BBC Article

So is this genuine or is it a publicity stunt, personally I think it's great, well done Maria!!! :clap: :clap:

You damn right!!!! This is a big publicity stunt, otherwise why do you need to broadcast it. Alot of players donate money but they dont all go blabbing. Roger Federer and the Serena are also a UN ambassadors but they dont make silly press confrences about it to make up for any loss (big whooping loss).

If you ask me celebs in general should stop giving money, all they do if for it to get more back in return. Scarlette Johanssen hit it right on the head.

Who cares if they get publicity, as long as what they do actually does some good :shrug:

The question is, how many charities actually do any good? How many charities have helped a third world(developing) country change for the better and I dont mean the major ones like red cross or cancer research because they are doing a hell of a Job. I mean these little celeb charities.

Dont get me wrong there are a significant few like oprah actually building a schools, I heard roger federers is also visually progressing, poor joilie pimps her are kids for cambodia and as for madonna I dont have clue etc. But how many make an impact? How many benefit the cause more than the celeb?

If they want to make a small impact without personal gain, why dont they donate anonymously?

Well in this case, people who follow tennis might read the articles about Sharapova and also help out. Surely being an ambassador is to spread the word and help the cause rather than just splashing your money about.

Give the girl a break - I am no fan of hers as well as being cynical about a lot of celebrity charitable work, but it is not necessarily right that the only valid charitable work is anonymous. One thing that a celebrity can do is draw other people's attention to a particular problem - something he/she would not do if he merely gave anonymously. There are lots of goodwill ambassadors for the various UN agencies and there are always press releases when they are appointed because the whole reason for appointing them is to draw attention to the agency's work.

At least Shazza has some vague link with the particular area she will try to help.

Well no matter what her motives are I think the fact that good will come out of it overrides everything else :)

What's the big deal? Virtually anyone is a UN Goodwill Ambassador these days! roflmao

Good point, Geri Haliwell was one, so was Snoop dog, J-zay.

Snoop-Dogg! roflmao roflmao

Pretty sure he is the worst person i could think of to be a Un Ambassador, after Osama Bin Laden!

Snoop is actually quite cool when he is away from all the Gansta stuff, plus he has lots of influence over the world. I think he would make a good ambassador

Oh yeah like maria is the UN spokeswoman :rolleyes: :lol:

At least its for a good cause, at least that horrific Paris Hilton isnt wading in :rolleyes:

dl, I read something recently that alleged that those stars that performed for free at the Live 8 concert in London were given goodie bags as a little thankyou. The value of the goodie bags was a 5 figure sum!! :yikes:

If the UN ever ended up doing that then you could well see Paris Hilton getting in on the act too.. :rolleyes:


Re: Maria.. well, this one seems quite heartfelt, so fair play to her.

Chairman, have studied charities and some of what you says does make sense. Many many charities are set up with the best of intentions, ill thought through in terms of practicalities. The number of charities that are wound up each year is astonishingly high. But any established charity has been under increasing scrutiny certainly over the last 5 years, with increasingly strinent guidelins being imposed on them. Most of them are (have become) very good at what they do. Still a little disorganised (even some of the bigger ones) but they are a far cry from what they used to be, even say 10 years ago :)

Serena wouldn't mind, they're best buds you know roflmao

roflmao