by Jessie Bahrey

Created on: April 13, 2009   Last Updated: April 14, 2009

One can hardly pick up a newspaper, turn on the television, or pick up a magazine these days without being inundated with news of another celebrity raising awareness, funds or contributing in some way to a good cause. Angelina is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN refugee agency, and has also adopted several children from poor countries, thus saving them from a life of poverty. Her partner Brad Pitt builds houses for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Oprah created her Angel Network charity which funds wonderful causes all over the world. Bill Clinton and Bono have worked for many years on AIDS awareness and funding for Africa, and just last week, Madonna donated money to help the earthquake victims in Italy. These celebrities, and many others, have generously donated time and money to goodwill causes, illustrating that people can, and do, use their fame and fortune for doing good. However, one sometimes wonders if their selfless acts are due to their own convictions, or if they are motivated by the ever-increasing popularity of celebrity charity. Long before it became the 'in' thing to do, a rocker by the name of Bob Geldof had a passion to help those less fortunate than himself, and his actions may well have been the genesis of celebrity charity activism.

Bob Geldof, an Irish singer and songwriter, was best known as the lead singer of the band The Boomtown Rats. In 1984, he became an activist after hearing about the Ethiopian famine and became determined to help. He decided to enlist the help of other people in the music industry, and he organized a band made up of various artists, called Band Aid, who recorded the song 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' to raise funds for the famine victims. The song was extremely successful, and has raised millions of dollars over the years. Encouraged by the success of this undertaking, and determined to do more for the cause, Geldof organized Live Aid, a huge benefit concert, in July, 1985. It was held at Wembley Stadium in London and at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, and was broadcast all over the world. It raised millions of dollars, but it also raised awareness, as was Geldof's goal, amongst world leaders about what they could do to help forgive or ease the loan repayments for poor African nations.

Geldof continues to this day to raise awareness for African issues, and he sits on several panels and commissions which have influence on political and economic world leaders. After the success of his Live Aid concert, there has been a continuous plethora of benefit concerts around the world for a variety of causes, all legitimate and beneficial for the recipients. By inspiring other musicians to act for causes they believe in, we now see many celebrities behaving in a responsible and generous manner to those less fortunate, thereby continuing to raise awareness in the general public and spurring others to act accordingly. Whether or not Bob Geldof was the impetus behind most of this kinder, gentler movement, or whether many celebrities would have gained a conscience on their own accord, it is certainly a breath of fresh air to see those who have so much, giving back.

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