Doug and Jackie Christie: No Ordinary Love and Extraordinary Giving

A few months ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to interview former NBA superstar Doug Christie and his wife Jackie, who are extremely down–to-earth loving people. But before I did, I asked some basketball fans about the couple for research and I got some interesting opinions, but the one that stood out the most was, “they were talked about a lot because of their relationship.” Relationship? You’re kidding me, right? Basketball fans cared about their relationship? Okay, so I read stories about his sign to her when he was in the NBA, heard about other stuff too, but you want to know something…I really don’t care. I know some couples who would ache to have that kind of love in their lives.

Instead, we talked only briefly about their relationship, but we focused more on their love of helping others, especially children through their Infinite Love Foundation. Earlier this year, the Infinite Love Foundation presented 21 new bicycles to children being honored for their achievements in the community. The Seattle Rotary Boys and Girls Club "Lady Style" AAU basketball team also received much needed jerseys, shorts and basketball shoes from the Infinite Love Foundation. Also, the Infinite Love Foundation has consistently sponsored the Seattle Millionair Club, which provides food and hygiene supplies to those in the community; as well as the Children's Hospital of Seattle.

We talked about their commitment to giving back as often as they could and how this commitment came from the fact that both of them had a trying past. I was raised by a single mother and not only did I have respect for Doug, who didn’t end up a statistic that people like to throw in the faces of single mothers (your kid will be drug addict, dropout, etc.) but both Jackie and Doug were successful enough to look back on their past and help others.

A little background on Doug (according to his website, www.dougchristie.com): Doug was born in Seattle, Washington and introduced to hard work at an early age when he became a latchkey kid while his parents both worked long hours. Growing up in the Northwest, Doug enjoyed his childhood and his number one passion, soccer. As an athletic child, it wasn't long after his introduction to organized basketball that he knew this game would be his life. Doug attended Rainer Beach High School in Seattle, went on to Pepperdine and then to the NBA where he played for 14 years. Jackie was also born in Seattle, has been a model and has opened a clothing boutique in Seattle.

Both achieved their dreams through the help of their single parents, who turned to local organizations for aid. Today, Doug is retired from the NBA and he and Jackie focus on their charity work and various business ventures including the launch of their online radio show, Infinite Love Talk Radio beginning November 1, 2007. Their weekly talk show will feature celebrity guests, sports icons and surprise interviews. The Christies will spread their knowledge of marriage, fashion, love, lifestyle and sports with listeners as well as give advice on how to have a successful marriage when all odds are against you. The weekly online radio show will air on Saturdays at 5pm (PST) on www.blogtalkradio.com/christiedandj.

Doug and Jackie are very excited to be talking about helping others and one of the charities they have helped along the way was the Millionair’s Club.

Jackie: My mom was a single mom and I had eight brothers and sisters. She reached out to the Millionair’s Club to help us and helped my brothers get jobs when they were old enough and helped us to get food. They were just terrific for our family and when I got into a position when I grew up that I could give back, they were the organization that stood out for us. Doug also benefited from the Millionair’s Club because his mother was a young mother, she was 15 when she had him and didn’t have the benefit of help from his father either.

(According to their website, since 1921, The Millionair Club charity – located in Seattle, Washington -- has been changing lives through jobs. Businesses, homeowners and individuals hire hard-working, reliable Club clients for day labor or permanent jobs and give unemployed and homeless people a chance to escape from poverty and become self-reliant members of the community. Visit www.millionairclub.org for more information.)

My mom was widowed when I was young so I was like you and Doug, raised by a single mom, but as a kid, you don’t remember who helped you out. Did your mom incorporate ‘giving back’ into your brain over the years?

Jackie: My mom was really happy when I told her what I was going to do. I do remember them helping my brothers and giving them jobs, so I knew I wanted to help them when I got into a position where I could.

Some kids are embarrassed when their family needs help to get by. What advice would you give to them?

Jackie: I would remind them it’s only a temporary situation and when they grow up they’ll be happy to know that someone was there to help them too and now they can give back. That’s what this world is supposed to be based on – helping each other. Just be thankful you’re in a system with an organization that can help you. Just to be able to go to an organization like this is so special; I’ll spend the rest of my days giving out to organizations that can help others. I have a 13-year-old daughter who watches TV and models, but her main character is about giving. We are instilling traditions about giving back with all of our children. We tell them that just because you’re more fortunate don’t mean you don’t give back. We tell our kids to donate their toys or, at Christmastime, they get a certain amount of gifts and they have to pick out gifts for other kids. They really enjoy that. We take them with us to events. If you start your kids young, they’ll grow up with a mindset about giving and grow up to help the community.


