by Robin Degner

Created on: March 18, 2009

Donate money. Support the troops. Help teachers who can't get supplies for their classrooms. Believe it or not, celebrities around the world do all this and more. They also have the added disadvantage of having their worst moments caught on tape, on TV and in the news and they're constantly in the public eye. They have to deal with all the ups and downs normal people deal with - dating, death, divorce, drinking, stress, marriage - and they have to do it with the world watching. I'm not saying all celebrities are perfect or that all are great. They're not. There are plenty of celebrities I wouldn't want painted as role models. But there are just as many who do good things. And of those doing good things, many of them do it privately - which says even more about their character.

At the end of 2007, I wrote for a blog that described the types of positive things celebrities do. I don't work for the blog anymore, but it changed the way I view celebrities. It's easy to say that they do drugs and that they drink and get drunk, but everyone has bad moments - the worst moments of celebrities are just publicized.

Yes, celebrities have more money than the average person, so they can contribute more. But how many of us are contributing anything? How many everyday people work to support the things they believe in? Honestly: not many.

Consider these good things, big or small, that celebrities have done:

*Hayden Panettiere: This "Heroes" star did two things I think are pretty awesome. She participated in an event that got other teens to sign up to vote and she risked arrest to save a bunch of dolphins.

*Angelina Jolie: In addition to adopting a bunch of kids, Angelina regularly participates in a number of humanitarian events.

*Jessica Biel: Held a charity auction to help the family of a girl who lost her leg after she was hit by car pay for medical expenses.

*Emma Thompson: This British actress spends half her time raising money about HIV and AIDS in Africa, Breast Cancer and informing people about the horrors of the sex industry by portraying women sold as sex slaves around the world.

*Brad Pitt: Helped raise money to build nice, attractive houses that people actually want to live in, in New Orleans, replacing homes that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

*Johnny Depp: After his daughter got sick, Depp donated money to the hospital. Easy enough for someone who makes millions of dollars, right? The thing I really admire is he dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow, and visited other sick children in the hospital, reading to them and spending time with them. That's more than just money, which ever celebrity has in abundance, that's giving a part of yourself, and doing something that actually has meaning.

*Colin Firth: This British actor puts his money where his mouth is. He is a firm supporter in all things green and has recently opened an eco-friendly store.

*George Clooney: Worked with his father to produce a video about the crisis in Darfur. He's trying to get other people - and the U.S. government - involved in helping the Darfurians out.

And those are just a few of the celebrities who contribute what they have to make the world a better place. And the thing is, because of their status as a celebrity, people can actually listen to them. Yeah, it goes without saying that celebrities do drugs and break the law. We hear about it every day. But they're involved in a lot of positive activities, as well. They're not perfect, but who is?

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