Ben Affleck, Ben Affleck and Ben Affleck

And the IMC Humanitarian of the Year winner, Anderson Cooper.

COUPLES

Jennifer Garner Surprises Ben Affleck at Humanitarian Event

By Reagan Alexander

Originally posted Thursday February 19, 2009 09:30 AM EST


Ben Affleck combined a cause close to his heart with his favorite leading lady at L.A.'s House of Blues Wednesday night.

For the Children Mending Hearts Gala, Affleck, 36, received a surprise visit from his wife, Jennifer Garner.

Delivering an impassioned speech about the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Affleck politely stepped aside when the event's Humanitarian of the Year winner, CNN stud Anderson Cooper, took to the podium – allowing Affleck to return to his table, where Garner awaited him with open arms.

Garner, also 36, dressed in a dark cocktail dress, had slipped in to the gathering without fanfare and then peppered kisses upon Affleck's cheek.

With two young girls waiting at home, the couple's date didn't last long, however. After 20 minutes Garner slipped out as quietly as she had arrived.

Affleck remained to take in a brief but rousing set by Sheryl Crow.

Others in attendance included Benji and Joel Madden, Kate Walsh, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Hank Azaria, Marisa Tomei, Alyssa Milano, Elizabeth Berkeley, Tate Donovan and Malin Akerman.

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Hollywood Honors IMC's Work in the Congo

February 12, 2009 - Some of the biggest names in Hollywood will be turning out at the House of Blues in Los Angeles February 18 to honor International Medical Corps (IMC) and support its life-saving work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Actor and director Ben Affleck, who has visited IMC’s programs in the Congo, will be a featured speaker before a celebrity crowd. Among the event’s supporters are George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Diane Keaton, Felicity Huffman, Forest Whitaker, Tobey Maguire, Kate Walsh, Heather Graham, and Brooke Shields. The night includes a performance by Sheryl Crow, with a special humanitarian award presented to CNN’s Anderson Cooper, for his reporting in Africa. The evening is hosted by writer/producer Grant Heslov (“Good Night & Good Luck”) and his wife Lysa, who founded the arts exchange organization, Children Mending Hearts, and traveled to IMC’s programs in the Congo last month.

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(an excerpt)

CAUSE CELEBRE

Hollywood takes notice as Congo's unrest grinds
on

By Tina Daunt
February 11, 2009

Much of the world seems to have written Africa's problems off as insolvable, and nowadays, if you ask a lot of Americans to name an ongoing tragedy, they'd probably point first to the U.S. economy.

Hollywood's political activists are trying to pitch in on both fronts.

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Sheryl Crow will be among the stars providing music at the House of Blues gathering, which is being sponsored by Wonderwall.com, a new celebrity website. CNN's globe-trotting anchor Anderson Cooper will receive a special humanitarian award for his reporting from Africa. (He may have been personally responsible for making a well-filled black T-shirt the garment of choice for the tropics; no more bush jackets or white suits.)

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Now we know what the color of desire is!

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