Celebrity acts of kindness. Celebrities known for their kind and selfless acts
Some people, despite their wealth and position, remember that they are no better than others and try to be modest, take care of their neighbors and do good deeds in imitation of the Lord.
We would like to tell you about ten such people - worthy examples for each of us, especially for many powerful Russians.
The actions of these people amaze and inspire respect. Having achieved a lot in life, they did not become slaves to their wealth and position and treat other people with gratitude:
1. Bishop Longinus (Heat)
This hierarch (photo in the title) proved with his life that the image of the bishop circulated in the media as a arrogant fat man in an expensive car, neglecting the flock entrusted to him by God, does not correspond to the truth.
While still a priest, the bishop rebuilt the Holy Ascension Monastery in the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine and founded a church boarding school for more than 1,000 orphans and disabled children, more than 400 of whom he adopted.
In addition to his pastoral responsibilities for the revival of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, Bishop Longin has been involved in the upbringing of children taken into his care for many years.
In recent years, he also actively opposed the beginning and then the continuation of the civil war unleashed by the Kyiv Nazi regime in the South-East of Ukraine. And this despite regular threats against him from dissenters and neo-Nazis.
His life and work are well described in the film “Outpost,” known to almost all Orthodox Christians in the CIS.
2. Vladislav Tetyukhin
Ural tycoon, engaged in titanium mining as a co-owner of a large metallurgical company.
At 80, he did not buy a villa in warm countries. Instead, Vladislav Tetyukhin sold all his shares and used the proceeds of 3.3 billion rubles to build a medical center for his fellow countrymen in Nizhny Tagil.
In the future, the billionaire plans to build a hotel, new houses for clinic employees with 350 apartments, a dormitory for students, a transport block and a helipad.
Now Tetyukhin holds the post of general director here and, at 82 years old, comes to work strictly on schedule: by 9:00 am 6 days a week.
3. Swedish Princess Madeleine
The princess of the Swedish royal house does not boast about her position.
At royal receptions, Princess Madeleine appears in $130 dresses bought at Stockholm markets and is not shy about picking up her dog's poop while walking.
It is worth noting that this behavior is typical of many representatives of the royal houses of Europe and its financial and managerial elite. Wild kitsch is left to the nouveau riche.
4. Brian Bernie
Bernie can be called the British construction oligarch.
Everything was going great for this millionaire until his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Then Bernie became involved in charity work.
He donated a significant part of his fortune to create a whole convoy of medical machines. These machines traveled through small villages in northern England and provided high-tech medical care to patients. Brian Bernie paid the doctors' salaries out of his own pocket.
With God's help, his wife recovered. To celebrate, Brian Bernie sold most of his property and gave the money to charity.
Now he lives on a small pension in a small apartment and drives a used car.
5. President of Uruguay
Jose Cordano is the president of Uruguay, but locals call him El Pepe. He donates 9/10ths of his presidential salary to charity, making him the poorest (or most generous) president in the world.
Jose earns 263,000 Uruguayan pesos (400,000 rubles) a month, and leaves only 26,300 pesos (40,000 rubles) for himself.
He lives in a rural farmhouse, without debt and without a bank account. José brings water for the household himself from a well in the yard. The largest purchase of his entire life was a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.
6. Boris Johnson
Boris is Mayor of London. He rides a bicycle to work, does not hesitate to go without a tie, and freely wears a sports jacket, backpack and bicycle helmet.
The official is one of the main and most consistent supporters of the development of cycling in the UK and advocates a healthy lifestyle.
7. Olaf Thon
The Norwegian billionaire lives quite modestly. He is married, but has no children. Therefore, he decided to donate all his wealth, calmly parting with $6,000,000,000: “I have a bike and skis, and I don’t eat much. So I think everything will be fine."
Olaf Thon decided to spend all his money on financing medical research so that it would benefit people, saying: “Anyway, I won’t be able to take it with me.”
Michael Bloomberg once served as mayor of New York (USA).
He is a very interesting person, even if you don't know that he is the 13th richest person in the world.
