Top 10 Celebrities Who Are Active in Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Work

Today we’ll focus on people’s human side as we take a look at the top 10 celebrities who are active in disaster relief and humanitarian work.

It is no secret that famous people are role models to many boys and girls from all corners of the world. We all had idols growing up. In today’s Internet world, the impact celebrities have on young minds is immense, which is why it’s so important that popular people are good people, that they are human and well aware of the fact that all their actions are seen through a magnifying glass. Hence, all their good and bad actions will be very good or very bad, and it will inspire millions of people to do the same. With great fame comes great responsibility, whether you like it or not.

Fortunately, there are many people in the world who are generous, who appreciate everything they have in their life, and want to give something back to the world. Today’s list is presenting the celebrities that should inspire us the most, who have taken that responsibility very seriously. So, if you thought that those celebrities who are publicly displaying their charity work are doing it just to get more attention, think again; most of them are usually in the spotlight without making an extra effort, so when helping in front of the cameras they are mostly doing that to inspire others to do the same.

Nevertheless, we shouldn’t forget that there are famous people who are amazingly generous and altruistic, but they wish to remain anonymous with all their donations. They are probably sick of being haunted by paparazzi,  and they try to stay out of the public eye. They are trying to live a normal life and as a consequence, they are usually absent from lists like this one. And, of course, there are others who are also truly charitable, but they are just regular people, out of show business, of whom the world hasn’t heard yet. We should be thankful to all those people – to everyone who gives back and helps others with no hidden cause, whether that person is famous or not.

So, how did we come up with the list of top 10 celebrities who are active in disaster relief and humanitarian work? Well, we found many similar lists, and then took the most common names on those lists, and researched their charity work. We didn’t rank them, so be sure to acknowledge that this is not the list of the celebrities who are the most active in humanitarian work since that is not something easily measurable because not all of them have the same possibilities when it comes to helping. Hence, we thought that ranking celebrities by the amount of their charitable work is pointless. We are sure they all of them are helping within their power.

If you are interested to read something that will also bring an optimistic view today, go ahead and check out  our article on top 10 deadly diseases cured in the 20^th century.

Without further ado, we bring you the names of the famous people who know how to give back!

 

10. Keanu Reeves

We start our list with someone who is possibly the greatest philanthropist among all the celebrities who are active in disaster relief and humanitarian work on this list because he is the one who is exposing himself the least. The one who is humble, and altruistic in his everyday life, and about whose generosity you can only hear stories from his colleagues and friends, and even from the strangers who met him on the subway. Yes, that’s right, this sincerely humble Holywood actor (this almost sounds like an oxymoron), worth more than $100  million,  doesn’t care for luxury, and treats all the people around him the same. Before we tell you about some amazing stories from his personal life that are the best confirmation about his compassionate nature, we’ll name a few charities that Keanu has supported, like Stand Up To Cancer, PETA, Sick Kids Foundation, Make It Right, Spinal Cord Opportunities for Rehabilitation Endowment and LifeBeat. After his sister was diagnosed with leukemia, he has been taking care of her and has been donating to various cancer research programs and hospitals. He has even established his own foundation, whose main goal is to help cancer research and children’s hospitals, but he didn’t name it after him, nor linked his name in any way. But what should inspire us the most when we think of Keanu Reeves and his altruism is – his behavior in everyday life.  He was once seen eating and talking with a homeless on a sidewalk for quite some time.  He didn’t just gave that person some money; he offered him much more –  a friendly conversation. There are many stories on the internet about Keanu’s generosity, like for example, giving money to the special effects crews and costume designers, and while there is a chance that some of them aren’t true, it just makes me wonder – if even half of them are, how cool Keanu Reeves really is? Even though those types of donations to the colleagues aren’t the type of humanitarian work we were looking for to make this list, we already named a couple of causes Keanu is known to have helped. And since he is a very closed person, who doesn’t like to talk about his personal life and promote himself, it is safe to assume he has helped even more.

