A few months ago, director JJ Abrams announced a new charity initiative, Star Wars: Force For Change and asked you to donate to UNICEF to better the planet. Oh yeah, and you could also win a cameo appearance in Star Wars: Episode VII. But mostly so you can better the planet.
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The contest period ended recently and everyone really wanted to change the world. The charity raised $4.2 million, enough to build 7 or 8 UNICEF labs across the globe. Give yourselves a slap on the back for a job well done. You did good work, no matter the reason. An additional $1 million will be donated by Walt Disney, who owns the Star Wars property.
The winner of the trip to London to cameo in JJ Abram's film was D.C. Barns of Denver, Colorado. During a Skype interview in which he was reminiscing about the first time he saw the original Star Wars back during its initial run in 1977, he was surprised by the Omaze team who proudly gave him the sign 'You're going to be in Star Wars Episode VII!'
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When asked what his favorite Star Wars moment was over the years, he had to grin and smile. 'This! This is my favorite Star Wars moment!'
D.C. will enjoy a trip to London for himself and a guest, a behind-the-scenes visit to the Star Wars set, and will be fitted with a costume and filmed for a scene in Star Wars: Episode Vll.
"UNICEF's current network of 14 Innovation Labs help create sustainable solutions to critical issues facing children around the world in the areas of nutrition, water, health, and education. The funds raised through Star Wars: Force for Change will impact the lives of children around the world, through projects like MobiStation, a portable, solar-powered educational kit to ensure children have access to quality learning anywhere, and Rapid FTR (Family Tracing and Reunification), a mobile phone application that helps reunite separated and unaccompanied children with their families in natural disasters."
The prequels left a slightly sour taste in our mouths and kind of tarnished the Star Wars brand. This initiative, and all the buzz we've heard from the set, is putting us back on the right path. At its corse, Star Wars is not about Jedi and Sith, Empire and Rebellion, but about groups of small people who can change the world.
In fact, they are the only ones who ever have.
Check out D.C.'s interview below.