Newly single Jennifer Garner stepped back into the spotlight for a good cause in Santa Monica Friday night. The actress was one of the many A-listers who turned out for Think It Up, a telethon put on by the Entertainment Industry Foundation to raise funds for educational projects in public schools.

Clad in a casual tee and skinny jeans, Garner smiled for photos with Jessica Biel, Justin Bieber and Gwyneth Paltrow:

At first, Garner and Paltrow may seem like an unlikely pair — considering they both dated Ben Affleck — but Paltrow had nothing but kind words for Garner and her then-husband Affleck in a Howard Stern interview earlier this year.

“I like [Affleck], I’m friends with him still. He settled down and his wife is awesome. Not only is she beautiful, but she’s so warm and she cooks and is so into her kids — she’s really great and she’s hilarious,” Paltrow said. “I had a girls’ dinner before the summer and she came over, she’s my neighbor. I really like her a lot.”

Garner and Affleck announced their split in late June after 10 years of marriage. Together they have three children: Violet, 9, Seraphina, 6, and Samuel, 3.

Also on HuffPost:

– This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.