Exceptional people that have made a difference to the lives of others are honoured each year at the ONE X ONE Benefit Gala, one of the most significant diary events of the long established Toronto Film Festival. This year sees Hollywood veteran Richard Gere, being honoured by Bollywood peer and dear friend, Shilpa Shetty. The awards are presented in recognition of individuals who have dedicated their lives to fighting child poverty and suffering around the world.57-year-old Richard Gere is a practicing Buddhist in appreciation of his charity work. In the past, Gere has campaigned for ecological causes, AIDS awareness, the promotion of peace, justice and understanding, and for the rights and lands of tribal people throughout the world. He helped to establish the 'AIDS Care Home' - a residential facility in India for women and children with AIDS, and has also created the 'Gere Foundation India Trust' to support a variety of humanitarian programs in India.

Herself a committed charity benefactor and campaigner for global issues such as HIV/AIDS awareness and the prevention of cruelty to animals, Shilpa Shetty is honoured to be presenting the award. She says, ‘I am honoured to have been invited by an organisation whose ongoing work with children suffering around the world I have so much admiration for, to present the award to Richard – a close friend and someone for whom I have the utmost respect for his selfless commitment to helping others.’

The esteemed awards ceremony has an array of high profile guests. Academy Award Winner Matt Damon will be hosting the event, which in its past three years has pulled in stars such as Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz, Bono, John Legend and Kate Hudson.

The event will feature performances by Grammy Award winner Shakira, Wyclef Jean, Montreal singing sensation Nikki Yanofsky, the African Children's Choir and many others.

Apart from Gere, the ONE X ONE gala will also be honouring personalities such as Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine and supermodel and philanthropist Petra Nemcova. Wyclef Jean is also to be honoured for his 'Yéle Haiti Foundation' (Cry Haiti) , as are Charlie Engle, Ray Zahab and Kevin Lin, who ran cross the Sahara Dessert earlier this year to raise awareness for 'H2O Africa', the clean-water initiative founded by Damon.

ONE X ONE is known to help create a world where children can live in safety and with dignity. Last year's gala raised over $3.5 million and since the foundation's inception in 2005, it has raised more than $5 million.

Tagged in