President of Refugees International Reacts to Celebrity Apprentice Contributions

During the course of NBC’s hit reality show Celebrity Apprentice, World Series of Poker bracelet winner Annie Duke played for Refugees International, an organization she works closely with through her own charity, Ante Up for Africa. As a result, Refugees International earned over $700,000 throughout the 11 week season and met its fundraising goal for 2008.

Kenneth Bacon, President of Refugees International, sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss his reaction to show host Donald Trump hiring comedian Joan Rivers and the outpouring of support from the poker community.

Poker News Daily: Thank you for joining us. Share your thoughts on the ending of Celebrity Apprentice.

Bacon: I was certain that Annie was going to win and was shocked when Donald Trump fired her. The series is designed to test contestants for their entrepreneurial energy and effectiveness, which Annie demonstrated throughout the entire series. From my standpoint, both Annie and Refugees International were winners. Sixteen contestants started the second season of Celebrity Apprentice and the $700,000 Annie raised is substantially more than any of the others won for their charities. More importantly, in the final episode, Annie raised $465,725 for Refugees International during her auction, while Joan raised $150,830 for her charity. I was there with Annie throughout the planning for the silent auction and she did a fantastic job. Annie is smart, committed, and passionate about her causes. She is also a great organizer. That was clear throughout the series. We are extremely glad to have her on our team.

PND: Refugees International received over $700,000 from Celebrity Apprentice in an amazing showing. Talk about what that means to the organization.

Bacon: $700,000 is a huge amount of money for Refugees International. With this money, we can continue to save lives by witnessing firsthand the struggles faced by refugees in places like Sudan, Congo, Iraq, Pakistan, and Somalia and find solutions to their plight. Right now, representatives from Refugees International are in Chad getting ready to travel to the border with Darfur, one of the most remote and undeveloped places in the world. Next month, they will come back to Washington and demand more action to protect and assist Darfur’s refugees, who live in sprawling  camps, completely dependent on international agencies for food, water, and shelter. The money that Annie raised makes this work possible.

Let me put the amount in perspective: Over the last three years, Refugees International has spent less than $700,000 on our efforts to help displaced Iraqis, who comprise 20% of Iraq’s population. That money has generated several hundred million dollars of increased assistance for displaced Iraqis, worldwide publicity to their problems, and changes in U.S. and Iraqi policies. That is the leverage of advocacy.

PND: How did your relationship with Annie Duke begin?

Bacon: Annie was drawn to Refugees International because of her interest in Africa, particularly Darfur. In 2006, Annie, Don Cheadle, and Norman Epstein founded Ante Up for Africa, a poker event that has raised about $2 million to help end or alleviate suffering in the Darfur region of Sudan. Ante Up for Africa will work closely with Refugees International during its next event on July 2nd. As Annie wrote in a blog on our site, she chose to work with us because “organizations like Refugees International affect lasting change. Governments can do more to help refugees in Africa and around the world, but that’s not going to happen without pressure.”

PND: When you heard that you had a chance to spread the word about Refugees International on Celebrity Apprentice, what were your thoughts?

Bacon: We were thrilled. Nationwide publicity like this is impossible for us to get with our budget. The amount of time devoted to our organization during the final episode and “The More You Know” ad that Annie filmed were great moments for us. A world without refugees is a more peaceful and prosperous one, something that everyone in the U.S. and beyond benefits from. The more people who know about the plight of refugees, the more they will be motivated to act.

PND: On Celebrity Apprentice, Duke noted that raising $700,000 helped Refugees International reach its 2008 fundraising goal. What is your fundraising goal for 2009?

Bacon: In 2009, we hope to raise $4.6 million to support our lifesaving work. This will support efforts to help the people of Congo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Burma, Colombia, Somalia, and Sudan and will enable our staff to travel to these regions to understand the needs of the displaced better.

PND: Talk about the outpouring of support from the poker community during Celebrity Apprentice.

Bacon: The poker community has been fantastic. Throughout the Celebrity Apprentice series, Annie stressed how generous professional poker players are and we certainly witnessed that. Over the last few months, we have been privileged to work with Annie and many of her friends who are well-known in the poker world. Two pros – Howard Lederer (Annie’s brother) and Phil Hellmuth – were the biggest contributors at the celebrity silent auction featured in the last episode. Many of Annie’s friends flew across the country that night to help raise money for Refugees International. Many more contributed during the auction of Ivanka Trump’s jewelry in Episode 8, where we received $245,000. In addition, Annie’s friends in the poker community have launched a campaign on Twitter to match the $250,000 prize that Joan Rivers won. We can’t thank them enough.

PND: What outreach activities does Refugees International have planned in the coming year?

Bacon: Refugees International will soon be releasing a short video directed by Matt Dillon calling for more assistance to displaced people in South Sudan, where people are attempting to rebuild their lives after 21 years of civil war. In an area larger than the state of Texas, there are only 10 miles of paved road.  Providing access to clean water, education, and health care there are all major issues. We will also be releasing reports on the needs of displaced people from Darfur, Colombia, Iraq, and Pakistan following trips to these areas.

PND: Piers Morgan and Trace Adkins, the finalists from Celebrity Apprentice Season 1, revealed that their charities have seen long-term growth as a result of the reality series. What residual effect from Celebrity Apprentice do you expect?

Bacon: The number of people who know about Refugees International’s work since Celebrity Apprentice has skyrocketed and people are continuing to send us donations in support of Annie. After the finale, the number of visits to our website tripled. Clearly, more people are learning about the struggles faced by refugees around the world. We hope that this translates into more lifesaving assistance and protection for the nearly 42 million people uprooted by conflict around the world.