Celebrities are constantly in the limelight signing autographs, making appearances, endorsing companies and more. While most celebrities are busy benefiting themselves, others are focusing on others’ well-being. Many celebrities are involving themselves in charities and organizations that help bring awareness to certain issues involving, poverty, domestic violence, rape and other important causes. Here is a list of 10 celebrities who are making a huge impact in today’s world.
Alicia Keys
This Grammy-Award winning singer has been an active advocate for AIDS and HIV for more than a decade. She co-founded an organization named Keep a Child Alive and has raised millions of dollars to provide medicine and care for AIDS patients in India and Africa. Her organization provides easy access to HIV treatment in impoverished communities.
Keys even said in an article in CNN.com, “Helping keep a child or mother or father or brother or sister alive means turning the worst epidemic of our lifetime into the greatest victory of our generation.”
Bono
This lead singer of the popular rock band U2 has his hands dipped in many different organizations throughout the world. Bono focuses on persuading governments to fight poverty. According to CEO World Magazine, his efforts have helped more than 7.5 million people with AIDS in Africa, and malaria has been cut by 75 percent in eight African countries since 2000.
DATA, another organization founded by Bono, also works to eradicate extreme poverty and AIDS in Africa. DATA works closely with celebrities and the media to help raise public awareness about the issues in Africa.
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron founded the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Program in 2007 to help Africa’s youth fight HIV/AIDS. Theron is also an ambassador for the United Nations and an active leader in the Stop Rape Now campaign. This campaign helps to prevent the use of rape as a tactic of war and responds to survivors needs. She is also highly active in supporting the legalization of gay marriage and refuses to get married until same-sex marriages are legal in the U.S. Finally, Theron is a supporter of animal rights and an active member of PETA; she even posed nude for an anti-fur campaign.
Daniel Craig
Known for his role as the infamous James Bond, Daniel Craig avidly shows his support for women’s human rights and equality. On March 11, International Women’s Day, Craig was featured in a short film titled “Equals” in which he starts out as James Bond, a character known for seducing women, and ended the film dressed in drag. The film raised awareness on how women’s rights are extremely violated and how we are still far from equality.
Lady Gaga
Though Lady Gaga is widely known for her outrageous costumes, catchy songs and controversial lyrics, she is also known for her activism in gay and lesbian rights. In 2010, she took on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and requested that her fans contact elected officials to encourage them to repeal the law. She even raised awareness when she had a gay retired military officer escort her down the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards.
David Schwimmer
David Schwimmer, a friendly face we are all familiar with from the popular sitcom “Friends,” is highly involved in woman’s rights. Schwimmer is an avid campaigner for victims of rape. He current sits on the board of The Rape Foundation in Santa Monica and has been involved in educational campaigns against date rape drugs. He is so passionate about raising awareness about rape because he’s had two girlfriends who were victims of sexual abuse, and one was also a date-rape victim. He also produced and directed a film named “Trust,” which tells the story of how a 14-year-old girl was lured and raped by a pedophile.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is one of the most well-known philanthropists of our age. Winfrey has used her fame to help promote life-changing causes throughout the world. Being a victim of child abuse herself, Winfrey understands the difficulties many young women go through growing up. Focusing mainly on charities and organizations to help end violence toward women, Winfrey has established Leadership Academy for Girls to help nurture and educate South African girls from improvised backgrounds and mold them into future leaders. Winfrey also founded Oprah’s Angel Network in 1998, which assists low-income communities and provides educational initiatives. She also donated $10 million to help rebuild homes after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Brangelina
This famous couple is known for their relentless activism in helping some of the world’s most troubled causes. Angelina Jolie is active in bringing awareness to refugee camps in Cambodia, Thailand, Sierra Leone and Darfur. She was even appointed as Special Envoy of UN High Commissioner for refugees. She has also focused on major crises regarding mass population displacements.
Brad Pitt, former bad boy, has also been involved in bringing awareness to charitable organizations. Pitt has participated in Bono’s ONE campaign, which seeks to end extreme poverty and preventable diseases particularly in Africa.
Pierce Brosnan
Besides being an incredibly handsome award-winning actor and producer Pierce Brosnan is also a passionate advocate for environmental issues. Brosnan and his wife Keeley Shaye Smith have been involved in numerous campaigns for mammal and wetland protection and clean air and water campaigns. The environmental couple was also highly active in stopping a natural gas facility from being built off the coast of Malibu in 2006. Both Brosnan and Smith have received many acknowledgements for their involvement in world issues. The Environmental Media Association and Women In Film have both presented them with humanitarian awards for their hard work and dedication to important causes.
Matt Damon
Matt Damon is the co-founder of Water.org, an organization whose goal is for the whole world to have access to clean water and sanitation. Damon became aware of the issue on a trip to Zambia while observing the arduous task locals had to undertake to get clean drinking water. Since then, he’s made it his mission to raise awareness about the need to bring clean water and sanitation to countries around the world. Damon is proving that he is heroic on and off the screen.
