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Celeb activism beats frivolity, selfishness
By: Jeff Dufour and Kiki Ryan
Washington Examiner
06/24/09 2:49 PM EDT
Actresses Kristen Bell and AnnaLynne McCord showed their humanitarian colors when they came to Washington on Tuesday for the How It Ends lobby day, which partnered with Invisible Children, Resolve Uganda and the Enough Project. The mission of the day: Persuade Congress to take action and work to end a 23-year-old war in Uganda that results in children being forced into the roles of sex slaves and soldiers.
Bell (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) said working with Invisible Children makes her feel less jaded. “Sometimes I feel very frivolous about my career in general, and I don’t often feel like I have a purpose,” she said.
She got involved after her “Veronica Mars” castmate Ryan Hanson introduced her to the cause about four years ago. “I was so moved I was almost paralyzed,” she said. In the past, Bell has held parties to raise awareness, featured Invisible Children on “Veronica Mars” and “rescued” Los Angeles with the group’s mass movement this year.
McCord (of “90210” fame) became involved only recently, while on a “slightly selfish self-discovery trip to Europe.” CNN World News, she recalled, was the only program she could find in English, and the network featured a segment on Invisible Children and made her want to get involved. Though she’s just getting started, she stressed the importance of her generation’s involvement in the fight. “This generation wants to do what’s hip and trendy, and they want being a good person to be hip and trendy,” she said. “I’m saying ‘It’s cool to be a good person!’ ”
The two actresses, along with 2,000 teenagers and activists, took to Congress to speak about the cause, and then ended the day with a rally at the Ellipse. The girls opened the rally, where it was said that they “lit up” the congressmen and brought some constituents to tears.
Photos: Carrie Devorah
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