NBA players make a lot of money. How did you and Doug get past the comments from others that the two of you were just showing off your money?

Jackie: First, we know in our hearts what is right. There has been a lot of stuff written about our relationship and our love for each other. He is really dedicated to his family and that was hard for others to swallow. People can say whatever they want, we will continue to help and that’s all that matters, so it really doesn’t bother us, what’s really important to us is that people understand we don’t do what we do for publicity. This is a gift from our hearts and it’s something we want to do. It doesn’t matter what they think. If someone needs our help, we help them.

Doug, take me back to your childhood.

Doug: It meant a lot growing up in Seattle. We weren’t always able to have what we needed. I was a latchkey kid, I came home and did schoolwork, but mostly hung out and played. At holiday time, mom would get help from schools or wherever. She was concerned and would get from various places to make sure we got what we needed. That was part of what you did and how you grew up. Whatever mom had to do to make sure there was food on the table, she did.

Most kids in that position just focus on getting out. How did you turn around and give back?

Doug: I was never in that mindset (of just getting out). I used to tell my mom, “I’m going to live with you forever.” Then when I was making my own money and I knew what it was like to be in those situations. I had a knowledge of myself and I started learning more about who I am and I see the kids now who don’t understand what’s going on and we want to help them to turn the light on, change everything including their outlook on things. We want to tell them to go to school, get an education and then anything is possible. I truly believe that anyone can.

When you make it big in the NBA there are perks and glamour and many players can blow their money quickly on stuff.

Doug: I think that when you get that money and you come from not having a lot or not having anything, there’s no rulebook telling you how to spend that. You just don’t know. The real basis though is family. I think about what I want my children to do and I can’t be hypocritical – I have to show them the way I think they should do things, including giving back.

When I was playing for the Lakers and I would leave the forum, there would always be this guy by the freeway and I would always give him a bill and whatever he did with that he did. I look at my children’s faces and I want them to be good people.

The Infinite Love Foundation – what does that mean to you and Jackie?

Doug: Everything we do from helping people to loving each other to whatever we pour into our children – love is just spreading in every direction. Even in our business dealings, we try to do it with the love that people would want to be treated with.

You’ve taken hits with the media. How do you stay focused without saying “I can’t take this anymore?” Many people have obstacles when they start a foundation, so how did you overcome this one?

Doug: The media is a big one. People are going to have their opinions and say mean and kind things – we don’t pay attention to the mean things. There are obstacles in getting to be an NBA player including being told that you’re not good enough to make it. This is just another thing and maybe being an athlete has taught me how to have a tough skin in a lot of areas, and what people say about me is just one of them.

What is your primary goal?

Doug: Hopefully we help someone and they can keep it going and when they give back it just keeps going and it gives hope.

Thanks Doug and Jackie!


Other Tidbits:
* The Children Affected by AIDS Foundation will hold its Dream Halloween® fundraiser at Roseland Ballroom from 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 21, 2007. This year Chris Meloni, star of “Law & Order: SVU,” and his wife Sherman Meloni will receive the Foundation’s Ribbon of Dreams® Award. Each October, the Foundation opens its doors to hundreds of families to attend Dream Halloween® in-costume and trick-or-treat for toys, meet their favorite cartoon characters, play games, create arts and crafts, and enjoy delicious food.

* Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood Stars Rallied at United Nations – On September 25, actors united for a world without hunger, as part of HungerFREE, a global campaign sponsored by Action Aid International. Celebrity speakers included Tim Meadows (Hollywood); Shabana Azmi (Bollywood - India); Hilda Dokubo (Nollywood - Nigeria) Why are they Protesting? According to Action Aid Int’l, seven years ago governments at the UN committed to halving hunger by 2015. At that time, there were 800 million hungry people across the globe. Today, 854 million are hungry. HungerFREE is a global campaign that will provoke governments to deliver on their commitment to halve world hunger by 2015.

