http://www.gerefoundation.org.... http://www.richard-gere.us/... HIVictorious: http://www. myspace. com/hivictoriousCHARTERThe Gere Foundation awards grants to humanitarian organizations supporting victims of war and natural disasters, providing HIV/AIDS care and research and addressing human rights violations occurring around the world. Our primary mission is to assist the cultural survival of the Tibetan people through health, technological and educational projects. The Gere Foundation contributes directly to The Tibet Fund, supporting His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community-in-exile. Dislocated from their homeland since 1959 and under the continuing brutal occupation of the Chinese, thousands of Tibetan refugees risk their lives every year escaping to freedom in India, Nepal, Mongolia and elsewhere.The goal of the Gere Foundation is to alleviate suffering and help to restore autonomy to the people of Tibet.Gere Foundation's list of grant recipients includes:* International Campaign for Tibet in Washington D.C. * Tibet Fund * Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition * Pundarika Foundation * The Tibetan Children's Villages * Rato, Sera, Drepung and Ganden Monasteries re-built in the south of India * Students for a Free TibetAssistance is given to many translations of work that encompass and appreciate Buddhism as a living philosophy. The Foundation supports and sponsors many publications, including:* Tricycle, The Buddhist Review * Wisdom Publications * Snow Lion Books * Rangjung Yeshe Publications * Lama Yeshe Wisdom ArchiveGere Foundation contributes to other humanitarian causes:* Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for their work in global human rights with particular emphasis on China and Tibet * Survival International for their work with indigenous endangered cultures * Oxfam America, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for their work in famine, war, and disaster relief * AMFAR, AIDS ReSearch Alliance, AIDS Project of Los Angeles, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Children Affected by AIDS, Harvard AIDS Institute, Naz Foundation and many other groups and research projects for their continuing fight against HIV/AIDS and their outreach to assist its victims.Gere Foundation is a non-profit tax-exempt organization incorporated under section 501(c)(3) in the United States. Established by Richard Gere, the Foundation provides philanthropic assistance to the causes and groups whose work represents the humanitarian goals that he has long supported. THE TIBETAN TRAGEDYFor centuries Tibet existed as a culturally rich and independently governed nation. A place of great peace and natural magnificence, it gave refuge and religious freedom to a people whose language, laws, institutions and customs were created with one thing in mind: the creation of a society totally imbued with and inspired by love, kindness and human compassion.That all changed with the invasion of the Chinese in 1949.Relying on historical misrepresentations and an aggressive imperialism, China and its People's Liberation Army laid claim to the nation of Tibet by proclaiming a need for "liberation" and reform. In 1951 The "17-Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" was imposed upon the Tibetan government. It was a document designed specifically to destroy their national, cultural and religious identity. With the presence of over 40,000 Chinese troops, the threat of an immediate occupation and the prospective obliteration of the Tibetan state, China had given Tibetans little choice but to cooperate.For eight years the Chinese consolidated their power and control, repeatedly violating the treaty they had set in place. Tibetan opposition and open resistance grew, leading to the National uprising in 1959, and the flight into India of Tibet's head of state and beloved spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Since the Chinese invasion in 1949, the Tibetan people have been robbed of their humanity and forced to witness the destruction of many aspects of their world by a completely distinct Chinese culture. They have lost the spirit and beauty of their country, their people, their culture and their religion. As they fight to keep it alive in their hearts, they have endured great loss of life, cultural devastation, and suffering. Today, Tibetans from various backgrounds both within and without Tibet heroically struggle to regain their freedom and keep their culture intact. They urgently need our support. Tibet Activist Richard Gere: Wake Up China!Richard Gere on Universal ResponsibilityRichard Gere at AIDS Awareness Event DelhiRichard Gere on Dalai LamaRichard Gere 10 March 2009Once again, Richard Gere has spoken out about the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the lack of respect for human rights in China."For the good of America - for Americans as well as the rest of the world - you have to say what you stand for. And words have to be spoken over and over again in every situation.I think the economy and our fear of losing the Chinese market is a straw dog. I don't buy it at all.China has so committed itself to the world economic system that it can't go back now. They can't function without us and they can't function without Europe.I think we are actually in a very strong position vis-a-vis China."Defend Human Rights - Boycott Chinese products