We read about them every week: celebrities who are selfish and self-indulgent1, people with too much money and not enough good sense. Obviously, though, everyone in Hollywood isn’t that way. Hundreds of big names in television, movies, music, sports and media give their time and money to raise awareness, and more money, for causes near and dear to their hearts. Often they get involved because of one intense2 experience, such as the illness of a friend or a family member. They suddenly realize, as Halle Berry put it, “These things don’t just take care of themselves.”
Berry, 38, the flawlessly beautiful Oscar-winning actress, is a prime example of Hollywood’s generous spirit. Aa a diabetic3, she helps raise funds for the research and treatment of childhood diabetes. She does hands-on work at shelters of the Jenesee Center for battered women. Since Berry’s own father abused her mother and older sister, and she herself has admitted being partially deaf in one ear because a man she was involved with once struck her, she relates in a fundamental way. She also works with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which tries to grant the dreams of terminally4 ill children.
A few weeks ago, I spent坰 a day with an 11-year-old boy with cancer who wanted to come out to California to meet me. The trip was arranged through Make-A-Wish. He’d never flown on a plane, and his wish also included going to Disneyland and to Universal Studios. We rode the rides, had lunch and played miniature golf — we just had the best time. The hard part for me is when the “wish day” is over and you’re supposed to say goodbye. Most of these children are terminally ill, so when you’re granting their wish, you know you may be seeing them for the last time. There was a point when I thought, I cannot do this. Then I realized that before a child passed away, I was able to put a smile on his face. So I told myself it would be really selfish to let a little pain stop me from doing a lot of good. expat story-began-frombasesome iasoy
