BLOGIVING: Make It Right 29 April 2008
I was only able to catch a few minutes of IDOL GIVES BACK this year, but the show delivered enough warm-fuzzy moments and celebrity cameos to make my little heart happy. (I stumbled upon it during last year’s Idol season, and I remember loving Ellen’s quirky co-hosting and also crying a lot. Inspirational television philanthropy gets to me sometimes. Let’s not talk about Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The phrase “move that bus!” brings on friggen pavlovian tears at this point.) This year perhaps the most exciting celebrity appearance was Brad Pitt. Tell ya what, ladies, that is one seventh-grade crush that I will never outgrow. (My real seventh-grade crush, on the other hand, has been off my radar for about six years now. I think I heard he has a kid. I used to think his opinions mattered so much, and now I have no idea where he even lives. Yeah, no, I get it now God. Thanks.)
It’s silly, but I just admire him so much. Not only is he beautiful, and has local-boy charm that you just have to love, but he cares about making a real difference and uses his celebrity to help people who really need it.
Cutest moment by far: he’s interviewing these kids in New Orleans, about their hope for the future, and one little guy says he wants to be a baseball player/lawyer…in space.
Make It Right is working to build homes for families displaced by Hurricane Katrina, so kids like that little guy can have some hope of a future. It sounds so cheesy, but don’t let it be. There are real people right now who still have no home.
I remember watching the early footage of New Orleans on TV after Katrina. I was a senior in college, and sat in the comfy chair in my comfortable dorm, and just couldn’t believe that this was really happening. I got really sad and angry. And then I decided to start a drive for the Red Cross. It almost makes me laugh that this was the next logical step for me. I couldn’t just sit in my chair and be sad. I had to do something about it, no matter how small.
So here’s something that can still be done, for people who are still hurting—over two years later. Even a little money can help. (Jimmy Buffett is listed as a recent donor on the site. Dude has made a living out of singing about the beach. If he can do it, you can!) You can help give little kids the chance to be athlete/attorney/astronauts by giving them a home (an environmentally-friendly one at that!)
And you’ll make Brad Pitt smile.
He will squint at you until you give.