At the same time, the businessman does not stop riding the subway. And at his workplace he works in an ascetic environment: on ordinary office furniture there are traditional monitors, papers, charts, some trinkets and... a jar of peanut butter next to the keyboard.
9. Chuck Feeney
The founder of the famous Duty Free chain of stores, Chuck Feeney, lives very modestly.
Over the past 30 years, he has traveled all over the world, carefully getting rid of his acquired capital of $7.5 billion. Feeney spent his business income on charity.
His charitable foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, has invested $6.2 billion in education, science, health care and nursing homes around the world. By 2020, Chuck Feeney wants to spend all his capital on helping those in need.
10. Sergey Brin
Sergey is a legend in the computer business, co-founder and president of technology at Google.
A billionaire and one of the richest people in America, Sergei keeps a fairly modest lifestyle - he lives in a three-room apartment in San Francisco and drives a used Toyota Prius with an environmentally friendly hybrid engine.
His hobby is visiting Katya's Russian Tea Room in San Francisco and recommending borscht, pancakes and dumplings to guests of the establishment.
In contact with
We have collected a real dozen stories about how celebrities (even evil rockers) are people too. And kind ones. Especially when there is grief next to them.
Marilyn Manson
Many call him a pervert, many do not understand his style and music. And many don’t even know who he is. And this, by the way, is not just a legendary rock musician, but one of the kindest celebrities in the world. In 2000, he visited a teenager with terminal cancer. Moreover, Manson brought a bunch of memorabilia for the boy, and stayed with the child in his house for several hours. The guys chatted, played video games, played the guitar, and even read comics. And three weeks later the boy died. At the time of his death, he was wearing a Manson T-shirt.
Catch one of the best (according to the editors) Manson clips:
Metallica
This happened in 2009. 85-year-old American Margaret claimed that Metallica's hits saved her from cancer. The story created so much hype that even the members of the ensemble found out about it. The guys were not at a loss and invited Margaret to their concert (for which, by the way, tickets had long been sold out). Then, before the performance, they took the old lady backstage and chatted with her there. The final touch - James Hetfield (vocals, guitar) dedicated “Nothing Else Matters” to the lady.
Source: revoradio1041fm.net
Cristiano Ronaldo
In March 2014, a family wrote a letter to Cristiano Ronaldo asking for a pair of signed sneakers and a jersey. They needed these items to auction off and pay for their 10-month-old baby's surgery. The baby needed an operation to survive, and the cost of the operation was 66 thousand euros. Ronaldo sent them signed sneakers, a T-shirt and... a check for 83,000 euros.
Source: genius.com
Steve Buscemi
Before becoming a Hollywood star, Steve Buscemi worked as a firefighter in New York. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, Buscemi returned to the New York City Fire Department and worked 12-hour days for a week with other New York firefighters clearing the wreckage of the World Trade Center. Steve even refused an interview. He said that he did not do it for self-promotion.
Source: Pinterest
Colin Farrell
A true story from the life of an Irish actor. During the filming of the film “The Recruit” in Toronto, a local radio host announced a competition:
- will give $1000 to anyone who brings Colin to the radio station.
Colin was at first upset: they say this is a direct attack on his personal life. But then the actor did go to the studio, accompanied by a certain homeless man, Dave. Like, I decided to help the poor guy. Dave won his thousand, but he didn’t drink it away, but “got back to his feet.”
A few years later, Colin returned to Toronto, found Dave, and was convinced that his generous act had changed the homeless man’s life. And even for the better.
Source: screenweek.it
Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise came out of the situation gracefully and generously in 1996. He witnessed an accident in which a driver hit a girl and fled. The actor did not go home, but stopped, called an ambulance, and was with the victim until the rescuers arrived. Then it wasn’t enough for Cruz and he went to the hospital to get the carriage. Like, he wanted to make sure that the young lady was okay. And when he found out that the girl did not have insurance, he paid her $7,000 hospital bill.
