Alyssa Milano is asking her fans to donate to charity to mark her son’s upcoming first birthday.

The actress is hoping to raise $50,000 for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital by Milo’s birthday on August 31.

“A couple months ago, my friend Nancy introduced me to the parents of a 4 year-old Peruvian boy named Gonzalito,” Alyssa writes on her fundraising page. "Gonzalito has suffered from leukemia since he was two years old. His family received the news that their son could not be treated in Peru. His doctor recommended that he continue specialized treatment and undergo a bone marrow transplant, and that he be treated as soon as possible.

“All that could be done for him in Peru was done. To save his life, his parents traveled to the United States (Louisiana) where a pediatrician friend offered to help them. Gonzalito was hospitalized at “Our Lady of the Lake,” and though they operated to change a catheter very close to his heart, proper medical care and a bone marrow transplant could not be carried out at that hospital.

“His parents found out that treatment at a hospital in Houston would cost $700,000 and not the $100,000 that they had originally estimated. They struggled desperately to get this treatment at an affordable price to enable them to pay for their son to be alive.


“’In Peru he can not be saved. I share the anguish as a mother I have and ask the community to open their hearts and send donations. Whatever the amount, [though it] may be small, if we all support, we can save him… Gonzalito is a small child who has not even begun to live’, said his distraught mother.

“After receiving an email from Gonzalito’s parents, I hoped he might be accepted at St. Jude, and I inquired directly with the organization that evening. By midday on the following day, I received an answer:

“’I’m very happy to tell you that Gonzalito is currently a St. Jude patient being treated at our affiliate clinic in Baton Rouge, LA. As is the case for any St. Jude patient treated at one of our affiliate hospitals, the family will not pay anything for the treatment provided. Treatment plans are developed in consultation with physicians at St. Jude in Memphis, TN. If a child in treatment at an affiliated hospital requires services only available at our Memphis campus, the child will be transferred to St. Jude in Memphis.’

“As I considered the incredible news, I thought of my own child, Milo. I would do absolutely anything for him. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital provides immense relief to parents and children from everywhere, who go through harrowing situations no one should have to endure.

“For Milo’s first birthday, all I wish is that St. Jude can continue to provide this invaluable service for children…and for their parents who, without a doubt, would do absolutely anything for them.”

To donate to Alyssa’s cause, click here.

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Shannen Doherty and her husband "always make each other laugh and smile."

The 41-year-old Beverly Hills 90210 actress is preparing for the season finale of her reality show Shannen Says, which will document her wedding to photographer Kurt Iswarienko that took place last October.

Shannen feels very comfortable in her marriage to Kurt.

"[We] balance each other [out]," she told ET Online. "I think that we both are very honest people, so I think we call each other on stuff when it needs to be called on. But we're also each other's biggest supporters? at the end of the day, when all is said and done, because I've been very vocal that I love my career, but I know it's not the thing that holds my hand when I'm sick -- it's my husband, it's my mum, it's my friends. So for me it's all about the relationship. And at the end of the day, we always make each other laugh and smile -- and that's what's important."

Having children right now is not a top priority for the couple.

"I think that we both want kids, but there's times when we don't want kids," Shannen laughed. "You know for right now I think we're both enjoying being married to each other and we love to travel. We have a lot of things to do yet before we get there. Who knows, I may be the oldest woman to have a child."

Shannen Says premiered on WE in April.

In "Shannen Says," her new reality television series airing Sunday nights on WE tv, she neatly rolls all three into one addictive package. Each week viewers get what she calls a "really, really, really honest" look at her journey to the altar (her third time) as she and fiance (now husband) Kurt Iswarienko work with famed wedding planner David Tutera to create the wedding of her dreams.

Huff Post Gay Voices caught up with Doherty to chat about what makes her reality show different from all the rest, her feelings on gay marriage, her deep-seated fears of elderly penises and more.

HuffPost Gay Voices: Whose idea was the show?
Shannen Doherty: Kurt and I were in Mexico and we were talking about Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" and "The Deadliest Catch" and how well done those shows are -- they're really high quality. Anthony Bourdain is this incredibly smart, witty, clever, sometimes snarky -- more than sometimes -- man. They use different cameras, they really do something totally different. "The Deadliest Catch" is also shot amazingly well and it's so incredibly poignant and raw and truthful and we thought Can you bring all of those qualities to reality TV? Can you be that brutally honest, that completely raw, but with the quality of those two shows where you do use different cameras and you do want it to look spectacular? So we thought we should really do something. And the more margaritas we drank on vacation, the more it sounded like a really, really good idea. We came home and I called a couple of producers I know -- I knew I wanted to use my production company but that I wanted to partner up with someone. It was incredibly easy at that point to get people on board. Then it took its time because we had a deal at one place and we shot a presentation but I became a little disillusioned with the direction they were going in -- it became a little too "train wrecky" for me. So we moved on and we ended up [on WE tv] because there was an executive there that really understood the concept of the show and we felt would nurture it and care for it and hold true to Kurt and my vision. And they did. The network did a great, great, great job with the show. We're very happy.

