Since it was founded in 1983, the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix has grown from a series of races held on the roads of Pittsburg’s Schenley Park to a roughly 10-day marathon of galas, vintage racing, and car culture events. PVGP celebrated its 30th year in July 2012—and organizers estimate that as many as 250,000 attendees showed up for the party.

That figure is impressive, but it’s matched by the PVGP’s contributions to its charitable partners: the Autism Society of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Valley School. At a ceremony last week, the PVGP donated a record-setting $250,000 to the two organizations. That makes for a total of $3.2 million in charitable donations since 1983.
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Well-wishers for Robin Gibb are being asked to donate to a Manx charity instead of sending funeral flowers.

The Bee Gees singer, who died aged 62 after a lengthy battle with cancer, was born in the Isle of Man in 1949.

His family have requested donations to children’s hospice Rebecca House in Douglas.

The facility, which provides care for children with life-threatening conditions, was officially opened by Gibb and his wife, Dwina, in 2008.

Speaking of the arrangements, hospice chairman Sir Miles Walker said: “You never really think people as famous as Robin would remember a hospice in the Isle of Man.

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The state of Iowa has suspended payments to a taxpayer-funded Des Moines charity that provides counseling for children and families.

The charity, A New Beginning, was the subject of a March 29 Des Moines Register report that said the organization was the subject of examinations by the Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the U.S. attorney’s office.

Last week, the Iowa Department of Human Services notified the charity’s chief executive officer, Kenneth Cameron, that it was suspending all Medicaid payments to A New Beginning because of credible allegations that it was billing taxpayers for services it never delivered. The notice indicates that the dollar value at issue is the $226,000 the charity receives from Medicaid each year.

I understand the USA is going though some tough times but it is sad to see people stooping so low as to commit fraud at charities, especially important ones like this.

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The Knowledge to Action foundation was first conceived in November 2010 when Greg and I were at The Ubuntu Education Fund’s spectacular gala dinner in New York. With The Dave Matthews band playing and hosted by Chris Rock’s wife, it was an incredible evening with close to 700 people in attendance. The star studded crowd pulled together in the spirit of giving and among them managed to raise over $2 million dollars for this worthy cause. We were both blown away by how much money the evening raised for the charity. That evening really showed us that when people work together big things can happen. This inspired us to ask ourselves, “What could we do to make a difference?”

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The Buoniconti Fund’s aim find a cure for paralysis resulting from spinal cord injuries. The fund was founded by football legend Nick Buoniconti after his son Marc suffered a spinal cord injury during a college football game.

Each year, The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis holds the Great Sports Legends Dinner honoring sports figures and philanthropic heroes in order to bring awareness and support to the fund.

This year’s 26th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York raised more than $10 million for paralysis research. One of the standout sports honorees was Kerrigan and Cause Celeb was lucky enough to speak with her about the event.

Read the full article and interview here.

It certainly is nice to see the new car industry giving a little something back after being bailed out of trouble.  The General Motors Foundation announced a $2.5 million donation to the College for Creative Studies in Detroit on Monday.

CCS, with an enrollment of nearly 1,400, is one of the world’s leading art and design schools. It offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in 11 disciplines and Master of Fine Arts degrees in two majors.

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Around 1,000 people helped make the Ian Jenkins charity hockey game a success and helped launch the Big E Foundation at Compuware Sports Arena in Plymouth Township.

Ian (Big E) Jenkins, considered one of the best 15-year-old goaltenders in the U.S., died last Monday, after suffering a head injury on May 19 after falling out of the bed of a pickup truck and onto pavement in Milan. Jenkins was recently drafted in the second round by the London Knights in the 2011 Ontario Hockey League draft and was supposed to play there next season.

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Hop on your bike and help make a difference! The New Jersey Metro Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is challenging bike riders to join the 20th Annual Bike MS “Coast the Coast” ride, and experience the ride of a lifetime.

As one of New Jersey’s premier cycling events, Bike MS “Coast the Coast” participants will pedal through coastal towns, while enjoying all of the sights and sounds of the Jersey Shore. While cyclists ride for many different reasons – camaraderie with other riders, exercise, the challenge, an organized tour, or fundraising – their efforts cumulatively aid in contributing toward the creation of a world free of multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease of the central nervous system.

On May 21 and 22, Bike MS “Coast the Coast” will kick off the summer, providing a great biking experience for novice through expert cyclists. Community members are invited to be part of this yearly tradition that continues to provide fun and goals for family teams and competitive cyclist teams alike. From the family fun 25-mile ride, to the endurance challenge of the 170-mile ride, the Bike MS “Coast the Coast” ride truly offers a weekend of enjoyment and fitness for everyone.

As individual and team cyclists pedal segments or the full distance from West Long Branch to Cape May, they will witness some of the most beautiful scenery that the Jersey coastline has to offer, all while enjoying a fully supported and inspirational event. The events have refreshment stations, bike repair support crews, first aid professionals, and support vans to aid riders on the courses.  Great event and well worth attending!

Super cool green Camero and signed by the Hulk himself! An organization that helps the needy in the area is getting some celebrity help with its latest fundraiser.

Retired wrestler Hulk Hogan and radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge are promoting a drawing for a 2011 Special Edition Chevrolet Camaro 1SS. The proceeds go to Unity in the Community.

This is the second year that Hogan and Bubba, along with Stingray Chevrolet, have teamed to give a helping hand to Unity. The car, autographed by Hogan, is worth $44,000.

Stingray Manager Steve Hurley and Bubba’s BTLS Foundation have purchased the car. Tickets for the drawing are $5.

Unity founder Joyce Jordan said last year’s drawing generated more than $70,000.

Among other works, Unity in May will present 30 $1,000 scholarships to needy high school students who are graduating. Other charities that have received money from Unity have included the United Food Bank of Plant City and Meals on Wheels.

The winning ticket will be drawn at 5 p.m. March 13 at the Florida Strawberry Festival. The winner need not be present to win.

Tickets will be available at Stingray Chevrolet until 6 p.m. March 11 and at the festival from Thursday until 4:30 p.m. March 13.

Tickets also will be available online at stingraychevrolet.com until 6 p.m. March 11; limit 20 tickets per person.  Great idea and I love the HULK!

Here is some feel-good news from across the globe, it seems some 80 percent of the people in Taiwan have made monetary donations to charity in the past year, with each person making an average of six donations totaling NT$3,716 (US$127.83), according to the results of a survey released recently.

Nearly 30 percent of the donors made donations in the last two months, according to the survey conducted by the United Way of Taiwan, a local charity group.

However, regular donations are the main source of income for the charity, which shows local residents’ long-term support for social welfare, according to the results.

About 35 percent of the donors said they are highly likely to make more donations in the coming year, said the charity’s secretary-general, Chou Wen-chen.

Those who said they had not donated cited either tight budget or concern over how their donations would be used, the survey results show. The survey, conducted Jan. 7-12, collected 600 valid samples.  They say a people can be measured by how they treat those less fortunate in their society and the Taiwanese seem to be doing very well!