I’ve spent the entire season of Celebrity Apprentice trying my hardest to stay away from the silly, groan-inducing poker analogies running through my head.  But come on.  After last night’s episode, it simply can’t be avoided any longer.

Refugees International is, thanks to our champion poker player and Celebrity Apprentice contestant Annie Duke, clearly holding pocket aces.  And we just got dealt another ace on the flop last night.  Everyone with me here?

Okay, obviously, I am no poker pro.  I had to look that up.  But what I DO know is that we couldn’t be luckier to have Annie playing to raise money for Refugees International.  On a particularly contentious (shall we say) episode last night, Annie’s guile and tenacity raised an incredible $245,000 to support our work.  That was a record total for a single Celebrity Apprentice episode, and as RI’s president Ken Bacon said on the episode (check out minute 45 here – you’ll see a familiar face!), it’s a huge boost for our work.

We run a tight ship at RI, with low administrative costs to make sure 93% of the donations we receive go directly to support our work pressuring the world’s leaders to aid displaced people.  Annie said that she was very proud to be able to represent Refugees International.  Well, the feeling is mutual.  We couldn’t be prouder to have someone represent us with such amazing resolve.  And it’s great to see the qualities present in Refugees International’s work for refugees – smart, thorough, uncompromising, independent – can be found in Annie as well.

But it’s not over yet.  So we hope you’ll keep watching every Sunday and cheer for Annie, Refugees International, and a big win as we get closer to that final table.