There are limited images from the cinema in the 90s that are as classic as the Basic Instinct scene Sharon Stone did. The basic act of crossing her legs during the evergreen 1992 movie accelerated the actress to super-stardom levels. Ever since, she has maintained her position as an avid fundraiser and staunch advocate who now has an awesome charitable track record.
Last year, Stone joined a lot of members of the Hollywood elite by giving her denim jeans to the charitable initiative ‘Jeans for Refugees’. Initiated by Johny Dar, who is an artist, the fundraising initiative collects jeans donated by stars such as Elton John, Julianne Moore and Sharon Stone and converts them into art symbols. First Dar makes use of the donated denim jeans as a blank canvas to build an artwork piece.
Thereafter they are utilised to be of huge advantage to the International Refugee Committee (IRC). A few jeans are auctioned off in a bid to get funds, while the remaining ones are collected and showcased in various exhibitions around the world, such as the new exhibition opening April 2017 that took place in Manhattan’s Soho district. The denim jeans that was donated by Sharon Stone generated $5,500 for the IRC (International Refugee Committee).
The charitable initiative ‘Jeans for Refugees’ does not represent the first time Stone would be donating clothes for a charity event. A lot of pieces from designer Roberto Cavalli, that includes a coat from the Basic Instinct wardrobe of Stone, were given to Yala Young Leaders. The charity initiative (Yala) by Uri Savir functions as an online mediation body that is an advocate of peace in the Middle Eastern part of Asia. Through the use of social media sites such as Facebook for digital communication and engagement, the body works with the aim to promote peaceful coexistence.
The innovative initiative has drawn the support of a lot of known world leaders such as the former first couple in America, Hilary and Bill Clinton, as well as Facebook vice president David Fischer. Sharon Stone is also the Head of the Culture and Arts Department for Yala Young Leaders in addition to the wardrobe she donated to the project. In this position of hers, Stone constantly moderates discussions as regards the benefit of peace on Facebook and makes contribution to the blog on the site.
These refugee initiatives are clear indicators of her resolve to contribute decisively in aiding global causes, however AIDS relief truly represents the heart of her life’s work. Stone has made use of her status to benefit the project ever since the Basic Instinct role accelerated her to the A-list. She has worked as the global fundraising chairwoman for amfAR (American Foundation for AIDS Research) for 19 years (since 1998). Stone is regularly seen hosting celebrity fundraising auctions, going as far as prompting her celebrity colleagues into giving more money.
Her commitment to limiting the impact of AIDS throughout the world has brought a lot of recognition for her work, culminating in her collecting the Nobel Peace Summit Award four years ago (2013). Her awesome fundraising abilities were put on show when she moderated the project a year later (2014) and realized over $35 million in just one night, a record-breaker as far as amfAR is concerned.
In the course of her excellent career, Sharon Stone has maintained a resolve of making the world a better place to live in. Whether she receives a Nobel Peace Summit Award from the Dalai Lama or a Golden Globe award, it’s like Stone is more inclined to assist in raising money for charitable causes rather than strutting her stuff on any red carpet. Somehow, there is a lot of sense in this. The Basic Instinct movie might have turned her into a bona fide film star, however it is Stone’s basic instinct to offer back to the charity that has truly aided her standing as an important part of Hollywood philantrophy.