Source: stereogum.com
Keanu Reeves
When it came to splitting the money for the second and third Matrix films, Keanu decided to give part of his profits to the team that worked on the special effects and costumes. I thought they deserved it. Bottom line: Reeves “donated” $75 million. The actor doesn’t regret it one bit.
You may have already known about someone’s kindness, and someone may open up to you from a completely new side:
Keanu Reeves
In recent years, the fact has come to light that Reeves doesn't worry much about money. In fact, he went so far as to give $80 million of his Matrix royalties to the special effects team and costume designers who worked on the trilogy. He explained his action by saying that he believes that the success of the film series is due to these people, and not to him.
Dean Kootz 
A fan wrote to Koontz about how his friend didn't like Koontz's work and asked for a postcard that would essentially send his friend to hell in a spiteful manner. Instead, he received a witty card for his friend.
Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry has touched not just one life, but countless others with his openness about his mental health struggles. Although many see such problems as a stigma that harms their careers, Fry speaks openly about his problems and has become president of the mental health charity Reason, which raises public awareness of mental illness and is a voice for those suffering from it.
Russell Brand
Brand talked about how he knows what it's like to be at the bottom of his life as a former alcoholic and heroin addict, which is why he spends time with homeless people in his area. He has been photographed and spotted countless times with homeless people - taking them to breakfast and helping them in every possible way.
Will.i.am
Will.i.am recently donated his entire salary from The Voice (around $750,000) to The Prince's Foundation, a charity dedicated to providing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) education to disadvantaged children in the UK. He hopes for the same success that the program has had in his hometown, Los Angeles County, which now has a state-of-the-art STEM center.
Woody Harrelson
While attending a great party in New York, Woody was approached by a homeless woman looking for alms. Instead of turning her down, Woody decided to give the woman $600. According to the Daily News, when the woman recognized the actor, she said, “Thanks Woody! White people can still jump!”
John Cena 
This athlete has fulfilled the most wishes for the Make Your Dream charity foundation - he has 400 wishes (100 of which were fulfilled from June 2013 to February 2014).
Ryan Gosling
A British journalist was rescued by an actor when she almost walked onto the road in front of a taxi in New York. She tweeted about the incident, saying she was looking the other way as a lifelong Londoner when Gosling grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto the pavement.
Mila Kunis
When a man who worked in her house collapsed on the floor from an attack, Mila came to his aid. After she supported him until the ambulance arrived, Mila even offered to go with him to the hospital to make sure he was safe.
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga is known for the fact that she uses her popularity to promote self-belief, despite how different we are from others. After she heard that one of her fans committed suicide because he was teased about his sexuality, she dedicated her concert to him and had his photo on the screens everywhere - it was an act of unity with fan and other people from all over the world suffering in similar situations.
T.I.
This rapper gave up everything to convince a man not to commit suicide. The police tried to reason with the man to come down from the parapet. He considered it necessary to help, telling the man that everything would be fine and that not everything in the world was as bad as it seemed.
Angelina Jolie 
Jolie remains a great philanthropist even after years of success and incredible popularity. She even decided to make In the Land of Blood and Honey as her directorial debut, a film telling the story of women who were subjected to mass rape during the Bosnian war. This choice was clearly not made with the aim of becoming famous, since it was filmed and written in Bosnian.
Zoe Saldana
After witnessing a car accident in Culver City, California, Zoe came to the aid of an elderly woman involved in the collision. Witnesses said Saldana immediately called 911 and, while speaking with a representative, helped the injured woman out of the car, and even while they were waiting for an ambulance, she made sure the woman was given a bag from the car.
Zach Galifinakis
Zach saved a homeless woman. Mimi, a woman Zach knew from the local laundromat long before he became famous, found herself on the street. As soon as Zach found out about this, he offered to pay the apartment rent for her. He even took her with him to the premiere of the film Bachelor Party: Part III.
Patrick Dempsey
According to TMZ, the teenager lost control of his Mustang, and after the car flipped several times, it finally stopped in front of the actor's house. Dempsey ran outside to help the young driver and used a crowbar to free the teenager from the car, after which he called emergency services.
