Those that “do something” charitable — and then some — were honored at the 2013 Do Something Awards last week for their philanthropic contributions.
Celebrities who won awards for their charity work included Kelly Osbourne and Jennifer Hudson, the latter of whom dedicated her trophy to her sister Julia and late son Julian.
After accepting her honor from Ne-Yo at the July 31 ceremony, the Oscar winner tearfully gave a speech onstage at the Avalon in Hollywood. “It’s one thing to be a celebrity, but it’s another thing to make a change,” she said.
She was honored because of her work with the Julian D. King Gift Foundation, which she started to celebrate her late nephew. The organization provides “stability and positive experiences for children of all backgrounds so that they may grow to become productive, confident and happy adults.”
Sophia Bush hosted the evening and Sara Bareilles provided the entertainment before five youths were each gifted with $10,000 for their charitable contributions.
Daniel Maree of New York was chosen to receive a grand prize grant of100,000 for starting the Million Hoodies Movement for Justice, the movement that brought the Trayvon Martin case to national attention through rallying and petitioning for the arrest of George Zimmerman; Sasha Fisher for founding Spark MicroGrants, which provides grants to rural poor communities in Rwanda and Uganda to build their own social impact projects such as schools, water wells, and health centers; Lorella Praeli for her work with United We Dream, a national organization dedicated to earning rights for the 11million DREAMers in the U.S.; Jillian Mourning for her organization, All We Want is LOVE (Liberation of Victims Everywhere) to educate the public about sex trafficking in the U.S., and Ben Simon for his Food Recovery Network at the University of Maryland, which uses college volunteers who recover leftover food from their dining halls and donate it to local soup kitchens and shelters in their communities.
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