JohnnyDepp-Zone.com

One of the Zone’s favorite traditions is our annual birthday gift for Johnny Depp, called “The Birthday Project,” in which we gather donations for a worthy cause in honor of Johnny and all the joy he has given us over the year.

This spring has been an extraordinary one for all of us who love Johnny Depp. The filming of PUBLIC ENEMIES has brought JD out into the public day after day (and night after night), as he stopped to say hello and shake hands with thousands of well-wishers. Many Zoners attended those meet-and-greets in person, and have generously shared their photos and first-hand accounts with us; and everywhere that PUBLIC ENEMIES has traveled, local journalists, bloggers and photographers have shared every moment of the filming process with the world. For those of us living far away, it has been as if we were invited onto the set ourselves. What a joy!

For this year’s Birthday Project, the Zone wanted to give something back to the area which has been Johnny’s home this spring, and which has given him–and all of the thousands of Depp-related visitor–such a warm welcome and so many cherished memories. So we have chosen a Wisconsin charity for our project this year: American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.

This is is the pediatric unit of UW Health, the academic medical center and health system for the University of Wisconsin (PUBLIC ENEMIES director Michael Mann’s alma mater). You can read more about American Family Children’s Hospital on the Zone’s 2008 Birthday Project forum or by clicking here.

We will be making our donation to the Child Life fund at American Family Children’s Hospital. The Child Life fund helps make the hospital stays of ill children and their parents and siblings more pleasant, bringing some unexpected comfort into a trying time. We feel this echoes what Johnny Depp gives us in his public appearances–that special moment of warmth and consideration that lifts our spirits and chases away the stress of daily life.

The Zone has a dedicated Paypal account for contributions to the 2008 Birthday Project; if you would like to join in our gift, you can make a donation by visiting our Birthday Project forum here and scrolling down to the Paypal button. If you would like to donate by check, directions are on the forum in a separate thread. Let’s reach out to help children, and say “Happy Birthday” and “Thank You” to Johnny Depp! –Part-Time Poet