 

9. Sir Elton John

Like many people on this list who have been hit by personal tragedies in one way or the other, and that made them more caring, Sir Elton John has a similar story. Unfortunately, he has lost many dear friends to HIV/AIDS, so back in 1992 he founded an organization called Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), whose primary objective is to help research projects that are trying to find cure for HIV/AIDS, and, of course, raising money for treatments and prevention.   Besides giving money to his foundation, he has also helped many other causes and charities like Race to Erase MS, Breast Cancer Research Fund, Children’s Tumor, Starkey Hearing Foundation, Riders for Health. He has been known as a supporter of many causes and not just the once regarding diseases. He has also helped raise funds for the Rainforest Foundation Fund, and SportsAid, which has even started Elton John Sports Fund, whose primary goal is to help Olympic and Paralympic athletes.  He has known in show business as a person who organizes many events, and parties and all for the purpose of fundraising. From diseases, through nature and arts, all the way to the sports – Sir Elton John will help everything. He has proven to be the noble gentlemen his title represents.

8. David Beckham

A sports figure on this list, David Beckham, has known to the entire world, not just as an athlete and a husband of a famous ex-Spice Girl, Victoria Beckham, but also as a true philanthropist. In January this year, he has been honored with the Humanitarian Award on the 6^th UNICEF Ball for his humanitarian work throughout the years. We’ll name only a few of the many causes and charities he has supported – UNICEF Against Aids Campaign, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children, UNICEF UK’s appeal for the East African food crisis, UNICEF’s appeal for Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, Help for Heroes,  Malaria No More UK Leadership Council, and many more. As it is obvious, his primary humanitarian activities are all related to UNICEF, as he is a UNICEF Ambassador. Last year they launched 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund, whose main goal is protecting children all over the world from threats. Together with his wife, he has formed his own charity organization called Victoria and David Beckham Charitable Trust that helps disabled children, those in need of wheelchairs and other necessities.

7. Bill Gates

The wealthiest man on the planet surely knows to appreciate his wealth, which is why he is constantly giving back to the world.  Someone may say that for him it is easy to give money, considering how much he has, and while this is true, we shouldn’t forget that there are many billionaires and millionaires in the world, and not all of them are known for their generous donations. Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, however, is, as it is estimated that he has donated more than $28 billion throughout his lifetime. In his interview, published in 2013, in The Telegram, he talks about money and his foundation. “Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point. Its utility is entirely in building an organization and getting the resources out to the poorest in the world” . In 2000, together with his wife Melinda, he founded the largest private foundation named after them Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In the mentioned interview he talks about his future plans: “My full-time work for the rest of my life will be at the foundation. I still work part-time for Microsoft. The vast majority of the wealth, over 95 percent, goes to the foundation, which will spend all that money within 20 years after neither of us are around any more.” But, his foundation is only one of the many humanitarian organization and causes Bill Gates supported, and we’ll name only a few more: The US Fund for UNICEF (helping efforts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea), WHO (for emergency operations) etc. His own foundation is mainly focused on helping with the prevention and treatments of the common diseases in the developing countries, like malaria, polio, HIV/AIDS, pneumonia, tuberculosis, gastrointestinal and diarrheal diseases.

