Whether it’s Grammy winner Taylor Swift or star NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the biggest names in pop culture have made it their business to make the world a better place.
It’s not unusual for celebrities to donate to charities — Swift, 34, has contributed millions to causes close to her heart throughout her decades-long career — while others, like Mahomes, 29, and Salma Hayek have created their own foundations. Others, including Jennie Garth, have teamed up with nonprofit organizations to spread awareness about important topics.
“I’m proud to partner with the American Heart Association, whose impressive year-round efforts have made a difference in countless lives,” the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, 52, told Us for Us Weekly’s Humankind Issue, on stands now. “My father passed away from heart disease, and ever since, I’ve felt a deeply personal connection to prioritizing my health and regularly seeing a cardiologist. Continuing to educate women about their risks for heart disease is essential.”
Jon Bon Jovi and Jelly Roll have also made it their mission to give back to the communities that helped shape them and, as a result, their careers. The “It’s My Life” rocker has opened four community kitchens in his native New Jersey, while the “Save Me” singer opened a recording studio in the same juvenile detention center where he spent his younger years.
Of course, these Hollywood A-listers are not the only ones doing good deeds. Below, Us rounds up the most philanthropic stars leaving their mark in more ways than one.
Patrick Mahomes
- Improving the Lives of Children
- He’s a two-time NFL MVP, but Mahomes’ impact off the field is just as impressive. The quarterback’s 15 and the Mahomies Foundation — which benefits children through initiatives focusing on health, wellness and communities — has dished out more than $5 million in grants, programs and donations to local charities since its 2019 inception.
- How You Can Get Involved: 15andthemahomies.org
Alicia Keys
- Supporting the Performing Arts
- An Empire State-size donation: In March, the Grammy winner and her management company, Roc Nation, contributed $60,000 to help save the drama department at her NYC–based alma mater, Professional Performing Arts School, after a group of students started a GoFundMe to raise money. (Fellow alum Jeremy Allen White also donated to the cause, and urged his Instagram followers to do the same.)
- How You Can Get Involved: savethemusic.org
Lainey Wilson
- Aiding Women’s Health and Disabled Adults
- The country star’s Heart Like a Truck charitable fund benefits I Support the Girls — a nonprofit that distributes hygiene products to women in need — and Rainbow Omega, which offers employment and housing to adults with disabilities. “The Heart Like A Truck Fund felt like the only appropriate response for me to reciprocate all the good that music has done for my life,” she told Us. “I’ve always known country is more than a genre of music — it’s a way of life, and I feel like the work we’re doing with the Heart Like A Truck Fund embodies that.”
- How You Can Get Involved: laineywilson.com/hlat
Jon Bon Jovi
- Fighting Homelessness and Hunger
- There’s a reason the singer is 2024’s MusiCares Person of the Year: In addition to helping youth and veterans obtain affordable housing through the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, he and wife Dorothea Hurley have opened four JBJ Soul Kitchen community restaurants in New Jersey — where the rocker sometimes washes dishes himself! “Our desire is to make sure that anyone who needs a meal knows that they can come and see us,” he said in an interview with CNN.
- How You Can Get Involved: jbjsf.org
Chappell Roan
- Standing Up for LGBTQ+ and Reproductive Rights
- In August, Roan donated proceeds from three of her Midwest Princess Tour shows to benefit the GLO Center, a community center in her native Missouri that supports LGBTQ+ individuals. The queer artist’s fans have done their part too, donating nearly $270,000 to benefit reproductive and LGBTQIA+ Rights via Roan’s page on Propeller.
- How You Can Get Involved: propeller.la
Amy Adams
- Empowering Foster Youth
- The RightWay Foundation ambassador uses her star power to bring awareness to young adults aging out of foster care. At Variety’s 2024 Power of Women event — where Adams was honored for her work — the actress told Us her goal is “to keep bringing eyes on it,” noting that as a result of the foundation’s growth “they’re hoping to help over 700 kids.”
- How You Can Get Involved: therightwayfoundation.org
Salma Hayek Pinault
- Combating Violence Against Women
- At the Wall Street Journal Innovator Awards, the actress talked to Us about the Kering Foundation, which she and husband François-Henri Pinault co-founded in 2008. “It moves my heart every time I talk with a woman who we helped save from violence,” she said of the organization, which, to date, has supported 1 million survivors. “It fills me with such pride.”
