New York — The Creative Coalition (TCC) and George magazine have joined forces to raise money and awareness for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation during the national presidential conventions in Philadelphia on August 2 and in Los Angeles on August 16.  This union of TCC and George combines the entertainment industry's premier nonprofit, nonpartisan social and political advocacy organization with the nation's leading political magazine that consistently reports on powerful people committed to enacting change.  MetLife, the Hollywood Stock Exchange® and Kenneth Cole New York will sponsor the benefits.

Michael J. Fox will attend his foundation's event in Philadelphia.  Nancy Reagan will serve as Honorary Chairperson for the benefit.  The co-host committee currently includes:  Senator John McCain; Senator Arlen Specter; Senator James Jeffords; former Senator Mark Hatfield; Senator Don Nickles; Congressman Mark Foley; Congresswoman Sue Kelly; Congresswoman Constance Morella; Congressman Joe Skeen; Congressman John Edward Porter; Congressman Bill Young; and Arianna Huffington.

Christopher Reeve will attend his foundation's benefit in Los Angeles. Co-hosts currently include:  TCC President William Baldwin; Lawrence Bender; Goldie Hawn; Samuel L. Jackson; Quentin Tarantino; John Travolta; and Harvey Weinstein.  Tickets for the invitation-only fundraisers are $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000.

Expected guests for the events include:  Ben Affleck; Tom Arnold; Patricia Arquette; William Baldwin; Gil Bellows; Richard Belzer; Lawrence Bender; Lisa Birnbach; Peter Boyle; Connie Britton; Ellen Burstyn; Wes Craven; Ted Danson; Lea DeLaria; Hector Elizondo; Cary Elwes; Spalding Gray; Melanie Griffith; Brad Hall; Harry Hamlin; Woody Harrelson; Bianca Jagger; Max Keiser; Richard Kind; Christopher Lawford; Sharon Lawrence; Delroy Lindo; Julia Louis-Dreyfus; Joe Morton; Joe Pantoliano; Joe Piscopo; Martha Plimpton; Joan Rivers; Mimi Rogers; Ron Silver; Mary Steenburgen; Daniel Stern; Owen Wilson; and Stan Winston.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, a new partnership between Fox and the Parkinson's Action Network, steers an aggressive campaign to cure Parkinson's including raising public awareness, increasing federal research funding and assembling the resources necessary to direct a world-class private research agenda.  The Foundation brings together the best scientific minds to focus on Parkinson's research in hopes of delivering a cure by the end of the decade.

The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) encourages and supports research to develop effective treatments and a cure for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders.  The Foundation evaluates and selects these research programs using councils of internationally renowned neuroscientists and clinicians.  The Foundation also allocates a portion of its resources to grants that improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.

The Creative Coalition is the premier not-for-profit, non-partisan organization representing leaders of the arts and entertainment community dedicated to educating and advocating on behalf of social and political issues, specifically in the areas of public education, freedom of expression and arts advocacy.  The Creative Coalition is headquartered in New York City and has offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Founded in 1995, George is the nation's largest political magazine, with a total audience of nearly 2.5 million active, involved, independent-minded readers.  George stands at the intersection of politics and pop culture and focuses on today's power people — politicians, celebrities and influential citizens.  George demystifies politics in order to inform, engage and motivate its readers to take action.  The magazine is published ten times annually by Hachette Filipacchi Magazines.

MetLife, Inc., through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading provider of insurance and other financial services to individual and group customers.  The MetLife companies serve approximately nine million households in the U.S. and have international insurance operations in 11 countries.