6. George Clooney

It seems that George Clooney is much more than just a good (and cute) actor; he is also a true humanitarian. He can thank his father for raising him this way, and teaching him to have empathy and to use his powers to help less fortunate. We can even say that his father is the one responsible for successfully planting the philanthropy seed in his heart. Naming all the charities and causes he was involved in would pass the reasonable scope of this article, which is why we will share just a few of them like with the other celebrities who are active in disaster relief and humanitarian work on this list too. George Clooney is a proud co-founder of the humanitarian organization called Not On Our Watch which aims to put an end to “mass atrocities and gross violations of international human rights”. Two main issues this organization is focusing on are Crisis in Darfur where people are dying every day and Burma’s cruel regime in which fundamental human rights are being violated on a daily basis.  George Clooney even traveled to Darfur, in 2006, together with his father, who is a journalist, because he wanted to bring closer to the public eye everything that is happening in this region. His efforts didn’t stop there, as he traveled to the Sudanese Nuba Mountains in 2012 for the purpose of filming this trip as a documentary who will get public attention and raise awareness of the people in power who can do something to help. This documentary is called A Journey to Darfur, and it was created together with the ENOUGH Project.  In the same year, George Clooney was arrested with others who were peacefully protesting in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washinton DC. So, if anyone doubted even for a second about how true is his devotion to this humanitarian cause, this should be enough to stop the suspicion. He was also a supporter of many other important organizations and causes, like United Way, Satellite Sentinel Project, ONE Campaign, Running Heart Foundation, Realizing The Dream, and many more. I guess it is no surprise that the only woman who has found a way to his heart is a famous lawyer who specialized international law and human rights and known for the many battles she won for human rights, beautiful Amal Alamudin.

5. Bono

World popular singer and leader of the rock band called U2, is also known for his philanthropy work. In 1986, he was invited by the World Vision to come to Ethiopia, where he together with his wife created an educational program whose aim was to raise awareness about hygiene and health concerns. And this was just a beginning. Throughout the years, Bono has supported many humanitarian causes, but his most recognized efforts are those regarding problems in Africa – poverty and AIDS pandemic. He raised millions for people in Africa to help them fight diseases and poverty.  He was even nominated a couple of times for the Nobel Peace Prize. Even though he never received it, he was honored with other awards, titles, and recognitions – Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 2007 (no “Sir” before his name, only because he is not a British citizen), Man of Peace Prize in 2008, named as someone who is “making a difference” by NBC Nightly News… He is a co-founder of several humanitarian groups, organizations, and campaigns – ONE, (RED), DATA, and one fashion company, EDUN, whose main goal is to encourage trade with countries that have poverty issues such as Africa. Together with his band U2, he has performed at many important benefits, such as Live Aid, Band Aid, Live 8, but the most known one is Amnesty International’s Conspiracy of Hope Tour, which he helped Sting organize.

4. Oprah Winfrey

I think, by now, everyone is familiar with the name Oprah Winfrey, whether we are talking about the world of television or the world of philanthropy. Until today, she has donated more than $50 million to charities, especially to the ones she founded  – The Oprah Winfrey Foundation, The Angel Network, and The Oprah Winfrey Operating Foundation. Her main humanitarian work is focused on education – helping those who don’t have the opportunity to educate, that’s why she built The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa to help young girls from poverty-stricken corners of Africa reach their goals, but never to forget to give back to the community. That’s why on this Academy students learn about environmental and social issues. The girls who graduate on this Academy should become leaders who would put their efforts to create a better future, who would deal with the problems instead of just ignoring them, and who wouldn’t stay blind to other people’s suffering. Oprah Winfrey is sure that these girls will mean so much for the future development of South Africa. There is an endless list of charities and causes Oprah has supported, but we will name only one more – “Christmas Kindness South Africa 2002”. The trip that brought a smile to 50,000 children’s faces  in South Africa’s rural schools and orphanages, who received many gifts. Oprah Winfrey has helped so many people, not only through her donations and charities, but trough her work, as she has been raising awareness about many problems, using her media power to talk about important issues, bringing special guests to her show, and talking about her own problems while growing up, hence encouraging all abused children and people to talk about it. Oprah Winfrey has helped in so many ways that it is impossible to name them all.