Johnny Depp
After 9-year-old Beatrice asked Depp to help her rebel against teachers, the actor came to a London school for precisely this purpose.
Tyler Perry
After hearing that a woman suffering from cerebral palsy had her customized 2000 Chrysler Town & Country stolen from her home in Georgia, director Perry offered to give her another van.
Gary Sinese
Since playing the role of Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump, Sinise has been committed to helping disabled veterans and their families. He recently took 50 war-wounded soldiers on an all-expenses-paid trip to Disneyland in California.
Tom Cruise
One day, while he was relaxing on his yacht, Cruise saw a sinking, burning sailboat. Instead of waiting for someone to save them, Tom himself swam to the sailboat and helped the victims escape.
It is unlikely that anyone will argue that faith, hope and love are the basis of human life. Even the most hardened and degraded criminal has at least one of these feelings alive somewhere in the depths of his soul: hope. For forgiveness, for a better life, for pardon, for reconciliation with oneself and God. And there, you see, it’s not far from faith and love.
Sofia is a special matter. Wisdom is not easy to come by, and not everyone needs it; many find it much easier without this burdensome phenomenon. However, in the history of real women, martyrs of Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia, this connection cannot be broken; these saints are always together.
Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia. Icon from Vatopedi Monastery
Their life is a story that is accepted with incredible difficulty by consciousness. And the point is not at all that our time somehow overvalues human life? or is too skeptical about such a phenomenon as the Christian faith, or puts more material than spiritual values at the forefront. No, the description of such a short, but such a bright life of three holy girls chills the blood precisely with this combination: a life short in duration and bright in content. Only now the content was martyrdom, with the sophisticated imagination of the torturers and the immeasurable, inconceivable human understanding and courage of the mother...
In the 2nd century AD, from 117 to 138, Emperor Hadrian ruled Rome, known not only for his state services, but also for the fact that his lover was the young man Antinous, who drowned in the Nile River and was not only deified by Hadrian, but became the last god of the departing ancient pantheon. It was to this emperor that a denunciation arrived from the Italian governor Antiochus that the pious widow Sophia from Milan professed the Christian faith and was raising her three daughters according to Christian commandments. The emperor was angry and summoned the family to Rome, making little secret of the final purpose of their journey.
Mother and daughters arrived at their destination - and all three girls, despite the fact that the youngest of them, Lyubov, was only 9 years old, and the eldest, Vera, had reached the age of 12, understood perfectly well where they had arrived and what awaited them . At first, Emperor Hadrian was quite kind and simply invited the arriving family to bow and pay homage to the goddess of the hunt, Artemis, dear to his heart. After a decisive refusal on the part of Sophia and her daughters, he offered rich gifts in exchange for this worship, but this did not bring success - however, it must be said, the emperor did not particularly count on consent. An attempt was made to separate the children from the mother and her influence - Faith, Hope and Love, on the orders of Adrian, were sent to a noble and famous pagan woman, who tried to persuade the girls to renounce Christ, either by persuasion, or caresses, or threats, or even religious disputes . Everything was unsuccessful: the young women firmly stood their ground, their faith was deep and sincere and did not depend on whether their mother was next to them or not.
The pagan woman lowered her hands, and the girls again appeared before Adrian. Threats were used, but Faith, Hope and Love were adamant in their faith. Realizing that words could achieve nothing, the emperor gave the order that the three girls be brutally tortured in front of their mother. They were burned on a hot grate, lowered into a vat of boiling resin, thrown into a fiery furnace, but all was in vain: the holy girls remained firm in their faith, and the Lord helped them to remain steadfast and miraculously preserved them from death. The perverted fantasy of the torturers extended far - for example, the youngest of the sisters, 9-year-old Lyubov, was tied to a wheel and beaten with sticks until her body became one continuous bloody wound. The mother was forced to watch her daughters suffer, but from her lips only words of support and praise to the Lord were heard. Before Sophia’s eyes, the torturers, tired of their fruitless efforts, beheaded the young women, but the mother’s spiritual joy was incomparable: she understood that her daughters had been awarded the crown of martyrdom and the Kingdom of God.
