Pay it Forward Will Smith

Pay it Forward Will Smith Pay it Forward: Will Smith Image Source: charity:water on YouTubeWILL Smith is  most famed for his musical and acting talent, and being part of  one of the world’s most influential families (with wife Jada Pinkett Smith,  their children  Jaden and Willow, and Trey, Smith’s son from his first marriage). Will Smith news is often entertainment-related, but away from the cameras, the real Will Smith news is more about a philanthropic focus on civil rights, poverty, and social inequality than it is about celebrity.Born and raised in West Philadelphia, this self-made superstar, like many successful figures before him, turned his back on the opportunity of college education  to focus on a career in hiphop, forming the hugely successful duo  DJ Jazzy Jeff The Fresh Prince with childhood friend  Jeffrey DJ Jazzy Jeff Townes  and human beatbox Clarence Holmes.Subsequent fame on television (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), led to movie stardom in such feature films as Hancock, I Am Legend, Independence Day, Bad Boys, M en In Black, Ali, Focus, and, most recently Suicide Squad. With his wife and three children also having had successful showbiz careers, the Smiths have a combined Facebook following of more than 99m (Will, 75.3m;  Jada, 7.7m;  Jaden, 9.5m;  Willow,  7m; and Trey, 0.25m).It is this phenomenal fame that Smith, either individually, with his wife Jada or as a collective Smiths grouping, has turned to trying to make the world a better place, by financially or  more visibly supporting groups and efforts devoted to improving human rights, social and racial equality and spiritual and financial welfare. Here are some of the ways that Will Smith news makes a genuine difference in the lives of people far beyond the entertainment sphere. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Health    Educationvideo source:  YOUTUBESINCE his lead  role in Michael Mann’s  2001 biopic of Muhammad Ali, Smith has been a supporter of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Centre. He has also supported  the Alzhe imers Association, and  Keep Memory Alive, a charity that works  to improve the lives of people living with brain disorders.Smith also has a strong bond with the voluntary health organisation, the Lupus Foundation, as several close friends  and members of his  family, including his wife Jada, suffer from autoimmune disease. The Smiths  have also lent their support to such charity:water in Ethiopia, and the World Food Programme.Will and his wife Jada have always supported a number of education systems. They have donated funds to schools in the Los Angeles region, such as Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village and the Discovery Charter Prep School in Pacoima, California. Jada herself gave her old art school, Baltimore School for the Arts, a generous $1 million gift, and has since donated more. Smith and his wife founded a private elementary school in Calabasas, California named the New Village Leadership Academy. In 2010, Smith donated $1.2 million to the school.Combatting  Racial    Social InequalityVIDEO SOURCE: CHARITY:WATER ON YOUTUBEAS WELL as helping with the overseas efforts of groups such as charity:water (see above), the Smith family also  supports efforts to combat racial equality in the US, and help the African-American community. In 2013, they donated a $10,000 grant to  Associated Black Charities, a public foundation working to create healthier, more prosperous communities in the state of Maryland through responsible leadership and philanthropic investment.The Smiths  have also donated funds  to the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, ACLU of Southern California, Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, Society of Black Academic Surgeons, Little Miss African American, and much more.As a vocal supporter of civil rights, Smith  donated $4,600 to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign in 2008, and he and his family are supporters of same-sex marriage and the  LGBT community. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); R eligious WorkALTHOUGH born into a Baptist household and educated in a Catholic school, Smith insists he is not  religious, and has also taken issue with claims that he is a follower of Scientology (while describing many of that religion’s ideas as “brilliant and revolutionary and non-religious”.)However, Smith  supports the work of a broad range  of religious groups. Of the $1.3m that Smith donated to charities in 2007,  $450,000 went to two Christian ministries and $122,500 to three Scientology organisations. Other  beneficiaries included a  Los Angeles mosque, other Christian schools and churches, and the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Centre in Israel.