* Padres Contra El Cáncer (Parents Against Cancer) will celebrate its annual fund–raising gala, El Sueno De Esperanza; An Evening for Celebration & Hope on Thursday, October 18, 2007, from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., at The Lot in Los Angeles, California. The organization will pay tribute to the courage and heroism demonstrated each and every day by its extraordinary children and families. ‘EL SUEÑO DE ESPERANZA’ will also recognize PADRES’ distinguished friends and colleagues for their humanitarian contributions in support of the cancer community. Honorees this year include Alex Wallau (Special Senior Advisor, The Walt Disney Company), a cancer advocate who will receive the CHAMPION OF HOPE Award; Beto Cuevas (Grammy Award–Winning Musical Recording Artist), who will receive the RUBY OLIVA CEDILLO TRIBUTE Award; and Cingular Wireless/The New AT&T whose direct financial contributions in support of PADRES and its life–saving mission will be acknowledged with the ‘EL SUEÑO DE ESPERANZA’ Award.Eva Longoria is the PADRES National Spokesperson; Gala Chair and George Lopez serves as Master of Ceremonies.
Founded in 1985, PADRES brings together children, families, healthcare professionals and community leaders to promote a comprehensive understanding of childhood cancer and other blood disorders, as well as effective methods for their treatment. PADRES’ unique and inclusive program model is premised upon the delivery of a health and education curriculum designed to be culturally–relevant, family–centered and community–based. While primarily oriented to the Latino community, PADRES’ programs, activities and services serve childhood cancer patients and their families from all races, nationalities and ethnic origins. NO FAMILY IS TURNED AWAY. For more information, please visit www.iamhope.org.

* The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation will hold their annual New York gala, "A Magical Evening," on Monday, November 12, 2007 at the New York Marriott Marquis. Meryl Streep, and Lee and Bob Woodruff are being honored at this event. The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research, and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy. More information on this organization and event as we get closer.

Stefanie Powers -- Actress, singer and amazing conservationist…

There’s an incredible actress doing amazing work in Africa with the William Holden Wildlife Foundation (http://www.whwf.org/) and, no, it’s not Angelina Jolie. Stefanie Powers,-- another gorgeous, legendary actress whose most recognizable work was her role as Jennifer in the TV show “Hart to Hart “-- is working just as hard without recognition or press coverage. That’s about to change. Stefanie Powers deserves tremendous recognition for the work she is doing on behalf of animals worldwide.

A little background first -- For those of you who don’t know who Bill Holden was, his illustrious acting career spanned over 40 years and including nearly 80 films. He won an Oscar for “Stalag 17”, and was the number one box office star for many years, but his most important role he took on was as conservationist and founder of the Mt. Kenya Game Ranch. Unfortunately, he died too early in 1981 and left his work unfinished.

Fortunately, Holden brought the love of his life, Stefanie Powers, to Africa for the first time in 1973. Stefanie now serves as President. According to her bio, she is also involved with several American zoos -- the Cincinnati Zoo, Zoo Atlanta and the Los Angeles Zoo) where she works with species survival programs and is a frequent keynote speaker for causes dear to her heart such as Farm Sanctuary (humane treatment for farmed animals) and the Bushmeat Crisis. She has also been honored by The Explorers Club with its Lowell Thomas Award for her conservation efforts.

Talk to me about your love of animals when you were growing up.

My stepfather, Jack Robinson, raised racehorses and, in those days, Hollywood Park had an infield with monkeys, geese, exotic turkeys and chickens and all sorts of things. They wanted to do something else with the park and Jack wanted to know what would happen to the animals and he took them. He had his own mini zoo on his ranch with all of these funny creatures that I grew up with. Anything that dropped out of a tree got rescued.

(Later, when the budding actress was in her 20s, she walked into a pet shop and saw a small bear.)

It was a Malaysian Sun Bear and I said, ‘You can’t have a bear!” and I told them if someone buys this bear and it gets big, they won’t take full responsibility -- and I’m lecturing them, so the man says ‘Why don’t you buy it?“ And I said, “Alright, I will!’

My stepfather believed in tough love. I wanted a horse, so he took me to the slaughterhouse and although I didn’t see them being slaughtered, I saw a young and old and beautiful horses. He said, “If you don’t want your horse to wind up here, then you have to always take full responsibility for animals. If you are not prepared, than you can’t have one. Whatever he did to me, it’s lasted throughout my lifetime. I have lots of horses -- I buy them but I don’t sell them. It was a tough lesson, but it was right.