Emperor Hadrian understood perfectly well that a mother’s heart still suffers, even with the strongest heavenly joy. To prolong the torment of the persistent woman, he ordered his servants to give her the bodies of her daughters, so that she herself would take care of their burial. The suffering Sophia loaded her dead girls into the ark and went with her mournful burden out of the city, where she buried the holy bodies on a hill. After that, she spent two days next to their graves, grieving, rejoicing and praying to the Lord. On the third day He accepted her soul too.
The Church canonized the martyred girls as saints, glorifying their suffering mother along with them on the same day. Since 777, the relics of all four have been kept in the Alsatian church of Escho.
Modern realities change too much in the value system. Signs of the times are very ardent feminism and, most often, unreasonable juvenile justice - something that has no place in this terrible, sometimes cruel, but happy for every understanding Christian history of faith, hope and love - that is, wisdom.
The most terrible, the most godless time did not abandon these three virtues. Yes, faith in God could be replaced by faith in the ruler, love could be given some macabre colors at times, and hope could be placed on a pedestal of such heights that it seemed to replace the two previous feelings. But even the most perverted consciousness understands that faith, hope and love are integral aspirations, needs and abilities of a person - and it is not even so important whether he believes in the presence of a soul or only in the triumph of reason. After all, these are the main virtues. 
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“Rus' is not without good people!” Russian people can easily be considered one of the most responsive peoples in the world. On the pages of history you can find many characters who throughout their lives tried to make the world a little better. Among them are doctors, military men, nobles, and even royalty.
The opening of universities, specialized printing houses and schools, helping orphans, the hungry and the homeless is not a complete list of the good deeds of these people, which will be discussed in our material.
During his lifetime, Fyodor Rtishchev, a close friend and adviser to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, received the nickname “gracious husband.” Klyuchevsky wrote that Rtishchev fulfilled only part of the commandment of Christ - he loved his neighbor, but not himself.
He was one of that rare breed of people who put the interests of others above their own “wants.” It was on the initiative of the “bright man” that the first shelters for beggars appeared not only in Moscow, but also beyond its borders. It was common for Rtishchev to pick up a drunk on the street and take him to a temporary shelter he organized - an analogue of a modern sobering-up station.
How many were saved from death and did not freeze to death on the street, one can only guess. In 1671, Fyodor Mikhailovich sent grain convoys to starving Vologda, and then money raised from the sale of personal property. And when I learned about the need of the Arzamas residents for additional lands, he simply donated his own.
During the Russian-Polish War, he carried out not only his compatriots, but also Poles from the battlefield. He hired doctors, rented houses, bought food and clothing for the wounded and prisoners, again at his own expense. After Rtishchev’s death, his “Life” appeared - a unique case of demonstrating the holiness of a layman, and not a monk.
The second wife of Paul I, Maria Fedorovna, was famous for her excellent health and tirelessness. Starting the morning with cold douches, prayer and strong coffee, the Empress devoted the rest of the day to taking care of her countless pupils.
She knew how to convince moneybags to donate money for the construction of educational institutions for noble maidens in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Simbirsk and Kharkov.
With her direct participation, the largest charitable organization was created - the Imperial Humane Society, which existed until the beginning of the 20th century. Having 9 children of her own, she especially cared for abandoned babies: the sick were cared for in orphanages, the strong and healthy were cared for in trustworthy peasant families. This approach has significantly reduced child mortality.
With all the scale of her activities, Maria Feodorovna also paid attention to the little things that were not necessary for life. Thus, in the Obukhov psychiatric hospital in St. Petersburg, each patient received his own kindergarten. Her will contains the following lines: “Give life to Your Spirit through meekness, love and mercy. Be helpers and benefactors to the suffering and the poor.”