3. Jackie Chan

If you thought that Jackie Chan is just an outstanding action movie star, then you were wrong. This Kung Fu master is also a serious activist who has supported hundreds of causes and charities. Back in 1988, he founded The Jackie Chand Charitable Foundation, whose main goal is to help young people in Hong Kong, whether through medical aid, scholarships or by organizing a variety of projects. In 2004, he also founded the Dragon’s Heart Foundation, which aims to help elderly and children in poverty-stricken places in China. This foundation is helping with building schools in these areas and making it possible for many to receive an education but also provides older people with the necessary aid. It has also gained its branch in Europe – JC Dragon’s Heart Europe.  UNICEF, Operation Smile, WildAid,  and many other humanitarian groups are no strangers to him. It is really difficult to track and name all the causes he has supported, as he has been helping both people and wild animals, countries that were stricken by natural disasters, those who lack education, those who are sick, etc. Causes he has supported are various, countries he has helped are various – “in the first 8 months of 2010, he raised $36 million to help people across the globe, from Haiti to Singapore”. His enthusiasm never ends as he is hoping that one day “we won’t have any poor people in China”. UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador has even promised to donate all his money to charity after his death, even though he has one son, who could inherit everything.  For all his efforts he has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1989, awarded with the Honorary Doctorate of Social Science (Hong Kong University, 1996). Even the Los Angeles Police Department hasn’t forgotten him, naming him an honorary member. And if you heard and wondered why some important days in Las Vegas, Chicago, and San Francisco are named after him, now you have your answer.

2. Angelina Jolie ( and Brad Pitt, of course)

Whenever there is a talk about celebrities and their humanitarian work, we can’t miss reading about famous Holywood couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and for a good reason – they have been supporting many charities and causes throughout the years. Their family is overall impressive as they have 6 kids – three biological and three adopted (for now). What has first opened Angelina’s eyes about the issues some countries are facing in the world, is her trip to Cambodia where she filmed Tomb Raider. In 2001, she was named a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, and it has been more than a decade that this extraordinary beautiful actress has been traveling to war and poverty stricken countries, meeting with the refugees and sick people. She thinks that by doing this, she has raising public awareness of those issues, and applauding to those who have survived unimaginable horrors and continued to live their life rebuilding it. That kind of courage should be shown to the world, so that people from all the corners of the globe could be inspired to get involved. In 2003, together with her husband, she has founded the Maddox Jollie-Pitt Foundation (named after her adopted son Maddox, from Cambodia), whose primary objective is to help conservation in Cambodia. Throughout the years, more goals are added to the list, like helping healthcare, infrastructure, education, etc.  Who knows how much money this couple has donated to various charities and causes if only in 2006 it is known that they have donated $8 million? But, their own personal money is just a small part of the big puzzle – who knows how many people has she inspired to do the same, and they have got involved just because of her? Global Action for Children, and Doctors Without the Borders are just a couple of humanitarian organization Angelina has supported.

1. Mia Farrow

Four years ago, worldwide famous actress and one of the 10 celebrities who are active in disaster relief and humanitarian work, Mia Farrow, received the Inspiration Award by the Dag Hammarskjöld Fund for Journalists for her humanitarian work throughout the years. This is not the only recognition she has received for humanitarian efforts; she has been also honored with the Presidential Medal of Honor, McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award, one for her efforts in the Central African Republic (2007), and the other given by  Refugees International for helping refugees. But to know that Mia Farrow is a true humanitarian all you need to know is that she has adopted 11 children, and has 4 biological? Yes, you read that right, Mia Farrow is a proud mother of 15. Children she adopted come from various developing and/or war-torn countries. It seems that she doesn’t know how to turn a blind eye to the others in serious need. She has been a true and powerful voice for all those children in Angola, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Sudan, Uganda, Cameroon, and Chad. And now, her latest efforts are all turned to the crisis in Darfur. This inspirational woman was named UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador back in 2000, which means that her humanitarian work is going on for much more than a decade. Let’s hear what she has to say: “In today’s world, there is no acceptable reason for children to starve, to have no education, to have to drink dirty water, to die of HIV/AIDS or be sentenced to a life of pain and disabilities because they did not have the same polio vaccine that has been available to us in the developed world for half a century”. What else can we say than it is a true gift to the world, that this kind of woman has raised 15 children and taught them all her life philosophy.