Edward Norton Joins Forces With Groupon for Earth Day Challenge

Hollywood star hops aboard an initiative to crowdsource money for environmental charities

By Josh Grossberg Apr 16, 2012 9:50 PMTags
Edward NortonCrowdrise

Forget The Incredible Hulk. About the only greening Edward Norton is doing these days is on behalf of the United Nations.

The socially conscious thesp, a U.N. Ambassador for Biodiversity (natch), is putting his celebrity muscle behind an Earth Day challenge sponsored by couponing site Groupon with the aim of raising cash for some environmentally friendly causes.

With Earth Day just around the corner on April 20, Norton and Groupon are offering $50,000 in donation prizes to the three campaigns on CrowdRise, the crowdsourcing website for philanthropists, that raise the most money for an environmental initiative by May 15.

The first place winner will receive $25,000, while those who nab second and third place respectively will get $15,000 and $10,000.

"I think it's very clear that figuring out how to live sustainably within the environmental systems that support us is the defining challenge of our era," said Norton, who for years has been a tireless activist for many an eco-initiative including the Maasai Wilderness. "Earth Day is important because it's about waking up more people to that challenge and committing to engage in it ourselves."

Charities that have entered the competition so far include Ian Somerhalder's IS Foundation, Global Green USA, EarthJustice, Friends of Trees, Save the Rhinos and World Wildlife Fund. For more info, check out  Crowdrise.com/EarthDay2012.

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