A descendant of the Rurikovichs, Prince Vladimir Odoevsky, was convinced that the thought he sowed would certainly “come up tomorrow” or “in a thousand years.” A close friend of Griboyedov and Pushkin, the writer and philosopher Odoevsky was an active supporter of the abolition of serfdom, worked to the detriment of his own interests for the Decembrists and their families, and tirelessly intervened in the fate of the most disadvantaged.
He was ready to rush to the aid of anyone who turned to him and saw in everyone a “living string” that could be made to sound for the benefit of the cause. The St. Petersburg Society for Visiting the Poor, which he organized, helped 15 thousand needy families. There was a women's workshop, a children's shelter with a school, a hospital, hostels for the elderly and families, and a social store.
Despite his origin and connections, Odoevsky did not seek to occupy an important post, believing that in a “minor position” he could bring “real benefit.” The “Strange Scientist” tried to help young inventors realize their ideas. The main character traits of the prince, according to contemporaries, were humanity and virtue.
An innate sense of justice distinguished the grandson of Paul I from most of his colleagues. He not only served in the Preobrazhensky Regiment during the reign of Nicholas I, but also equipped the first school in the history of the country at his place of service, in which soldiers’ children were educated.
Later, this successful experience was applied to other regiments. In 1834, the prince witnessed the public punishment of a woman who was driven through a line of soldiers, after which he petitioned for dismissal, saying that he would never be able to carry out such orders. Pyotr Georgievich devoted the rest of his life to charity. He was a trustee and honorary member of many institutions and societies, including the Kyiv Home for the Poor.
Retired second lieutenant Sergei Skirmunt is almost unknown to the general public. He did not hold high positions and failed to become famous for his good deeds, but he was able to build socialism on a single estate.
At the age of 30, when Sergei Apollonovich was painfully pondering his future fate, 2.5 million rubles fell on him from a deceased distant relative. The inheritance was not spent on carousing or lost at cards. One part of it became the basis for donations to the Society for the Promotion of Public Public Entertainment, the founder of which was Skirmunt himself. With the rest of the money, the millionaire built a hospital and a school on the estate, and all his peasants were able to move to new huts.
The whole life of this amazing woman was devoted to educational and pedagogical work. She was an active participant in various charitable societies, helped during the famine in the Samara and Ufa provinces, and on her initiative the first public reading room was opened in the Sterlitamak district.
But her main efforts were aimed at changing the situation of people with disabilities. For 45 years, she did everything to ensure that blind people had the opportunity to become full-fledged members of society.
She was able to find the means and strength to open the first specialized printing house in Russia, where in 1885 the first edition of the “Collection of Articles for Children’s Reading, published and dedicated to blind children by Anna Adler” was published.
To produce the book in Braille, she worked seven days a week until late at night, personally typing and proofreading page after page. Later, Anna Alexandrovna translated the musical notation system, and blind children were able to learn to play musical instruments.
With her active assistance, a few years later the first group of blind students graduated from the St. Petersburg School for the Blind, and a year later - from the Moscow School.
Literacy and vocational training helped graduates find jobs, changing the stereotype of their incapacity. Anna Adler just barely lived to see the opening of the First Congress of the All-Russian Society of the Blind.
The entire life of the famous Russian surgeon is a series of brilliant discoveries, the practical use of which saved more than one life. The men considered him a wizard who attracted higher powers for his “miracles.”
He was the first in the world to use surgery in the field, and his decision to use anesthesia saved not only his patients from suffering, but also those who lay on the tables of his students later. Through his efforts, the splints were replaced with bandages soaked in starch.
He was the first to use the method of sorting the wounded into those who were seriously injured and those who would make it to the rear. This reduced the mortality rate significantly. Before Pirogov, even a minor wound to the arm or leg could result in amputation. He personally carried out operations and tirelessly ensured that the soldiers were provided with everything they needed: warm blankets, food, water.
According to legend, it was Pirogov who taught Russian academics to perform plastic surgery, demonstrating the successful experience of implanting a new nose on the face of his barber, whom he helped get rid of deformity. Being an excellent teacher, about whom all the students spoke with warmth and gratitude, he believed that the main task of education is to teach to be human.
