Celebrity charity events run the gamut — from benefit auctions to exclusive, elbow-room, celeb-only parties.

When athlete/rising TV personality Hannah Cornett and actor/entrepreneur Robert Parks-Valletta teamed up to put on a fundraising event, they wanted something different, and settled on celebrities and their fans getting dirty and sweaty — together.

The Tag the World Charity Celebrity Triathlon in Waikiki teams up celebrity entrants with foster youths, and is also open to the public.

Proceeds benefit It Takes an 'Ohana, a local charity that works with foster and adopted children and their families.

Celebrities and pro athletes expected to compete include headline-grabber Fergie of the chart-topping Black-Eyed Peas, husband-and-wife fitness stars Laird Hamilton and Gabby Reese, soccer standout Mia Hamm, Los Angeles Lakers Jordan Farmar and Pau Gasol, model Amber Valletta (Parks-Valletta's sister), Wilmer Valderrama ("That '70s Show"), comedian Pauly Shore, Rebecca Mader ("Lost"), Andy Baldwin ("The Bachelor"), Jeremy Jackson ("Baywatch"), male model Sean Faris, Michael Copon ("One Tree Hill") and Ryan Eggold ("90210").

A 5-kilometer running leg Aug. 22 will be followed the next day by a 700-meter swim and 12-mile bike ride.

"We threw around different ideas, and the triathlon was a new concept, hadn't been done in Hawai'i," said Cornett. "We wanted to do something (sustainable) for years to come."

KAPOLEI CONNECTION

The fundraiser's goal has its roots in Cornett's connection to Hawai'i. She spent six years living in Kapolei, and while working as a teaching assistant at Kapolei Middle School in 2007, met students in foster programs, some of whom shuttled in and out of multiple homes and lost contact with siblings during the constant transitions.

"It was just shocking," Cornett recalled.

Triathlons were a natural choice for Cornett — something she fell into when she wasn't playing soccer at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio.

"I walked into my first one and nearly died," she said. "It was one of those things you get addicted to. You want to get first and you want to push your body. It's exciting to get new extremes and new achievements."

Now she competes on the XTERRA Tour, in addition to producing and hosting the show "Sports Explorers." (She's also made a pilot for TLC.)

Previous work included roles on "Reno 911," "Passions," "Beyond The Break," and "Surfer Dude."

All it took to get celebrities to participate in the benefit triathlon, with its Tag the World connection to charity fundraising, was some phone calls.

'A-LIST SINGER'

Parks-Valleta started the charity Tag the World, which raises money through the sale of customized necklace tags. Past Tag the World events have included an Oscars party and a celebrity basketball tournament at Long Beach State University in California.

"The one thing fortunate with the organization is most of the celebrities who have worked with Tag the World are friends of Hannah and I," Parks-Valletta said. "It's us calling friends, and less publicists and PR people. For us, getting people in the industry to help out and participate, it makes it more personal, there's that's connection."

Unlike other celebrity charity events, local participants will compete right alongside the stars.

"They can race beside their favorite celebrity," Cornett said. "It's an opportunity to get everybody to be as one. ... They've got their dirty sneakers out there and will be paired up with everybody else."

There will be festivities at Kapi'olani Park following the triathlon, as well as an evening lu'au at the Royal Hawaiian hotel. Organizers say a "surprise A-list singer" will perform at the lu'au.

Parks-Valletta, who's had roles on "True Blood," "Ugly Betty," "CSI" and "The Young and the Restless," said he's found managing a charity to be rewarding and challenging.

"Just when you think you narrowed what you want to do — acting, triathlons — let's put one more thing on there," he said. "It's acquiring a new skill, and it's the most rewarding of all of them. It's nothing about you, but everybody else around you."