GOD’S LOVE WE DELIVER GOLDEN HEART AWARDS GALA

KATE Hudson and Michael Kors on the charity delivering one million meals daily in NEW YORK.

The charity started 30 years ago when one woman realized that an AIDS sufferer she was visiting was starving to death because he was too unwell to feed himself, and so she began cooking him a meal every day. From that single act of generosity and kindness has blossomed an organisation that delivers over one million meals in New York alone. These go to 5,000 low-income sufferers from AIDS, cancer, Parkinsons and other debilitating diseases as well as to their families, providing sustenance which, in some cases, is critical to survival.
Guests including Kate Hudson, Emily Blunt, Diane Kruger and Blaine Trump were there not only to celebrate three decades of the charity but also to mark the opening of a new $28m headquarters in SoHo funded by Kors among other benefactors. This 48,500-square-foot property now has a rooftop herb garden and an event space. Its kitchen is now on the second floor, rather than in the basement, meaning that volunteers, who include many of New York’s most famous names, can watch the bustle of the streets outside as they chop, prep and bake for their clients. And, more importantly, passers-by can see them at work and be tempted to find out more and, ultimately, to volunteer themselves.Earlier that day, in a different philanthropic initiative, Kors had been virtually mobbed during a store appearance in the Rockefeller Center for a separate, and equally necessary endeavour: Watch Hunger Stop. For this, he has teamed up with Hudson to campaign for the United Nations World Food Programme. Every Bradshaw 100 watch sold will trigger a donation of 100 meals for children in war-torn or disaster-struck areas worldwide. "I’ve become more and more passionate about it," says Hudson. "The stats are just mind-blowing – malnutrition is responsible for half of toddlers’ deaths - and yet there’s such a tangible thing we can do to make a difference." Ten million meals later, that is exactly what they are doing. And yet, as Kors says, "All of this started locally for me in New York with God’s Love We Deliver. You’d walk into someone’s home and realise they needed the nutrition but they also needed human interaction. When you see it on the ground, it’s remarkable. There are hungry children everywhere." "No child deserves to go hungry," says Hudson. "It is heartbreaking." "Zero hunger is possible," concludes Kors passionately. "I’m an optimist. I watch women change when they put on the right sunglasses or jacket. I’m results oriented. And this is an immediate change in a child’s life, an adult’s life and then on into the future."