International's 3rd Annual 'Beyond Hunger: A Place At The Table' Gala

When: Friday, August 22 Where: Montage Beverly Hills Who was there: Guests included Ian Somerhalder, Diane Lane, Lori Silverbush, Tom Colicchio, Annie Griffiths, Nev Schulman, Ben Folds, Chad Smith, Jon Heder, Kirsten Heder, Pierre Ferrari, Mikky Ekko, Diane Lander Simon, Ed Asner, Grace Weber, Hailee Steinfeld, Jon Heder, Josh Zuckerman, Josh Charles, Lucy Schwartz, Mallory Lewis, Mehcad Brooks, Mindy Cohn, Nikki Reed, Ryan Newman, and Taylor Hawkins. Other details: On Friday evening, Heifer International hosted the 3rd Annual Beyond Hunger: “A Place at the Table” Gala. The event was intended to raise awareness for the world’s hunger and poverty problems. The gala also focused on empowering marginalized women throughout the world. Before the event began, guests enjoyed cocktails on the outdoor deck of The Montage Hotel. A petting zoo, complete with a cow and two llamas, was on display at the cocktail party. During the event, Jon Heder, his wife Kirsten Heder and Diane Lander Simon co-hosted. Noble Globe Awards went to Diane Lane, Ian Somerhalder, Annie Griffiths, Tom Colicchio, and Lori Silverbush. Ben Folds and Mikky Ekko were both provided musical performances. We were able to talk to Diane Lane, Jon Heder and Nev Schulman about Heifer International and much more! GofG: You’re being honored tonight with the Noble Globe Award, and you’re dedicated to Heifer International. Why are you so passionate about this organization? Diane Lane: They move my heart when I see their work in action, and that is hard to put into words without sounding corny, but that’s okay! (laughs) You feel the relief and the joy and the gratitude that these women have for the empowerment that they are able to wield from their own families and their own communities, and the example they can set for their daughters and sons. To have women have increased value in their community is a way out of a lot of the oppression and suppression of power in general. I say the best investment in mankind is to empower womenkind, because they give back exponentially to their families. GofG: You’re co-hosting tonight! What are you feeling? Are you excited, nervous—what’s going on? Jon Heder: I have no idea what I’m gonna be doing! (laughs) Is it a title thing? I cannot wait until I’m sitting there, like, eating dinner [and then someone will say,] “And now a few words from our host.” And I’ll go, “Um, what? I’m sorry?” No, I mean, it’s an honor. [My wife and I] are very honored. Two years ago we came here and we were honored with the opportunity to present an award to Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen who were close friends of ours from a long time ago; they introduced us to Heifer International, and they have been huge supporters of the gala forever. It’s been a huge honor for [my wife and I] to present awards again. And part of co-hosting means I’ll make sure everybody is ship-shape! I’ll make sure the hor d’ouevres get passed around and everybody is well fed and enjoying their meals! That’s what a co-host does, right? GofG: Heifer International helps to try to end world hunger and poverty, and a lot of people want to get involved with helping but don’t know how. Do you have any advice for people like that? JH: Starting off, [Heifer International] is a great gift idea! I first got introduced [to the organization] back in my college years when my siblings and I got together, and for my dad’s Christmas present, we got him a duck through Heifer International. The duck wasn’t for him; it was in his name to give to a village. It’s a great way to start by helping out Heifer. You can get involved by just buying an animal for a family or a village—as small as a duck, as large as a cow. Or you can get involved in an actual volunteer program that can go overseas and get a one-on-one experience with helping out. GofG: Have you heard of the ALS ice bucket challenge? JH: Yes I have! How could you not?! It’s flipping everywhere! GofG: Do you have an opinion about it? JH: I freaking owe like three hundred bucks now because I’m so lazy and haven’t gotten around to it! All my friends challenge me every time! I’m literally getting a text everyday saying, “I challenge you!” I’m like, “Shit, that’s another hundred bucks if I don’t do it!” But I think it’s great. Anything that helps; I mean, it feels like a fad. I always say I’m not gonna get swept in. I don’t even know what the top twenty songs on the radio are right now! I’m more of a recluse; I’m not trying to say I take pride in it! I just don’t do that [kind of stuff], but, when something is for a good cause, it’s all about raising money for awareness of a good cause. It’s all a good thing! GofG: Tell us what you’re most excited about tonight! Nev Schulman: Well, I know very little about what I should or shouldn’t be excited about. I just heard that there’s a petting zoo, so immediately I’m excited about that! And I know that Ben Folds is playing, and I’ve been a fan of his since high school, so that’ll be amazing. And having met Ian Somerhalder once before, I think there was some magic there! There was something between us, you know, a bromance of sorts, so I’m looking forward to seeing him again. Perhaps we’ll have a warm embrace. GofG: Why are you a supporter of Heifer International? NS: For a number of reasons. Obviously, there is a major problem with hunger in the world. We’re so lucky that we don’t really have to deal with it in our life day to day, but even in this country and of course many others, lots of young people and adults go hungry, and that’s crazy because we can fix that! I mean, we have the resources; we have the means, so I’m in support of ending hunger. But more than that—and I think this speaks to a larger problem—if we can empower women more in general, they will fix a lot of the problems that we have on the whole. The more women are in charge and in control and have the means that they need to succeed, I think the better off we’ll all be. I think that the time of a male-run world is over and should be. It’s a no brainer. GofG: A lot of people say they want to get involved with helping the world poverty problem and the world hunger problem but don’t know how. Do you have any advice for people like that? NS: I think with giant issues like world hunger and world poverty, it’s often so overwhelming. [We ask,] “What can I do?” And so I think the best thing is just to start really small. Pick something little, whether it’s just in your community or joining an organization like this that’s doing things larger, and contribute your time and energy and actually get involved. I’m not a big fan of “slacktivism:” this idea of, “oh, I’ll just tweet about it or post about it or I’ll just pour water on my head; something like that will make the world better.” No! You’re a person. You have power. You have energy. You have life and resources that are creative and physical, so use them! Go do something. Once a month, go spend an afternoon and go do stuff. If everyone started doing that, it’s just like the ripple effect, and will sort of get the snowball rolling. I guess that’s two metaphors in one. (Laughs)
1 of 11