Rocker Joel Madden Named Newest UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

Rocker Joel Madden Named Newest UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

NEW YORK, July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Joel Madden, lead vocalist for the critically acclaimed, platinum-album-selling band, Good Charlotte has been named UNICEF's newest Goodwill Ambassador, officials with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF today announced.

The news came Sunday during a cable broadcast on global child survival titled, The Survival Project: One Child at a Time, which aired on CNN and was hosted by the network's chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta. Madden, along with fellow ambassador Lucy Liu, participated in the hour-long special which explored the causes and the actions required to stop the unnecessary deaths of children under age five. The special also featured UNICEF experts from "the field" and examined the role celebrity plays in bringing attention to the issue of child survival.

"UNICEF is the best organization for children worldwide -- they truly make a difference," said Joel Madden recently. "Twenty-six thousand children die every day from preventable causes, my band performs before that many people regularly, so it's a number I can wrap my head around, and pushes me to want to reduce it to zero."

No stranger to social and humanitarian causes, the 29-year-old Baltimore native and new father, recently formed the Richie-Madden Children's Foundation, a charity which provides funding to groups focused on improving pediatric heath, education and human rights both domestically and abroad.

Madden first got involved with UNICEF by volunteering for the TAP Project, a campaign that celebrates the clean and accessible tap water available as an every day privilege to millions, while helping UNICEF provide safe drinking water to children around the world.

In May, after Cyclone Nargis devastated whole communities in Myanmar, Madden and long-time girlfriend, Nicole Richie recorded a national public service announcement (PSA) appealing for donations to help UNICEF provide relief to the nearly one million children affected by the storm.

"It takes you about thirty seconds of conversation with Joel to realize that he is a true advocate for children," said Caryl Stern, president and CEO, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. "Joel represents a generation of young people who are increasingly becoming more and more conscious of the world around them and the role they can play to improve it by doing whatever it takes to save a child."

Madden's first field visit as an official UNICEF Ambassador is scheduled for the fall.

About UNICEF

For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been the world's leading international children's organization, working in over 150 countries to address the ongoing issues that affect why kids are dying. UNICEF provides lifesaving nutrition, clean water, education, protection and emergency response saving more young lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. While millions of children die every year of preventable causes like dehydration, upper respiratory infections and measles, UNICEF, with the support of partnering organizations and donors alike, has the global experience, resources and reach to give children the best hope of survival. For more information about UNICEF, please visit www.unicefusa.org.

Source: U.S. Fund for UNICEF

CONTACT: Richard Alleyne of The U.S. Fund for UNICEF, +1-212-880-9177,
ralleyne@unicefusa.org

Web site: http://www.unicefusa.org/

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Profile: International Entertainment