By Amy & Nancy Harrington, Pop Culture Passionistas
During the past seven days a Broadway performer became a hot dog ambassador for good moods, a comedian celebrated smart girls, and stars came out to fight Pediatric AIDS. Here are this week’s most inspirational pop culture moments.
Kristin Chenoweth Gets a New Co-Star – Oscar Mayer
Early in the week, glamorous actress Kristin Chenoweth dazzled at the Tony Awards, wowing theater-going audiences once again as her powerful voice radiated from her petite frame.
Now she’s become the Ambassador for Oscar Mayer’s Good Mood Mission. The goal? Providing three million pounds of food to benefit some of the estimated 49.1 Americans battling hunger.
That sounds like a lot, and it is. But the good people at Kraft have already kick-started the project by donating one million pounds of provisions to the hunger-relief charity Feeding America.
So how can you help? All you have to do is go to www.goodmoodmission.com and complete this sentence, “It doesn’t get better than ____.” And with that, Oscar Mayer will donate another pound of food. Share that statement with five friends and they’ll add five more pounds. Become a fan of the effort on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/oscarmayer and they’ll donate ten more pounds.
It’s as easy as simple as spelling b-o-l-o-g-n-a.

Amy Poehler Celebrates Smart Girls
It should be mandatory for every 8-year-old girl to watch “Smart Girls at the Party” a web series created by “Parks and Recreation” star Amy Poehler. In the actress’ own words, each episode highlights “extraordinary individuals who are changing the world by being themselves.”
Season 2 of the show, which features Poehler along with producer Meredith Walker and singer/songwriter Amy Miles, launched this week. The latest episode highlights Rachel, an engineer, archer, and Lego artist, who demonstrated her hobby for the hosts–building robots.
She tells Amy that she’s not interested in the things most kids are because they are boring. She says of her favorite activties, “They’re more fun to do than normal stuff because everyone does that and you want to be an individual. If you’re not, then you’ll look like a bunch of clones…”
The comedian’s wit shines through as she interviews each girl about their atypical interests in hopes of encouraging all teenagers to break the mold. In a behind the scenes video, Poelher explained why she did the series saying, “It celebrates the time in a girl’s life where the possibilities are limitless.”
Visit smartgirlsattheparty.com to see past episodes highlighting a praise dancer, a yogini, and a gardener to learn for yourself the message that Amy wants all young women to know, “Smart girls have more fun.”
SIDE NOTE: If you’re a “Parks and Recreation” fan, be sure to watch the dance party at the end of the video for a glimpse of a few of Amy’s castmates.
The Stars Came Out to Support the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation
On Sunday, June 13, the stars came out in droves for a worthy cause at the A Time for Heroes 2010 Celebrity Picnic. They were there to raise money and awareness for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation. The day featured a Kodak Photo Sharing booth, a giant funslide, a bean bag toss and other carnival rides, an African drum circle, face painting, and lots of celebrities.
Billy Crystal was spotted at the Oopsy Daisy’s Make Your Own Night Light Booth. David Duchovny carried a handmade greeting card. Tea Leoni and her daughter took advantage of the American Eagle Jeans Decorating station. And Carmen Electra was seen hanging out with Mickey and Minnie Mouse at the Disney Safari Camp.
The stars also volunteered to entertain at the festivities. Carl Reiner, Howie Mandel, and Seth Green took to the stage to read from children’s books at Disney’s Hadithi Storytelling Adventure booth. And Dick Van Dyke, decked out in a white puffy shirt and bandanna, sang a pirate song for all the kids in the audience.
Other Hollywood supporters in attendance were Joel McHale, Denise Richards, Mark Wahlberg, Laila Ali, Wayne Brady, Billy Bush, Evan Lysacek, and Sharon Stone. Tween heartthrob Jesse McCartney performed a rousing set to end the day.
The Glaser Foundation, with the help of title sponsor Disney, this year’s picnic raised $1.3 million to help in the fight against pediatric AIDS.
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