(Stefanie owned her bear for 18 years.)

It led me into the world of exotics, where I knew all the vets. When I would go out of town Ralph Helfer (famed Hollywood animal trainer) would take care of the bear while I did a movie. I didn‘t think it would unfold the way it did, but it‘s become a very important part of my life.

What did you see on your first safari trip with Bill ?
The ranch that Bill had started with his partner, Don Hunt, was in the business of capturing animals and sending them to zoos and parks for captive breeding for conservation work -- long before the word conservation was even in people’s lexicon. At that time, the ranch was involved with a translocation project with the Grevy Zebra which is unique to Kenya that was being poached out of existence in the north of Kenya. The Game Department was interested in trying to move the substantial amount of them to the south to Savo East and West game park, which was run by game warden Billy Woodley. The best capture unit capable of doing it was Bill and Don. So for three years, they had a camp in the north of the country where they would capture Grevy Zebras, leave them in the compound to habituate and those who didn’t were released. When they got a pretty good herd, they moved them. So, my first safari was right into the fire -- we arrived, got in cars and drove for six hours where the camp was.

Many of us don’t even know this stuff goes on -- why is that?
It’s surprising how ignorant we are, given all of the information we have access to. I feel in some way, because we have so much access to information, we value it less and we turn on Animal Planet and National Geographic and see the documentaries on wildlife and I think because we see someone else doing something about it on television, they don’t have to get involved and every once in a while it becomes fashionable to worry about the environment and it’s fashionable now to worry again and I’ve seen the trend come and go. We’re not voting with our pocketbook, demanding ever increasingly hybridized vehicles simply because we won’t buy anything but that. Until we do, nobody is going to moved to produce that sort of stuff.

You had an emotional experience -- do you think we’re missing out on that and that is that would move us to do something?
We have enough opportunities in our own country. They visit national parks, but throw rubbish. Hiking trails are full of rubbish -- who did that? What is it about our lack of concern -- I don’t know how you jar people out of their lethargy. The extinction of species is not a natural phenomenon -- it’s our fault. What kind of a species are we that keep breeding and can’t take care of the children we have? How much stuff do we really need?

What is the number one issue in Kenya?
Loss of habitat for animals. It’s also loss of habitat for people -- overpopulation, misuse of the environment, poor farming methods and overuse of toxic chemicals, rendering vast acres of land unusable to man and beast. One thing we are deeply involved with at the William Holden Wildlife Education Center is alternatives to loss of habitat. We teach alternative methods to habitats so human beings can get better use of the small plots of land and not go into areas where wildlife is competing with them.

(The William Holden Wildlife Education Center spreads over 15 acres of land on the slopes of Mt. Kenya, near the Mt. Kenya Safari Club and adjacent to the Mt. Kenya Game Ranch. The Center houses a youth hostel, lecture hall/library, audio-visual facilities, llama compound, fish farm, tree nursery, bio-gas and solar energy installations. It applies practical conservation methods along with educational programs designed specifically for each group. The center currently serves 10,000 students a year.)

Are toxic chemicals a problem in Africa?
Well, a lot of toxic chemicals that get outlawed in America get exported to the third world. DDT was exported to Mexico from the US and now we’re reimporting food from Mexico. It’s all coming back on us. We are naïve because we think once it’s out of our hands it’s done and over with. We also think the garbage men just pick it up and it’s gone and we shouldn’t be responsible for separating our biodegradable. I have a compost machine; the greatest think I produce is dirt because I have so much cuttings -- from the trees, kitchen, etc.

But if we can’t even focus on what we have here, how can we focus on what’s going on in Africa or other countries?

We have the North American wild horse -- it’s a perilous situation. The Bureau of Land Management wants the wild horses off of federal lands because they are being pressured by senators whose constituency are cattle/beef growers and they want cheaper grazing land because then they can command cheaeper prices of meat. I‘m a vegetarian and we eat too many animal products as it is. It’s not natural for us to eat so many animal products -- eggs, cheese, fish, meat. How many years is it going to take before we realize we won’t have any fish in the sea in our lifetime?! It’s no longer a question of saying “we have to do this for our future generation,” but it is happening in OUR lifetime. We have to do this now! It is happening.

