Giving Tuesday 2019: How Camila Alves, Leighton Meester, Billy Porter & More are Using Their Star Power to Make a Difference

No better day to give back to your community than today! While there is good to be done every day of the year, today is Giving Tuesday, a special day coined in 2012 as a global generosity movement empowering people to come together to collaborate, give, and celebrate generosity. In 2018 people around the world donated and gave back to their communities raising $400,00,00 dollars and giving 3,600,000 gifts — and this year we’re already seeing so many people, organizations, and businesses give back. We’re also seeing a ton of celebrities using their star power to help create change.

Camila Alves

Matthew McConaughey’s wife exclusively told SheKnows that giving back has always been important to her and her family. “I grew up understanding the effect of helping communities, especially communities close to me. When you make it better for one person or a group of people within a community, the ripple effect which it can cause goes beyond words. You can make a difference in many ways by just reaching out to communities in need.”

Leighton Meester

The mother of 4-year-old Arlo Day Brody exclusively told SheKnows how she and her family give back. “I am proud to support Feeding America as a member of their Entertainment Council, and I’ve been lucky enough to volunteer with them throughout the years. I love visiting the kids at Para Los Ninos, a local school, and preparing and serving food at the Downtown Women’s Center – both in Los Angeles. I’m also grateful to be able to use my voice to spread awareness about the issue of hunger in our country and encourage others to find time to volunteer, donate, or share information about the amazing work Feeding America does.”

Billy Porter

The Pose star exclusively told SheKnows why giving back is so important to him and offered a few easy ways we could all give back today. “I grew up in the church so that moral has been instilled with me since the beginning of my life. There are many different ways of giving. You can, of course, give money and PayPal actually will match that by 10% —  but there are nontraditional ways of giving. Volunteering, you can volunteer at a food bank, volunteer to mentor a young person, those clothes you have in your closet that you can’t fit into that you’ve been holding onto for decades, you can donate those clothes.”

And several other celebrities have taken to social media to show their support for their favorite causes and organizations in honor of Giving Tuesday.

Meghan Markle

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An inspiring quote for #GivingTuesday, a day that encourages people to do good. GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organisations to transform their communities and the world on December 3, 2019 and every day.

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Dec 3, 2019 at 1:08am PST

Michelle Obama

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#GivingTuesday is a reminder of how connected we all are and how important it is to give back to one another, especially as we enter the holiday season. This duty of giving back is what my parents and grandparents taught me, and it’s a value I’ve tried to live by my entire life—because it’s not enough just to make your way through life, thinking only of yourself. You’ve got to reach back and lift up others along the way. That’s why on this Giving Tuesday, I am so excited to donate the proceeds from the #IAmBecoming merchandise collection sold during and after my book tour—a total of more than $500,000—to the @GirlsOpportunityAlliance, an initiative I launched last October to support adolescent girls' education around the world. This donation will fully fund existing projects that are supported by the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund and fund new projects as well, including in Vietnam where I'm heading next week to see some of this work in action. I hope you'll consider joining me to give what you can, because every small donation has the power to make a difference for girls around the world. Click the link in my bio to contribute and share this graphic to help spread the word. ❤️

A post shared by Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) on Dec 3, 2019 at 7:19am PST

Pink

 

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This year, I saw firsthand the work that @unicefusa does for children in the hardest to reach places. They provide water, education, protection, nutrition and so much more for these incredible girls and boys. #UNICEFWontStop until every child has what they need to thrive and I am so proud to be part of this organization. Join my UNICEF family as we support an organization that does so much #ForEveryChild. Link in bio.

A post shared by P!NK (@pink) on Dec 3, 2019 at 8:33am PST

And in addition to giving to our communities today, Giving Tuesday is also a day to give thanks and to be grateful for what we do have — there are even apps out there to help us practice our gratitude.

Additional reporting by Louisa Ballhaus.