Joaquin Phoenix: Charity Work & Causes

On October 9th 2006, Joaquin sent an open letter to Markos Kyprianou, European Commissary in charge of consumers’ health and protection, to introduce in the European Community laws for a strict labelling of fur.

Joaquin secretly helped as a Red Cross volunteer after the Hurricane Katrina natural disaster and some volunteers shared their stories.

In May 18th 2000, Joaquin attended a Benefit Reception organised by AmfAR during the Cannes Film Festival.

Joaquin posed in a T-shirt and participated in a video supporting Amnesty International's human right campaign, Make Some Noise.

Joaquin also recorded two videos for this organization:
· Mission in Dafur (Sudan, Africa).
· Stop violence against women in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Joaquin and Balthazar Getty hosted an event, ‘Fame, shame and the realm of possiblity’ for The Art of Elysium, with works by artist Russell Young, on November 30th 2005.

Joaquin also wrote a play with Matt Boren and one of their patients, Who cares?.

In addition, Joaquin lent his voice to a video promoting this association’s actions and gave tribute to their work: “Looking at art opens your eyes. Creating it, opens your mind. I’ve seen children who were bound by wheelchairs, fly. For me, expression is the key to fulfilment. Because of The Art of Elysium, many children have the opportunity to express their deepest feelings. Through art, they are able to manifest their dreams.”

The Art of Elysium had partnered up with the Hollywood Reporter to pay tribute to individuals in the entertainment industry who support their cause. They wrote about Joaquin for their ‘An Angel Award’: “Joaquin Phoenix actually lives love and helps our children deal with fear thru creativity. He joined The Art of Elysium family in 2005 and has helped the organization reach more artists to share their talents with our children. His talent, creativity and passion are an inspiration to us, to our artists and most importantly to the very special children we have the privilege of working with. We love having him as our Angel.”

Joaquin supports the Aspen Filmfest, and in 2006,designed a painted dog for “Best in Show” charity auction that was sold for $5,550, the highest bid out of all the participants.

Joaquin attended Chrysalis's 5th Annual Butterfly Ball on June 10th 2006, honoring 20th Century Fox’s Tony Sella.

Joaquin was among the celebrity judges and host committee members for the 2007 Cool vs. Cruel Competition. The event encourages design students enrolled in The Art Institutes fashion programs all over North America to produce fur-free, animal-friendly fashions by using their own creativity to replace real fur in fashion.

Joaquin appeared in a Public Service Announcement for the American Association of Retired Persons' Divided We Fall campaign.

In January 2007, during the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland), the German agency Jung von Matt launched the “Book of Love”, a tribute to the sun’s power, for a campaign to reduce CO² emissions. Joaquin posed for this book and wrote: “I love the sun because it’s democratic, it doesn’t make any distinction, it shines the same on everybody.”

Joaquin narrated the feature length documentary, Earthlings , which focusses on humanity’s dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) while illustrating our disrespect for the “non-human providers.”

In September 2006, Joaquin posed for Happy Hearts Fund's “Expressions of Love”, a collection of photos that should be released in Summer 2009.

Joaquin participated in the “Kiss for a Cause” campaign at the 63th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 16th 2006. The campaign supported the Film Foundation and the Hollywood Museum, which are respectively dedicated to film preservation and the history of American culture including significant achievements in the entertainment arts and Hollywood.

Joaquin has supported The Lunchbox Fund by designing a lunchboxes for auctions. His second lunchbox won the highest bid for $3.500!

Joaquin directed “Stop” (duration 0:02:23), a drama produced by Anonymous Content, “Using the powerful metaphor of maltreated child as Mother Earth. Stop abusing the planet”. “Stop” was screened at the Green Film Festival in Seoul (May 07) within the SOS Live Earth Short Film Program.

Joaquin attended and participated in The Painted Turtle live reading benefitting The Painted Turtle recreational camp and family health care center for children suffering from life-threatening diseases (part of the Hole in the Wall Gang). This was also a tribute for Paul Newman, its co-founder.

Joaquin joined The Peace Alliance for the DC Conference in September 2005. Impressed by their presentation to the Congressional Aides, he has since been engaged in the campaign, hosting benefit events and recordin an audio message to reinforce his support.

On June 22th 2006, Joaquin, along with other artists, hosted a Benefit Reception.

From February 2nd to 6th 2007 in Washington D.C., Joaquin with other celebrities lobbied for re-introduction of the US Department of Peace legislation in the House of Representatives and Senate.

On August 16th 2007, Joaquin also hosted “A Night of Peace”, a benefit reception at the Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles.

Joaquin starred in PETA's first-ever vegan commercial, asking grocery store shoppers to spare the turkeys at Thanksgiving and posed for an anti-fur poster: “Animal rights is a part of my everyday life. When you live by example, you create a certain level of awareness. Friends of mine, people I have never discussed animal rights or vegetarianism with, are adopting vegetarian habits because they see it.”

Joaquin attended the PETA Awards on September 10th 2005 to accept their Humanitarian Award on behalf of Casey Affleck.

In June 2006, he sent an open letter, on behalf of PETA and the California Animals Association, to California State Assembly members asking for their support of Senate Bill 1578 whose aim is to ban the practice of chaining dogs.

Moreover, in September 2007, Joaquin wrote to Australian Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran demanding this country “ensure the humane treatment” of sheep.

Joaquin attended an event organised by The Rock n’ Roll Fantasy Camp benefitting the Teenage Cancer Trust on February 20th 2006 during which a guitar he had signed was auctioned.

On March 29th 2007, in association with other celebrities, Joaquin signed an open letter to the French governement about the announced massacre of 270,000 seals on Canada’s ice floes and urged France to ban all import, entry and marketing of seal products.

Joaquin’s charity profile courtesy of Anne Bourcier from Discovering Joaquin.com.