How do we get involved in your causes?
If people are interested in domestic causes I’m very involved with the wild horse situation. There are a number of good organizations for the translocation and the purchase and the maintenance of them You can help raise money -- get kids together to raise money for those organizations they want to support -- $5 is still $5, so nothing is too small especially when you are trying to feed horses.

What’s on the horizon for you?
I‘m on the Jaguar Conservation Trust. (After our interview a few months ago, Stefanie went to India -- Gujarat and she talks about what she was going to be doing.) I’m on my way to India to the former hunting grounds of the ruler of that area. It was made into a sanctuary for the very rare Asiatic lion -- there are maybe 200 left. The men who are spearheading the effort visited our education center three times last year and want to see if we can replicate our education center and outreach program into communities in their sanctuary, so I’m keynote speaker.

(Jaguar North America announced the formation of the Jaguar Conservation Trust back on April 15, 2003. It was a new campaign to assist in the effort of preserving the company’s namesake. The Trust provides grands and funding for projects that promote the preservation of the jaguar and its habitat. Stefanie aids in the creation of a full-spectrum conservation program.)

With just a $35 a year membership in the Trust we can carry on the work done by local people in Belize, Guatemala and Costa Rica -- they are active local groups -- small groups of indigenous of native tribal bases living in remote areas who regard the jaguar as a spiritual being doing tremendous work trying to educate people.)

In her bio, Stefanie says “The Foundation is a large commitment, but it’s not something I entered into without understanding the full impact of the obligation. It’s a lifelong commitment that sometimes monopolizes one hundred percent of my time.” And, according to Powers, she’ll continue working because it’s, “what I need to do to keep doing the work in Africa.” We are eternally grateful for her work, but she needs our help. Check out the website and see if there is any way that you can help. Me? I’m going to order some of the adorable baby monkey cards! They are my personal favorite animal. What’s yours?

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Jacob's Cure

A few months ago, I had the privilege of hearing about the launch of Jacob’s Cure and the story of Jacob and his mom, Jordana Holovach. Please take a few minutes out of your day to visit their site and learn more about this incurable condition.

On May 31st, they launched Jacob’s Cure Smiley Bag by Babydish. Jacob’s Cure is a foundation founded by Jacob’s mother, Jordana Holovach to help find a cure for Canavan Disease. Jacob has suffered from this disease since birth and there is no cure. Babydish designed The Smiley Bag, after Jacob’s smile and will donate 40% of each sale to help fight this deadly disease.

At the home of Lisa Hallerman, celebrities and VIPs got together to learn more about this illness. Elizabeth Banks, Lake Bell, AJ Cook, Julie Bowen, Alicia Coppola, Rachel Harris, Maria Menounos, Brooke Mueller and Adriane Palnicki were guests of this intimate affair.The event was hosted by Boston Legal’s Julie Bowen, who just gave birth to her son 7 weeks ago. She told many of the guests how moved she was about Jacob’s story, that she agreed to host two days after giving birth. She was telling the story of how she went into labor on set, while pretending to go into labor to fool her castmates.

About Jacob’s Cure - Jacob's Cure is a non-profit foundation dedicated to raising awareness and the funds necessary to cure Canavan Disease, a fatal genetic neurological disorder that affects children at birth. Founded in September 2000 by Jordana Holovach with the hope of saving her son's life, Jacob's Cure allocates 95% of funds raised to research in gene-therapy, stem cell transplantation, pharmacology, and a greater basic understanding of the disease. Jacob's Cure is responsible for funding the Canavan Research lab at Cooper Hospital/Robert Wood Johnson. Its efforts to date have resulted in successful gene-therapy trials and pharmaceutical interventions that have stopped the progression of the disease in Canavan children worldwide.

40% of sales from the Smiley Bag will benefit Jacob's Cure and the fight against Canavan Disease. The bag can be purchased at www.babydish.com. Canavan Disease is a fatal genetic brain disorder that affects children at birth. For more information, please visit www.jacobscure.org.

About BabyDish - BabyDish, the creator of the BabyBeReady Diaper Bag Survival Kit was founded in 2006 by Stacie Mindich-Jordan, a mother of two who created the only pre-packed diaper bag filled with 10 of baby’s most essential items. A portion of all proceeds goes to cancer organizations and Jacob’s Cure.

COMING UP: ON JULY 11TH -- DOUG CHRISTIE, NBA SUPERSTAR AND HIS WIFE JACKIE TALK ABOUT HOW THEY LOVE GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.