Many celebs put their name on something — whether it’s makeup, skin care products, restaurants or food brands, they make known what they like by showing their support for the company. While this is great, we can’t help but think there are more important things they could put their names and faces to.
This four part series will explore the lives of four of our favorite celebrity philanthropists, what they do and how they’re putting their celebrity to good use. The fourth and final person on our list is Leonardo DiCaprio.
He won over our adolescent hearts in “Titanic,” and our love has only grown from there. He has starred in many successful movies since then, but it seems he doesn’t let the fame get to his head.
Leo has been known to be a very ‘green’ celeb, owning electric and hybrid cars and using solar panels on his home. He’s also put his name and fame to raising awareness about climate change. At the 2007 Oscars, Leo and former Vice President Al Gore announced the ceremony had incorporated environmentally friendly practices.
In 2010, Leo was nominated for a VH1 Do Something Award, created by Do Something, an organization that uses campaigns to motivate young people to support “every cause, from poverty to violence to the environment to literally everything else. Any cause, anytime, anywhere.”
He has also been politically active, and lent his support to presidential candidates John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012.
Leo has also worked with orphaned children in the SOS Children’s Village in Maputo, Mozambique since 2006. The children were given the chance to be an extra on the set of the movie he was filming at the time, “Blood Diamond.”
In 2010, Leo donated $1 million to relief efforts in Haiti after the earthquake. That same year, he also donated $1 million to the Wildlife Conservation Society. In 2011, he supported a campaign to free Tony, a tiger who spent nearly a decade at a Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana. He teamed up with Animal Legal Defense Fund to do this, according to ALGF.org.
As of late, Leo has focused his philanthropic and political activism on LGBT rights, but he also continues to be a key player in the global movement to prevent climate change.
In April 2013, he donated $61,00 to GLAAD at the GLAAD Media Awards on April 20. GLAAD’s mission is to rewrite “the script for LGBT equality. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love.”
In September, Leo was appointed the United Nations Climate Change Representative. His first role in the job was to speak at the climate summit in New York.
“We only get one planet. Humankind must become accountable on a massive scale for the wanton destruction of our collective home. Protecting our future on this planet depends on the conscious evolution of our species,” he said during his speech.
Although Leo doesn’t have one solid thing he donates his time, money and energy toward, he manages to raise awareness for more than one cause. He knows what’s important to him and isn’t afraid to support the things he believes in.
(Feature Photo via SOS Children’s Villages)