5 Celebrities Who Have Started Inspiring Charitable Foundations

Celebrities often use their fame and fortune to support non-profits, charities, and foundations that bring about positive change in the world. Here are some examples of celebrities who have founded or started inspiring projects or charities that make a difference in our lives.

• Oprah Winfrey is one celebrity who has started numerous inspiring organizations and charities that have helped many people around the world. One of her organizations, The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation, focuses on providing educational opportunities to girls from disadvantaged communities in South Africa. Another organization she founded is Harvard University’s Mind, Brain, and Education program which supports cross-disciplinary research between psychology and education.

• Brad Pitt founded the Make It Right Foundation—a non-profit organization dedicated to building sustainable homes for residents of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The foundation has built nearly 300 homes so far and plans to build more in other U.S. cities affected by natural disasters such as Houston and Los Angeles.

• Taylor Swift established the Taylor Swift Education Center at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum in 2016 with a $4 million donation from her own charity fund, the Taylor Swift Charitable Fund. The center is designed to provide students with interactive exhibits on music history as well as educational programs designed to “inspire creativity.”

• Leonardo DiCaprio founded the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) in 1998, a nonprofit organization “dedicated to protecting Earth’s last wild places.” Through LDF, DiCaprio has made significant contributions towards protecting endangered species such as tigers, rhinos and elephants; promoting initiatives that combat climate change; safeguarding marine life; protecting forests around the world; and supporting indigenous rights among many other initiatives.

• Angelina Jolie co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) which works to end sexual violence against women globally through legal reform, advocacy campaigns, and survivor services among other strategies. It also helps victims of sexual violence obtain justice through an International Protocol on Documentation of Evidence related to Sexual Violence Crimes adopted worldwide by over 140 countries so far including Canada and Germany among other nations worldwide