The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Don’t miss some of our most popular articles of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Autism Awareness Day

Dolly Parton & American Idol: 9 to 5 and Women’s Rights

* * *
Nicole:

Top 10 Garbloggers Talkin’ Trash

‘Garbage Warrior’ Turns Trash Into Green Homes

* * *
Giulia:

Low US Grad Rates & ‘The First Year’

‘The Greatest Silence’ & More Ways to Take Action

* * *
Gina:

Top 10 Dystopian Film Heros & Heroines

Empire Or Humanity? Howard Zinn & Viggo Mortensen Spread the Word On YouTube

* * *
Kerry:

Eco-action blogger Kerry Trueman has moved onto greener pastures, but you can still find her at eatingliberally.com. Good luck, Kerry. We’ll miss you!

Jenny McCarthy, Toni Braxton, Bill Cosby and other stars want you to know that today is Autism Awareness Day. You may not know that because it’s the first one ever. Toni Braxton, whose son has autism, is a spokeswoman for Autism Speaks and is helping raise awareness about autism. The 6-time Grammy Award winner feels “privileged to have the opportunity to help advance this cause in any way I possibly can.” Jenny McCarthy, and Robert Smigel of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog fame, also each have Autistic sons and are active in organizing around the issue. And Lionel Richie, Matthew Broderick and Bill Cosby fundraise for the cause.

And on April 13th, Jon Stewart will host the “Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Benefit for Autism Education” in New York City. The show will air live on Comedy Central at 8pm and and will feature standup routines, sketches and short films from Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Steve Carell, Jonah Hill, Tina Fey, Conan O’Brien, Stephen Colbert, Sarah Silverman, Amy Poehler, Matthew Broderick, Jonah Hill, Kevin James, Rosie O’Donnell and Susie Essman. But what is autism? The Autism Speaks Website explains

Read the rest of this entry »

Autism: The Musical, which premiered on Tuesday night on HBO, is a documentary which follows the Miracle Project, a musical theater program for autistic children in Los Angeles run by a Elaine Hall, the mother of an autistic child.

A the film’s website explains,

In 1980, autism was a relatively rare disorder, diagnosed in one in 10,000 children in the United States. Now it is one in 150.

AUTISM: THE MUSICAL counters todays bleak statistics with one womans optimistic pledge to lead a group of autistic children in defying diagnosed expectations by writing, rehearsing and performing their own full-length musical.

Following five Los Angeles children over the course of six months, director Tricia Regan captures the struggles and triumphs of their family lives and observes how this musical production gives these performers a comfort zone in which they can explore their creative sides.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll be honest - when I used to think of the band Five for Fighting, all I could remember is that they made some song about Superman. Maybe I’m kind of a snob, but I would rather listen to the theme song from the movie than the sappy song that Five for Fighting made.

I recently learned however, that the band is cooler than I thought - like Superman, they have decided to use their powers for good and have taken their song “World” and invited folks to make a video telling the world “what kind of world you want” using the song.

More than that, the band has selected charities and when you watch one of the videos on their site, money automatically goes to one of the charities, like Autism Speaks or Save the Children.

Read the rest of this entry »