Bucharest Herald, October 31st, 2010

Half a million Euro donated at Halloween Ball to help 1,200 children go to kindergarten

With Nicolas Cage as guest of honor, the Halloween Ball organized at the Palace of Parliament by OvidiuRo Association on Saturday evening gathered over 500,000 Euro from donations, proceeds that will help 1,200 children in Romania go to kindergarten. The sums donated within the sixth edition of the Ball ranged between 50 and 11,000 Euro.

“Children education is not a problem only Romania is facing, it’s an international problem, many countries face this problem. To me, it is a great pleasure to see here so many people concerned about such an important problem,” said the evening’s special guest Nicolas Cage, who came to Romania with his wife and son. Cage is in Romania to film his latest project, ‘Ghost Rider 2’, shooting set to begin on November 1.

Cage was at the same table with Andreea Esca, Andreea Marin, director Cristian Mungiu and Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi. The famous actor, who won an Oscar for his performance in ‘Leaving Las Vegas,’ became aware of social injustices after starring in ‘Lord of War,’ together with Ethan Hawke, Leslie Hawke’s son.

In fact, in 2005, Ethan Hawke was the first international star invited to the charity ball organized by his mother in Bucharest.

In her turn, Leslie Hawke underlined the importance of donors’ help to her cause. “In a democracy, it’s everybody’s responsibility to make sure all children go to school, it’s not just the government’s and large companies’ responsibility, but also of the civil society and the civil society is us,” she said.

This year, the Halloween Charity Ball was organized under the high tutelage of the Foreign Ministry. Thus, FM Baconschi confessed that he attended the event not because he loves Halloween, but because he appreciates OvidiuRo’s activity. For changes to be even more important, Baconschi suggested that “civil society and governments join their strength.”