Check out these Latino celebrities who contribute to worthwhile causes, and not just their own fame or well-being. BRAVO TO THEM!
Juanes has always been active in philanthropic causes in his birthplace of Colombia. Juanes is especially passionate about helping victims of land mines, which resulted during Colombia’s civil war. He also founded the Mi Sangre Foundation, an organization to help needy Colombian children through the Education For Peace Program.
Rosario Dawson is co-founder of Voto Latino, an organization that seeks to empower Latino youth to achieve a positive change through the vote. It is a non-partisan organization with big civic engagement campaigns dedicated to bringing new voices into the political process.Shakira is an internationally recognized celebrity who has room in her heart for her boyfriend, her baby and her philanthropic efforts to help children in need in her native Colombia. She was honored in 2011 as Person of the Year by the Latin Recording Academy for her career accomplishments as well as her leadership of the Pies Descalzos Foundation, a non-profit helping children in need in Colombia. She also founded its sister foundation, the Barefoot Foundation, is a U.S. non-profit devoted to bringing quality education to children in need. Recently, Shakira proposed a solution to bring quality education to every child in the U.S. through philanthrocapitalism — described as the practice in where you apply business methods to philanthropy and call upon the private sector to pick up where government leaves off.
Marc Anthony co-founded The Maestro Cares Foundation to support organizations in Latin America that work with disadvantaged children.
Eva Longoria spends much of her free time in philanthropic work to make a difference in the Latino community. She is engaged with many organizations and projects like: PADRES Contra El Cancer (Parents Against Cancer), a nonprofit organization that tries to improve the lives of Latino kids who are sick with cancer. She founded Eva’s Heroes, a charity focused on helping developmentally disabled children. In 2011, Longoria co-produced “The Harvest,” a documentary which shows the dire conditions of working migrant children. She also got the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts’ Horizon Award, awarded to those who advance the presence of Latinos in TV or films, and the 2006 NHLI Mujer/Chair Award, for her significant contributions to the empowerment of the Hispanic community, along with some other awards thanking her for her commitment to the betterment of the Hispanic community.
There are, other Hispanic celebrities contributing to worthwhile causes, which we will cover in another post.