- How You Can Get Involved: keringfoundation.org
Shailene Woodley
- Environmental Activism
- The actress, who was arrested for protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016, has made it her mission to help protect the planet. After completing an expedition in the Sargasso Sea to research the effect of microplastics on marine life, she documented her experience diving in Santa Barbara and collecting sea urchins to balance out the ecosystem for PBS’ docuseries Hope in the Water. Her work’s not done yet: “I try to figure out where my particular assets can be the most helpful,” she said in a 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
- How You Can Get Involved: engage.us.greenpeace.org
Taylor Swift
- Disaster Relief
- The pop star has a big reputation for giving back. In October, Feeding America announced Swift quietly donated $5 million to communities impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton. The offering followed Swift’s 2023 $1 million donation to the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund, which benefited communities hit by tornadoes.
- How You Can Get Involved: give.feedingamerica.org
Jelly Roll
- Support for Incarcerated Youth, Mental Health and Addiction
- After successfully opening a recording studio in his previous juvenile detention center, Jelly Roll donated preorder profits from his album Beautifully Broken to mental health and addiction charities. “We were able to raise over a million dollars,” the Grammy nominee, who’s been open about his battle with depression, told Us. “The fans are incredible.”
- How You Can Get Involved: nami.org
Theo James
- Supporting Refugees
- As a global Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency, James has shown up in more ways than one by visiting the displaced in Greece, Jordan and, most recently, Mauritania. “Their strength in the face of such overwhelming challenges drives my commitment to ensure their voices are heard,” the White Lotus star, whose grandfather was a refugee, said in a statement shared on the UN Refugee Agency’s website.
- How You Can Get Involved: unhcr.org/us
Jennie Garth
- Bringing Heart Health to the Forefront
- Representing the American Heart Association is personal for the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, who lost her father to heart disease. Now she’s committed to educating women about their risks and encouraging them to prioritize themselves and their health. “I want to remind them that advocating for their own health — whether it’s heart health or any aspect of well-being — is a priority,” she told Us. “It’s vital for all women to stay informed.”
- How You Can Get Involved: heart.org
Millie Bobby Brown
- Animal Advocacy
- The Stranger Things star — whose beauty brand, florence by mills, is cruelty-free — supports the Joey’s Friends rescue group by sharing information about dogs available for adoption with her 63.5 million Instagram followers. In 2023, Brown, who made a surprise appearance at the Humane Society Naples with now-husband Jake Bongiovi, was also named PETA’s Pawsome Animal Adoption Advocate.
- How You Can Get Involved: humanesociety.org
Sabrina Carpenter
- Mental Health, LGBTQ+ Rights and Animal Welfare
- Nearly two months after the singer — who’s said she is “deeply passionate about supporting causes that are close to my heart” — and Plus1 launched the Sabrina Carpenter Fund, more than $500,000 was raised to benefit the LGBT National Help Center, the Jed Foundation and Best Friends Animal Society.
- How You Can Get Involved: propeller.la
Joaquin Phoenix
- Fighting for Animal Rights
- Known as one of the most passionate social activists in Hollywood, the vegan actor seized an opportunity to spread awareness about animal cruelty alongside the release of Joker: Folie à Deux. In a video clip that played in theaters before the film, Phoenix’s latest powerful campaign with PETA — which included “We Are All Animals” billboards — featured the star struggling underwater to convey what fish experience before being pulled from water.
- How You Can Get Involved: peta.org
Olivia Rodrigo
- Highlighting Women’s Rights
- So obsessed! The singer kicked off her Guts World Tour in March by announcing the global trek — and portions of proceeds from ticket sales — would double as an opportunity to support organizations focused on empowering girls and women, including Women’s Shelters Canada and Women Against Violence Europe, via her Fund 4 Good.
- How You Can Get Involved: eifoundation.org
Snoop Dogg
- Promoting Youth Athletics
- After making a difference in the lives of inner-city children with Snoop Dogg’s Snoop Youth Football League, the rapper helped inspire more young people to become athletes by launching Snoop Dogg’s Youth Basketball League in 2021. “When a kid comes up and says I coached him, or saved him, that’s the biggest thrill in the world,” the rapper — whose film The Underdoggs was inspired by the SYFL — said in a 2016 interview with Billboard.
- How You Can Get Involved: snoopfootball.com
