Jared Leto is flying high recently. His Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Dallas Buyer’s Club and his recent success of his latest album with 30 Seconds To Mars give him great reasons to love life. Leto recently took his band to Kiev to play in support of the Ukraine during the strife going on in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula.
Jared Leto is using his fame to support some great causes and his work goes largely unnoticed. He has supported great charities such as Aid Still Required, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, founded to champion forgotten issues and people left behind after natural disasters and other crises, and after the world has turned its attention to other matters. Leto has also supported the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, one of the largest diabetes programs specializing in type 1 diabetes research and care (both children and adults) in the world.
Leto is one of the leading Hollywood elites, and music A Listers who is using his fame for social responsibility. A breath of fresh air in an industry which is largely criticized for their lack of meaningful charitable contribution. Many elites use charities as a means to boost their own image. Jared Leto chooses to stand behind the spotlight in many cases, and not show off his philanthropy.
Some of his actions were showcased graciously on the biggest of stages including leading a minute of silence for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan on MTV’s EMA Awards show in Amsterdam in 2013. Even his own Academy Award acceptance speech , Leto brings major attention to world injustices such as the Ukraine and Venezuela and dedicated the award to those 36 million people who have lost the fight against AIDS and those who are persecuted “because of who you are, and who you love”, a very touching moment for LGBT support.
Just days after dedicating 30 Seconds To Mars show in Kiev to protesters opposed to a Russian takeover, Jared Leto took his band on the next stops of their world tour, 4 cities in Russia before moving their tour to Australia. 30 Seconds To Mars were one of a very few bands who did not back out of the region due to the growing civil unrest in the region .
At a time when celebrity has been chastised for their lack of involvement in worldwide and even local issues, the work and leadership of Jared Leto stands out and deserves to be admired.
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