We invite you to "Walk Through Hollywood History" and help us raise critical funds needed to grant over 400 wishes this year for courageous children battling life-threatening medical conditions. A record 2,000 walkers are expected to enjoy a unique behind-the-scenes look at 20th Century Fox Studios. Joining celebrity host Alyssa Milano, wish children and their families will navigate the 2-mile course side-by-side with our supporters, volunteers, and sponsors to raise money to grant wishes one step at a time!

Create a Walk Team ~ Set a Fundraising Goal!

Every dollar counts towards reaching our goal of granting 400 wishes. At an average wish cost of $7,500, it’s as momentous a challenge as we have ever had to face. We must do all we can so no eligible child is ever denied a wish due to lack of funds.

Raise $500+ and Every Dollar will be Matched!

Raise $250 or more- entered into an opportunity drawing to win one of:

• One (1) $250 gift card to The Cheesecake Factory

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Shannen Doherty has learned to be "more honest with herself."

The 40-year-old former Beverly Hills, 90210 actress lived a wild life in the past.

Shannen has forgiven herself for her transgressions, but she hopes her mum and dad will too.

"My parents raised me better than [the person I portrayed in the media], and I regret ever hurting my parents," Shannen said on American TV programme The Talk. "What's funny is the older you get, the more honest [with yourself] I think you actually become."

Shannen also feels remorse for passing on some potentially profitable professional paths.

"I sit here and go, 'Wow, did I blow some major opportunities', " she shared.

"I [blew] some huge opportunities in my career [that] I've had to work very, very hard to try and get back."

Shannen, who has been divorced twice, is winning romantically speaking. The Star married husband Kurt Iswarienko last October and is loving being a newlywed.

"[Marriage is] phenomenal," she gushed.

Shannen's new reality show Shannen Says will premiere on WEtv next Tuesday.

The former Charmed star, 40, did the deed with George Hamilton’s son Ashley Hamilton for a few months in the 1990s; her second (seven-month) union to famed Paris Hilton sex tape partner Rick Salomon didn’t fare well, either. Their marriage was annulled in 2003. Almost a decade later, the onetime Charmed star may have found her match with photographer Kurt Iswarienko.

See how her planning process goes down, with a little help from wedding guru David Tutera, in the new WEtv reality show Shannen Says, airing 10 p.m. Tuesday. She chatted about it on a recent conference call:

This show is a chance for viewers to really get to know you. So what would you say is the biggest misconception about you?

I’ve done reality shows in a sense. I did Scare Tactics and Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty, but it was never about me. I was simply a host or I was guiding somebody else through their own real process. But I’ve never ever, ever opened my life up. So this is a whole new thing for me. And certainly a whole new thing for my now husband. And I guess the biggest misconception would be that I only have one side to me. Seems to be the biggest one and that people don’t ever consider how old I was when some of the crazier stuff happened, which by today’s standards is incredibly tame. And they don’t consider that I have grown up and that there is a softer, more vulnerable side or they don’t consider what was behind some of the antics when I was very young.

What compelled you to do this show? Whose idea was it?

It was mine. And it was shared with my husband as well. It was one of those moments where we were on vacation and maybe we had drunk one too many margaritas and thought it would be kind of interesting to do something together — to work together. We’re very, very big fans of Anthony Bourdain. And we love his show No Reservations. But also the Deadliest Catch is one of our favorite shows. And I remember watching that show and thinking, ‘Wow, they do it right.’ You know, they get you so invested in these guys and what they’re going through. It’s raw, and it’s emotional, and it’s gritty. And then Anthony Bourdain who’s, you know, snarky and intelligent and cutting edge, and it’s shot so well. We were kind of intrigued by the idea of bringing that sort of different, I don’t want to say quality but it’s a different kind of a quality to celebrity reality TV.

When and how did you meet Kurt, and was there instant chemistry?

I met Kurt on a photo shoot. There was instant chemistry. I think we may have finally actually started dating . . . . two months after that. He said to me, ‘I’ve missed you since I was a child.’ And it was just sort of very poetic. . . . that we had in another life known each other. There was such a connection there.

How are you enjoying newlywed life?

Things couldn’t be better. Married life is amazing, and I can only say that because of my partner, because of Kurt. He woke up this morning and went surfing. It’s the little things. It’s when he comes home, and the first thing he does is come in my office and wrap his arms around me and say, ‘I love you. I missed you.’ You know, even though he was only gone for two hours. It’s a relationship I’ve dreamed about my entire life, and it’s the closest thing that I’ve ever had to what my parents had, which was so unbelievably beautiful and special.

This is your third marriage; what’s different this time?

This is for real. I met a man that just lights me up, you know, one who makes me laugh and makes me smile, who makes me happy, who drives me to frustration to tears and then to laughter all over again. I met someone who challenges me intellectually, who stands up for himself, that just makes me a better person. And I think I do all that for him. And I also met my partner, you know. I met my soul mate. I met the one person that I can be around 24/7 and not want to go crazy and lock myself in a room.

Madeleine Marr
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/13/2746280/bride-shannen-doherty-has-a-lot.html