ISF Influence Affair

Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder is doing what he can to make the world a greener place. The actor and his namesake organization hosted The Influence Affair in Bel Air Saturday evening, the night before Earth Day 2012, in an effort to connect business leaders, change makers and visionaries to propel society toward "a better, kinder and greener future."


Somerhalder stopped by the THR Cover Lounge on Wednesday to discuss why he founded the Ian Somerhalder Foundation.

"I realized as an adult it's not me, or you, or anyone running this camera or anyone sitting in this room who is going to actively make people change their minds, it's going to take a generation," he said. "The only way to do that is with the youth of the world."

The night at The Hadid Residence featured Sounds by DJ Josh LeCash and a live musical performance by Capital Cities. The event was also celebrating the Let's Get Dirty campaign, during which businesses, organizations and more than 2,000 schools participated in a massive clean-up effort.


“The coming together of like-minded individuals through action is what's needed to see wide spread change for us, our planet and its creatures, This event provides a platform for individuals who want to see tangible results through active collaboration between celebrities, business leaders and individuals.”

Ian on the red carpet...

Nina on the red carpet...

 

Claire on the red carpet...

 

Ian Somerhalder Interview On ISFoundation

On his 32nd birthday (December 8, 2010), Somerhalder created the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, which focuses on creating awareness about central topics: habitat conservation, species protection, and green energy initiatives.  The charity raises money to distribute to notable charities who work to protect each of the topics ISF tries to raise awareness for. One of the things that attracted this organization to me was that it really promotes working together. We're all creatures of the Earth, so any change that happens is going to need to come from ALL OF US. It's incredible for a charity to come along and say, "We're going to try to link everyone together." Most charities try to do their own thing. 

Somerhalder recently spoke in front of Congress to introduce ISF, in which he explained, "environmental conservation has not just been a passion of mine, but a priority." He went on to say, "When I began to find through my work as an actor that I was gaining an increasingly prominent platform from the American public, I knew immediately what I needed to do.  The IS Foundation is my attempt to use this opportunity of the share of the public's attention for the greater good."

Ian was gracious enough to take a few minutes out of his busy Vampire Diaries' schedule to answer a few questions about some of the topics his foundation aims to eliminate.  Along with Ian, we were also able to ask a few questions of the IS Foundation's Executive Director, Kim Klingler, who Ian has said is the backbone of the ISF team.  

ISF covers a wide variety of issues, from deforestation to animal cruelty to going green. What is your main goal? You've mentioned that we all have to work together, with each other & with the planet to save it, essentially, has this idea been easy to instill in people since the creation of ISF?

Deforestation- why is it important to spread the facts about what cutting down forests does to our planet? I love that you refer to it as "taking away the lungs" of the planet.

Can you explain a little bit about how medical research is affected by animal extinction? How much of an impact extinction of different species actually has?

What are your thoughts on the Internet & social media? It takes people farther and farther away from nature, but it allows organizations like yours to grow rapidly? Yay/nay?

Okay, so how can all of us get involved?

Where do our donations go?

For Ian's & Kim's answers to these questions find the full interview here 

Follow Ian on Twitter

For more info on ISF visit the website

Vampire Diaries EyeCon and ISF Event Empoweresque

This weekend (28th-30th October 2011)  has been a very eventful one in the US. Two very exciting events have taken place. One being EyeCon, the other being the ISF Event Empoweresque organised by Ian Somerhalder for his foundation.

Vampire Diaries stars attended both events.

At EyeCon there was :  Joseph Morgan (Klaus), Daniel Gillies (Elijah), Malese Jow (Anna), Kayla Ewell (Vicki), Nina Dobrev (Elena/Katherine), Steven R McQueen (Jeremy Gilbert), Kat Graham (Bonnie), Bryton James (Luka) and Rob Pralgo (Mayor Lockwood).

At Empoweresque were:  Ian Somerhalder (Damon), Joseph Morgan, Nina Dobrev, Candice Accola (Caroline), Zach Roerig (Matt), Kat Graham, Steven R McQueen, Daniel Gillies, Malese Jow and Kayla Ewell.

An amazing turnout for fans that went!

If you would like to see pictures from the events, click on the following links...
EyeCon Photo's
More EyeCon Photo's
Empoweresque Photo's

ISF | Ian Somerhalder Foundation | Keystone Pipeline Petition

Being a fan of The Vampire Diaries, the Ian Somerhalder Foundation (ISF) is nothing new to me. This is an organisation that The Vampire Diaries star, who plays Damon Salvatore,  founded himself in order to impact the planet and its creatures. The group raises awareness to the things that affect our planet and try to combat them.

At the moment, there is a petition in place to stop the Tar Sands Oil Keystone XL Pipeline. This is a project the would transport highly toxic tar sands oil 1700 miles from Alberta, Canada to The Texas Gulf coast for refining, via the central of America. Tar sands oil is amongst the dirtiest and carbon-intensive fuels on earth and a spillage along the pipelines route would be catastrophic.
Just becaus this is in the U.S. and you may not be, doesn't mean it won't affect you because you live on the same planet! You can help! Ian talks from his dressing room on set of The Vampire Diaries to strss the importance of this petition.
For more information and to sign the petition to stop this disatrous project from happening click here