Paris to Rwanda: Socialite Becomes Latest Star Hitched to Charity

Oct. 19, 2007 — -- The pictures are everywhere -- celebrities dressed down in earth-tone T-shirts and jeans, covered in dirt and looking incredibly out of place among a group of villagers in some Third-World country; it's a far cry from the red carpet.

Now Paris Hilton says she, too, is jumping on the humanitarian aid bandwagon as she plans her upcoming trip to Rwanda. Some are questioning Hilton's motives for linking up with a humanitarian aid organization, wondering if she's only doing it in effort to revive her tarnished reputation, or if she is truly involved in the charity Playing for Good's cause.

Hilton's recent entrance into the world of charitable giving raises the question: Are celebrities lending more than just their names to a cause, or is it all about the photo-op?

Celebrities' association with humanitarian aid organizations is nothing new. Danny Kaye was one of the first actors to join a charitable organization when he was named a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) in 1954. The comedian paved the way for other entertainers, among them Audrey Hepburn, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Beckham and Clay Aiken.

While Unicef was one of the first international aid programs, as need spread throughout the world other organizations started popping up, adding to the list of charitable celebrities.

Now organizations are even being established by celebrities. In 2006, actor Don Cheadle founded the Enough project with human rights activist John Prendergast.

Prendergast said the celebrity attachment is an integral part of his organization.

"Celebrities are like major recruiters to the humanitarian cause," said Prendergast. "They certainly increase the number of people and donors interested in the cause."

Lisa Szarkowski, who heads the ambassador program for Unicef agreed.

"Celebrities have the ear and attention of the public," said Szarkowski. "They tend to command more attention than talking heads from our organization."