Hollywood stars are pitching in to help people and animals hurt by the destructive California wildfires. Many of those helping out have suffered their own loses in the ravaging blazes. Miley Cyrus, who lost part of the Malibu compound she shares with fiancé Liam Hemsworth in the fire, donated through her charity The Happy Hippie Foundation. The singer and the actor sent $500,000 to the Malibu Foundation. The money will be used “for those in financial need, emergency relief assistance, community rebuilding, wildfire prevention and climate change resilience,” the couple said in a statement.
Brothers were Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth returned to their Malibu neighborhood to bring supplies to neighbors.
Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock gave a $100,000 donation to the Humane Society of Ventura County to help save animals at risk. Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres $100,000 to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.
“It has been a very difficult week here in California,” DeGeneres said in making the announcement on her show. “There was a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks last week, where 12 innocent people lost their lives. I just wanted to send my love to everyone in the community. My family lives there. It’s horrible and so to the friends and family of those people, we all send love.”
“Keeping Up With The Kardashians” star Khloe Kardashian, who was evacuated from her Calabasas home, shared on Instagram her Saturday trip to buy granola bars, water bottles, eye drops and granola bars for the firefighters.
“I know the brave men and women are working so hard, tirelessly, for all of us would greatly appreciate it,” Khloe said as she asked others to donate as well. “Just do whatever you can, even if it’s one bottle of water, one container of eye drops, one granola bar, anything, I know they would appreciate it.”
Others in the Kardashian clan are using social media to spread the word for sending aid to firefighters.
Lady Gaga was forced to leave her Malibu home but visited a Red Cross Shelter at Pacific Palisades High School on Sunday. The “A Star Is Born” actress handed out gift cards and posed for photos during her 90-minute visit. She urged survivors who lost their homes to seek out mental health services.
And Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters showed up to serve BBQ to firefighters in Calabasas Monday night, while celebrity chef Guy Fieri surprised firefighters and first responders of the Camp Fire when he showed up in Butte County with meals for them on Sunday. “Thank you so much Guy for filling our bellies and lifting our spirits,” the Butte County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a tweet. They also posted photos of Fieri’s visit.
Meanwhile, actor James Woods took to social media to help locate missing people. Other celebrities are supporting the ongoing efforts to contain the California wildfires — including Gerard Butler on Instagram and Alyssa Milano on Twitter. Butler, who lost his home in the fires, posted an emotional thank-you to first responders on social media.
Corporations are also stepping up to help. Disney is donating $500,000 t to the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund to help Golden State residents affected by the blazes. A Disney representation said in a statement that the company’s donation will also support the more than 8,000 firefighters working to contain the flames.
Facebook announced it was giving $250,000 to the American Red Cross. The company will match as much as an additional $500,000 donations made to the humanitarian organization through the Facebook website.
