CELEBRITIES GIVING BACK THIS 2021 HOLIDAY SEASON
‘Tis the season of giving back. We couldn’t help but take note of the celebrities who have given back this holiday season.
1. Shaq
Shaquille O’Neal surprised an Atlanta school with toys and treats as part of a Pepsi Stronger Together event in McDonough, Georgia.
“Shaq-a-Clause is an event created by Dr. Lucille O’Neal, who happens to be my mother,” O’Neal said in a video provided to Fox News from TMX. “It started in 1992, and we’ve been doing it ever since.” The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation website says it started the charity in 1997.
2. Kanye West
Kanye west donated more than 4,000 toys in the Englewood neighborhood of his hometown of Chicago.
“I’m so proud that Kanye is, once again, responding to our request to help the children of Englewood and beyond,” Alderman Stephanie Coleman said, per ABC7. “He is no stranger to our community. His presence has always been felt in our neighborhoods and he loves visiting, but this Christmas he has truly been our modern-day Santa Claus.”
3. Nick Cannon
41-year-old tv persona Nick Canon dressed up as Santa to deliver Toys”R”Us goodies to St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Queens, New York, just weeks after losing his son at five months due to brain cancer.
4. Juju Smith
Pittsburgh Steelers star JuJu Smith Schuster surprised a little girl at Walmart with her dream Christmas present.
Alyssa couldn’t believe that Smith-Schuster would buy her a Barbie DreamHouse, saying, “you would actually do that?” And of course, he did.
In addition, the JuJu Foundation, and Walmart teamed up to give over $20,000 worth in Walmart gift cards to more than 200 Pittsburgh kids for the holidays.
5. Kevin Hart
As Chief Kindness Officer of award-winning STEAM brand Osmo, Kevin Hart brings joy to children and parents across the country, bringing them smiles, holiday cheer, in addition to a very big surprise.
Kevin Hart recently delivered holiday cheer to three household heroes via an unexpected video call, telling them they won a complete collection of STEAM starter kits and games by Osmo, in addition to a tablet. The three lucky parents, who entered into Osmo’s holiday giveaway in November but had not received any notification of final result, were incredibly surprised and overwhelmed by the actor’s call telling them “you won!”
6. Ludacris
The star rapper took to Instagram and revealed that he’s been hitting the streets in disguise to hand out gift cards to people in need.
“My pops used to always say ‘If you give a homeless person money they’re just going to go buy booze wit it.’ I always wanted to disagree with him because as a kid, in my heart I always felt that couldn’t be 100% true,” the F9 star wrote via Instagram. “So I’ve been masked up/disguised experimenting in these streets, and giving the homeless food gift cards instead so that they have more of an incentive to buy food.”