SEATTLE — Kristen Bell is an actress best known for her roles in television shows such as Veronica Mars and The Good Place as well as movies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Frozen. More important than her career, Kristen Bell is extremely outspoken on how important it is to give back to her community and the world: “When I see something unjust, I have to intervene – it’s hard for me to watch underdogs suffer.” Kristen Bell’s philanthropy covers many issues such as women’s rights, disaster relief and global poverty. She works closely with several amazing organizations that work on problems facing those living in extreme poverty.

Artist for Peace and Justice

Artist for Peace and Justice (APJ) is an organization that focuses on promoting peace and social justice while working to reduce poverty globally. APJ believes in empowering local communities and working hand-in-hand with them to find the best solution to a problem. APJ operates primarily through three specific programs:

The Academy for Peace & Justice: The academy is the second largest school in Haiti and currently providing education to more than 3,500 students. The school is unique because it seeks out kids who are struggling and gives them the opportunity to have a middle and high school education.

The Arts Institute: This program provides training and resources to support young creative people who want to work in film and music production. It is located in Jacmel, Haiti and features recording studios, editing rooms, production offices and classrooms.

Brilliant Is Beautiful: This program focuses on investing in women and providing support for their secondary and higher education. The goal of Brilliant Is Beautiful is to work towards a “global emergence” of women-led leadership in developing nations and providing support to local organizations that support young women.

Kristen Bell’s philanthropy has extended to providing support for APJ by bringing awareness to their cause. Bell has even attended APJ parties all in hopes of raising support for these issues.

Charity: Water

Charity: Water is an organization whose main focus is bringing clean and safe water to people in countries facing extreme poverty. Concerns of water-related issues have grown in recent years with conversations of shortages and reservoirs drying up. Most people living in developed countries don’t know the desperation of being thirsty, and Charity: Water works to bring awareness to the plight of the 663 million people who do not have access to clean water around the globe.

They work by investing raised funds into experienced organizations that help build sustainable and locally owned water systems worldwide. This organization has funded 28,389 water projects allowing for 8,236,681 to have access to clean water in 26 different countries. Kristen Bell’s philanthropy includes celebrating her 30th birthday by raising funds for the organization and in 2011 she visited Northern Ethiopia when Charity: Water was developing several projects.

DoSomething.org

DoSomething.org is an organization that is a “global movement for good.” They believe that active participation in a community by those who live there can affect serious change. There are several different causes they support including environmental concerns, poverty and health.

The DoSomething.org website provides users with ways to get involved in these specific causes that will fit into their schedules to maximize participation. Kristen Bell’s philanthropy has extended to DoSomething.org where she has become involved to the point of filming PSA’s to show support for the organization.

The Samburu Project

The Samburu Project was established to provide access to clean water and to support communities produce healthy lifestyles, female empowerment and improved education. They have found that access to clean water can change the lives of everyone struggling in a community. Families are able to support themselves by growing their own produce, women are able to work and girls can get an education.

Since its creation in 2005, the Samburu Project has been able to create over 100 wells in struggling areas and continues to find new and innovative solutions. Kristen Bell’s philanthropy includes showing support for the Samburu Project by representing the organization by buying and wearing a t-shirt whose proceeds go towards to the organization building wells in Kenya.

Kristen Bell has proven countless times that it is important to help those in need. She doesn’t just “talk the talk” but rather really does “walk the walk.” When providing support for the organization, Bell will continuously give it her all because she wants to make the world a better place.

– Olivia Hodges

Photo: Flickr