Actors Who Have Set Up Their Own Charity/Foundation By Hanane Zahrouni For actors, dipping your toes into different disciplines can be a respectable and lucrative career move. Whether being an industry triple threat (that is acting, singing and dancing) creating your own fashion line, becoming a cultural influencer or even lending your name for a philanthropic cause. You see, some celebrities are not always lens-hungry and self-interested – in some cases, many choose to flex their altruistic credentials by establishing their very own charitable foundation. From humans and animal rights, to climate change and global issues, no global hot topic is too sacred for celebs. Clooney has Darfur, Sting has the Amazon, and Bono has AIDS (no pun intended)! Luckily, there was still one shithole left to fix: the Middle Earth.” Shameless charity appropriating aside however, here is our “The Metropolist” list of inspiring celebrities, which we believe (we think) to be the outspoken advocates; the ones using their power of fame wisely. Ben Affleck Ben Affleck co-founded the Eastern Congo Initiative along with Whitney Williams. A nonprofit foundation, the ECI works with local community-based organisations to support victims of sexual and domestic violence, vulnerable children, community-based peace and reconciliation, improved health care access and economic opportunity promotion. For more information, visit Eastern Congo Initiative George Clooney After travelling constantly and being involved with Sudan as an activist, Clooney set up nonprofit organization, Not on Our Watch along with fellow actors Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Brad Pitt. Not on Our Watch supports a healthy international advocacy and provides humanitarian assistance by developing campaigns and bringing global attention to the victims who have suffered these crises. Batman to the rescue! For more information, visit Not on Our Watch Goldie Hawn Academy-winning actress, best-selling author and child advocate, Goldie Hawn founded the charity The Hawn Foundation in 2003 (formally called the Bright Lights Foundation.) The
organization provides youth education programs intended to improve academic performance through life-enhancing strategies for well-being, in order to lead a happier and healthier life. It does this by supporting external researchers to find out the effectiveness of its educational program using MindUP (a programme that assists children with social and emotional literary skills and academic performance) with the help of volunteers and awareness practitioners to help efforts in expanding MindUP for children globally. For more information, visit The Hawn Foundation Eva Longoria Desperate Housewife? Not so desperate anymore. Philanthropist of the year Eva Longoria founded Eva’s Heroes in 2006, a charity, which helps developmentally disabled children and is dedicated to enriching the lives of those with intellectual special needs in order to flourish them into society all by hosting fundraising events throughout the year and providing after school programmes. For more information, visit Eva’s Heroes Ian Somerhalder UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, nature lover and Louisiana native Ian Somerhalder took step further when he founded his own eponymous Ian Somerhalder Foundation. The IS Foundation aims to empower, educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures alike by addressing the awareness animal cruelty, the habitat and the importance of renewable energy, all by joining other Non-Profit and governing bodies globally. You can see him promoting his causes during Mardi Gras season in New Orleans and parading with this year’s 20th annual Mystic Krewe of Mardi Paws dog parade in Mandeville. For more information, visit IS Foundation Leonardo DiCaprio When he is not preoccupied portraying self-centred lotharios Jay Gatsby or Jordan Belford, DiCaprio spends his time as a philanthropist. However, unlike his roles on screen, he knows how to commit to the responsibility of being a charitable individual. He established the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which aims to work on pressing environmental and humanitarian issues such as wildlife and habitat preservation, disaster relief and climate change. All this relies on the active collaboration with other organizations, which share the same goals in creating a better planet. In addition, Leonardo currently serves on the board of (deep
breath) the World Wildlife Fund, the Natural Resources Defence Council, and International Fund for Animal Welfare and Global Green USA. The actor even collaborated with World Wildlife Foundation, preventing the extinction of tigers, saving the last rainforests as well as being involved in ongoing campaigns. Who needs an Oscar when your do-gooder conscience is far more rewarding? For more information, visit the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Matt Damon Damon co-founded Water.org in order to help with problems like unsanitary drinking water and creating safe water supplies in developing countries and working with local communities by raising awareness, visiting projects, travelling to Africa regularly, and donating majority of his income to the cause. Jason Bourne got rid of his badassery and is out to save the world. For more information, visit Water.org Paul Walker Paul Walker may be gone, but his legacy continues to live through his non-profit organization, Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW). Founded in 2010 after the earthquakes, which affected Haiti, the charity is a network of professionals with first responder skill-sets who assist experts when natural disasters strike by providing medical assistance and easing the pain of survivors. For more information, visit Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW)
There are so many others that are worth mentioning, including and not limited to Mark Wahlberg (Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation) and Nelson Mandela (Nelson Mandela Foundation) HZ