Evan poses with actor Matthew Perry, star of the NBC show Friends, at the 2005 Target's "A Time for Heroes" celebrity carnival in Brentwood, Calif. The event raised $1.4 million for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
Causes
Ronald McDonald House Charities
Evan has been named a celebrity friend of the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) for his work on behalf of the organization. The mission of the RMHC is to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well being of children. Evan and the RMHC believe that when you change a child’s life, you change a family's, which can change a community, and ultimately the world.
Among his contributions, in October 2008, Evan visited the Ronald McDonald House along with the cast of the McDonald's Family Tribute on Ice show. "Yesterday, the cast of our McDonald's Family Tribute on Ice was lucky enough to spend some time at the new Ronald McDonald House in Los Angeles. We decorated cookies, participated in arts-and-crafts projects with the residents, and took a thorough tour of the property," he wrote in his blog. "However, our favorite part of the visit was getting to know the kids and their families who spend anywhere from a day to a year at the Ronald McDonald House."
Make-A-Wish Foundation
In September 2008, Evan helped raise thousands of dollars for the Make-A-Wish Foundation by bringing out his skating friends for Evan Lysacek's "Evening of Hope" show, a memorial for his fallen friend Stephanie Joseph that also benefited the Stephanie Joseph Foundation. The show included not only world-class skating from national, world and Olympic champions but also included an autograph signing and silent auction.
As a prelude to the memorial show, Evan was a celebrity scooper for the "World's Largest Ice Cream Social" at Cold Stone Creamery to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He served up two different 3 oz. Creations developed by two wish children, Emily and Jack.
Since 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has enriched the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting work. The Foundation's mission reflects the life-changing impact that a Make-A-Wish experience has on children, families, referral sources, donors, sponsors and entire communities.
Figure Skating in Harlem
Figure Skating in Harlem's (FSH) mission is to transform young lives and help Harlem girls to grow in leadership, confidence and academic achievement. Established in 1997 with a special visit by Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton, FSH has served more than one thousand girls with a powerful program that prepares them for success in all aspects of life.
Not only does Evan participate in the annual Skating with the Stars Under the Stars event in New York City, he is also a member of the FSH board. He serves with notable names of the sport including Olympic medalists including 2006 Olympic silver medalist Tanith Belbin and 2002 Olympic bronze medalist Tim Goebel.
Special Olympics
Since 1968, Special Olympics has been bringing one message to the world: people with intellectual disabilities can and will succeed if given the opportunity. Evan is proud to support the efforts of the Special Olympics by skating with the athletes. His interaction helps give skaters a gateway to empowerment, competence, acceptance and joy.
Through year-round sports training and competition, Special Olympics empowers individuals with intellectual disabilities in more than 180 countries. Special Olympics often is the only place where they have an opportunity to participate in their communities and develop belief in themselves. Many live lives of neglect and isolation, hidden away or socially excluded from full participation in schools or society.
P.S. Arts Foundation
P.S. ARTS is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring arts education in public schools by providing comprehensive, skills based, sequential classes in dance, music, theater and visual arts. As a performer himself, Evan has a passion for promoting the organization.
P.S. ARTS, which was originally founded as an outreach project of the Crossroads Community Foundation, serves thousands of children in some of the most under served neighborhoods in California. The organization also offers arts-related workshops for classroom teachers, integrating creative expression and the arts into the core curriculum.
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
What three mothers began around a kitchen table in 1988 is now the leading global nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infection and eradicating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention and treatment programs. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation's influence has been dramatic.
Today, there is an entire community of pediatric AIDS researchers that didn't exist before. Fewer children are being born with HIV, and children with HIV infection are living longer and healthier lives. In every area of the Federal government — from research priorities at the National Institutes of Health to the halls of Congress — children with HIV are no longer forgotten.
Evan is a longtime supporter of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Among his efforts to promote the organization include his participation in the Target's "A Time for Heroes" celebrity carnival, which raised $1.4 million for the foundation in 2005. He worked with Friends' star Matthew Perry at the Rubber Ducky Dash booth.
Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund
The mission of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is to provide expert, compassionate care to children and adults with cancer while advancing the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of cancer and related diseases.
As an affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute, the Institute also provides training for new generations of physicians and scientists, designs programs that promote public health particularly among high-risk and under served populations, and disseminates innovative patient therapies and scientific discoveries to our target community across the United States and throughout the world.
Evan skated in multiple "An Evening with Champions" shows at Harvard, which benefit the Jimmy Fund. Since its founding in 1948, the Jimmy Fund has supported the fight against cancer in children and adults at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, helping to raise the chances of survival for cancer patients around the world.
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