that time!

2 questiones:

Will this calendar include only Celine or there will also be other celebrities included?

Will this calendar be released worldwide or only in Canada?

 

I have mixed feelings about that project on one hand there is this positive intention of our Celine but on the other hand there are those poor invalid children/babies.....

 

But yet still Unicef & Medecins Sans Frontieres are the only institutions/foundations that I trust to. And of course the ones that Celine supports!

[I Surrender]

Thanks for the info. Its great to see what she does for charity. Cant wait to see pics and vids.

[Jessyka]

Thanks for the info!

 

Can't wat to see the pictures!

[Costa Santos]

... So sweet...

[anewdayhascome]

it's really great! that's our Celine!

[A New Day Has Come]

Thanks for the info and I love celine what a sweetheart.

[celinerific]

Awwwwe. Celiiinneee

Thanks for the info!

[CelineTheBest5]

Im so proud of her!!

[peo]

Thanks for the info.

[JP]

I wish i can know where it will be

[CelineAndRene]

Awesome!

[olenka]

thanks

[Jacqui]

She's such a sweetie...

[SensationalCeline]

That's so like her. Is she going to be on Oprah with it? I hope so. If so when is the date?

[Terre]

Thanks for the info!

[Jacqui]

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive...8/17/c5713.html

 

An unforgettable opportunity for 12 young heros to meet Céline Dion

MONTREAL, July 17 /CNW Telbec/ - The event currently taking place in

Montreal is the first of its kind: 12 young people from 9 countries are

visiting the city to celebrate life and meet with Céline Dion. The children

were chosen by a team of Reader's Digest correspondents to take part in the

Faces of Love project, the goal of which is to raise funds for various causes

endorsed by Céline Dion, including the CHU Sainte-Justine, the Toronto

Hospital for Sick Children and UNICEF. For these children, who have gone

through so much, a true fairy tale is in the making.

Chris, Milagros, Martunis, Anna, Elisabeta, Samu, Miles, Mario, Donald,

Fanni, Andrew and Mary Justin, along with members of their families, are

spending a week fulfilling their dreams in Montreal. These children, who have

always wanted to see Niagara Falls, go for a helicopter ride or meet an

Olympic champion, have had a chance to do all this and more during their stay.

Everyone remembers little Martunis, discovered alive, 19 days after the

tsunami, on a beach in Sumatra. He kept himself alive for three weeks by

eating berries and drinking water from puddles. When Milagros was born in Peru

with her legs joined together from her hips to her ankles and her feet spread

out in a V like the fin of a fish, her chances of survival were slim.

Immediately dubbed La Sirenita-the Little Mermaid-by the media, she took her

first steps in October 2006. And how can one forget Mario, severely burned

after his father immolated himself? After being rescued from the flames by Luc

Fleurant, a St Adèle policeman, Mario spent two years in hospital and

underwent some 30 operations. Both of his legs were amputated, and he only has

stubs left where his arms used to be. Now 13, Mario is happy to be alive and

to be able to go to school. He is the ambassador of this incredible project,

which became a reality last Monday. We all have a lot to learn from the unique

stories of these Faces of Love children.

In addition to taking part in a one-of-a-time experience, the children

also had an opportunity to join Céline in a personal photo session directed by

famous photographer Heidi Hollinger. The exceptional lives of these children,

who have overcome challenges to go on living with courage and determination,

are immortalized in pictures and words in a book, a calendar and greeting

cards. The book, entitled 12 héros parmi nous and published by Publications

Charron, will be launched in August of this year. The calendar and a series of

greeting cards will be on sale everywhere, starting in September.

 

Mission accomplished

 

In order to ensure that all of the proceeds from the net sales of these

products go to the children, a special Young Heros Fund was created to help

cover the cost of bringing the children to Montreal and to pay for all the

other expenses associated with this large-scale undertaking. It is thanks to

the generous contribution of over 65 Quebec businesses that the organizers are

today able to declare "mission accomplished."

"Children from all over the world are facing horrendous hardships. By

telling the stories of the 12 little heros who have overcome fear and

suffering, Faces of Love offers a positive outlook on life," says Martyne

Huot, founder of the Réseau Familles d'aujourd'hui and the brainchild of this

project. "The determination of these children provides a lesson in courage for

each and every one of us and should prompt us to refocus on the basic values

of our society, " adds Ms Huot.

"We already know about Céline Dion's long-standing commitment to the

Cystic Fibrosis Association, as well as her affiliation with the CHU

Sainte-Justine-she and her husband, René Angélil, were the spokespersons for

the CHU Sainte-Justine's most recent fund-raising campaign. What is not so

well known is the fact that Céline is actually involved: she meets with sick

and injured children, comforts them, shares their pain and fear, and brings

them that which, more than anything else, can help change their lives. Their

hope, determination and strength is largely derived from contact like this,"

explains Georges-Hébert Germain, who wrote the preface for the book written by

12 well-known Quebec authors and personalities.

 

A few figures

 

Collectively, our young heros travelled over 114,000 kilometres, or three

times around the globe, to meet with Céline Dion and take part in one of the

most fabulous international get-togethers ever staged. The $578,000 price tag

for the organization of this one-week event was covered by donations of cash

and goods and services from Quebec businesses. A total of 297 people were

involved in the event-31 alone just to find young Martunis in Indonesia-and

57 volunteers devoted an estimated 4,600 hours of their time.

 

Available for an interview and photos:

 

Junior Lemire, Canadian hero and ambassador of the Faces of Love project

Martyne Huot, Designer of the Faces of Love project

Nathalie Racine, President of the Young Heros Fund

Hugo Desmarais, Maria Leppanen, Young reporters for the Réseau Familles

d'aujourd'hui

Carine Marcotte, Chaperone, Little Heros Committee

Roxanna Lopez, Consul General of Peru

 

 

 

For further information: Martyne Huot, Réseau Familles d'aujourd'hui,

(450) 945-1799, martyne.huot@famillesdaujourdhui.com