Oscar Selfie Earns $1.5 Million for Animals
By Amy Sinatra Ayres | vetstreet.com
The selfie seen around the world is doing more than bringing smiles. Chances are you've heard about how Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres set up a selfie with some of the world's most famous faces at the awards show on Sunday night. The picture was snapped by actor Bradley Cooper with a Samsung phone, and Tweeted out by DeGeneres. Then, it was retweeted a record-breaking 3 million times.
While Samsung said it didn't pay for product placement on the show, the company knows it scored some pretty big free publicity, and wanted to pay it forward. So, they decided to donate $3 million - in honor of the retweet record - to two charities of DeGeneres' choice.
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She's decided that $1.5 million will go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - and the other $1.5 million will go to the Humane Society of the United States. DeGeneres is "the leading celebrity voice for animal protection in our nation, and we are so lucky to have her on our side," wrote HSUS president Wayne Pacelle. The group plans to divide the donation among its Pets for Life, Shelter Pet Project and Animal Rescue Team programs. - Read it at Today.com
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