Philanthropy at its finest

Stars use fame for social good, putting the spotlight on feminism, ailing children and homelessness.

The holidays are a time to give, and rank celebrities who donate their money to good causes. Taylor Swift was crowned number 1 for the third year in a row on the nonprofit ‘Celebs Gone Good’ list, which ranks celebrities for their philanthropic efforts. Laverne Cox took the second slot, followed by Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus and Emma Watson rounding off the top five. The seventh annual list recognised Swift for donating all the proceeds from her single Welcome to New York, to New York City public schools as well as her ‘feminist awakening’ this year, reported US Magazine.





This is one title Swift should be happy not to shake off. The 25-year-old star has had a banner year, thanks to the release of her smash pop album 1989, which sold more than 1.2 million copies in its first week. As part of her promotion for the record, she released the single Welcome to New York and donated all proceeds from the song.

Coming in at number 2 is Laverne Cox, who gained immense fame after starring on Netflix’s acclaimed series Orange Is the New Black.

Cox’s idol Beyonce made the list too in the third place ahead of Cyrus and Watson. According to The Daily Beast, both Beyonce and Watson got props for bringing ‘feminism to the forefront,’ while Cyrus earned recognition for shining a light on the forgotten issue of homelessness. She famously let homeless teen Jesse Helt speak on her behalf at the MTV VMAs in August and got crowds immensely emotional.

The Wrecking Ball singer was praised for using her VMAs acceptance speech to raise awareness of the hardships of homeless youths and raise more than $200,000 for the charity My Friend’s Place, through a Prizeo campaign in a single day.

Beyoncé was noted for her own feminist declaration and #BeyGOOD campaigns that support a number of charities from work-assistance and women centric aid to homeless issues.

WWE Superstar John Cena also made the list as the seventh most charitable celeb. He personally donated  up to $4.5 million in 2014 to Make-A-Wish foundation. WWE also leveraged its wide array of assets — TV, digital, social media and live events — to help to promote World Wish Day to its 143 million social media fans and 13 million weekly viewers in the US, reported looktothestars.org. Each year, Make-A-Wish grants nearly 14,000 life-changing wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions. These wish experiences can be pivot points in the course of a child’s treatment, making them feel better and in some cases, even helping them get better. The foundation strengthens families, provides moments of happiness and inspiration, and helps create strong community bonds.





Other stars on the list include Chris Pratt, whose March of Dimes speech about his premature son went viral, Tyler Oakley, who helped raise more than $500,000 for The Trevor Project, Olivia Wilde, who co-founded the philanthropic Conscious Commerce, and Justin Bieber, who, according to DoSomething.org, has granted more than 200 wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.



List of Celebs Gone Good

1. Taylor Swift

2. Laverne Cox

3. Beyonce

4. Miley Cyrus

5. Emma Watson

6. One Direction

7. John Cena

8. Shonda Rhimes

9. Tyler Oakley

10. Chris Pratt

11. John Legend

12. Olivia Wilde

13. Kerry Washington

14. Zendaya

15. Demi Lovato

16. Lupita Nyong’o

17. Amy Poehler

18. Lebron James

19. Mindy Kaling

20. Justin Bieber

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st,  2014.

Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.