The Hanson brothers made headlines recently after they announced that they would be hosting a walk in order to raise money for charities, including foundations that benefit organizations in Africa. The mile-long walk will take place in Oakdale, Connecticut, prior to a concert, and is just one out of 165 “Take the Walk” fundraisers that brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zachary, have hosted over the years, the New Haven Advocate reports.

“Together we can realize our potential to impact the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves, creating partnership for the future and facing today’s greatest challenges, one action at a time,” Take the Walk’s website states. “The real difference happens when you begin, when you decide to move from awareness to action.”

The Hanson brothers made other headlines recently when they downplayed comparisons to teen heartthrob Justin Bieber. In an interview with the Baltimore son, Zac said that his band differed from the mop-topped singer.

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The positive pop-rocker has supported charities including the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Musicares, Project Clean Water, the True Colors Fund and the Save the Music Foundation, to name only a few.

Earlier this year, the charitable arm of the Surf Industry Manufacturer’s Association honored the laid-back rocker as its Humanitarian of the Year for his work with dozens of surf-related nonprofits, including Life Rolls On and Surfer’s Healing. Accepting the award, Mraz took with him his guitar and a couple of concert tickets – and proceeded to auction them off for charity.

The singer, who has two Grammys, also made headlines for attending the 2010 ceremony in an “eco tux” designed by British designer Simon Carter and made from recycled water bottles, which he paired with a tie made from old cassette tapes. And it isn’t just Mraz’s fashion that is green – the singer’s house runs entirely on solar power and the trips he made for his recent tour were fueled mainly by biodiesel.

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Also known for her philanthropic work, Shakira was given the honor as a guest at the University of Oxford on December 7, 2009. There she discussed about her work with children and education. She was chosen to speak by the Oxford Union and joined the ranks of several US Presidents and several cultural symbols such as Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama XIV. Shakira expressed her intent to show the youth of 2060 to see the nation advocating global peace not by sending 30,000 soldiers, but sending 30,000 educators to Afghanistan.

In March 2010, she was given a medal by the United Nations’ International Labor Organization in appreciation of being an ambassador for children and young people, for quality education and social justice as UN Labor Chief Juan Somavia put it.

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Aside from music, Alicia Keys is also a renowned philanthropist, serving as the co-founder and Global Ambassador of Keep a Child Alive, a non-profit organization that provides medicine to families with HIV and AIDS in Africa.

In 2005, Keys and U2 frontman Bono played a cover version of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush’s “Don’t Give Up”, in acknowledgment of World AIDS Day of that year. Their version of the song was later changed to “Don’t Give Up (Africa)” to mirror the nature of the charity it was aiding.

She also visited African nations such as Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda to support care for children affected by AIDS. The activity was documented in the Alicia in Africa: Journey to the Motherland video documentary.

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Aside from focusing on her musical career, Sarah McLachlan also helped other female musicians pursue a career in the music industry by creating the Lilith Fair tour. These concert tours took place from 1997 to 1999. As a testament to its success, the Lilith Fair is touring once again. Tours are scheduled from June to August 2010.

In addition to the Lilith Fair concert tours, Sarah McLachlan has also been involved in several other philanthropic causes. In 2005, she became part of a star-studded tsunami disaster relief telethon, which was aired on NBC. Aside from this, Sarah McLachlan was also one of the Canadian artists and musicians who became part of a benefit concert in Vancouver, the One World: The Concert for Tsunami Relief benefit show.

Sarah McLachlan is also a supporter of the animal welfare and ASPCA. As a supporter, she filmed an advertisement for the organization and helped raised about $30 million for the ASPCA.

The singer’s philanthropic passion is also evident in the Sarah McLachlan Foundation, which is actively involved in coming up with music outreach programs for the inner-city youth of Vancouver.

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Aside from being an artist and actress, Dolly Parton is also a philanthropist. In fact, she instituted the Dollywood Foundation as her base for charity programs. The foundation was set up in 1996 and has a record of allocating over 2.5 million free books to children every year. In 2006, her cookbook-Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s: Love, Laughter and Lots of Good Food-was published. Its net profits were allocated to the foundation.

Dollywood is known for creating jobs and tax revenues to a region that used to be depressed.

Dolly Parton has also raised funds in behalf of a number of other humanitarian issues and causes that include several HIV/AIDS-related charities and the American Red Cross. In May 2009, Dolly Parton delivered the commencement address for graduates of the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Onstage, she imparted her life lessons and encouraged the graduates to keep dreaming.

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After garnering prestigious awards in music and theatre, she ventured in moviemaking, setting up her own production company, Barwood Films in 1972. The company’s first movie, Up The Sandbox, highlighted the growing women’s movement and jumpstarted Barbara Streisand’s career not only as a serious moviemaker but an advocate of political activism. She later produced more movies that dealt with various political issues of personal significance to her.

The Rodney King riots impressed upon Streisand deeply, strengthening her conviction to do her part in addressing the problem of violence among youth in under-served communities across America. Acting on her personal belief that this violence is an unfortunate but understandable reaction to economic hardships and social injustice, she established the Streisand Foundation in 1993 initially to help disadvantage youth.

Since then, the scope of the Streisand Foundation’s advocacy has broadened. It has contributed over $16 million dollars to national nonprofit organizations advocating women’s issues, civil rights, race relations, civil liberties, gay rights, voter education, nuclear disarmament, gun control, poverty, and AIDS.

A long-time advocate of women’s health, Streisand donated $5 million dollars to the Cedars-Sinai Women Center in support of women’s cardiovascular research.

Barbara Streisand is also sympathetic to environmental causes. In support of the global climatic change initiatives of former US President Bill Clinton, she donated $1 million dollars to the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation.

In recognition of her contributions to philanthropic work, ABC News proclaimed her as the third most generous celebrity among the biggest philanthropists convened by the Giving Back Fund. She was also inducted as an Honoree of the Kennedy Center.

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As a rock star, his music with U2 has earned him legions of devoted fans across the world. Right from his early months with U2, Bono refined a reputation for being able to connect with fans on several levels during the band’s performances. Bono is also humanitarian and crusader for the world’s poor. Bono’s rare ability to effectively straddle the spheres of both entertainment and politics remains rivaled by few in the realm of popular culture.

Bono is the co-founder of organizations such as DATA and the ONE Campaign. In early 2005, Bono, his wife Ali Hewson, and New York-based Irish fashion designer Rogan Gregory launched the socially conscious line EDUN in an attempt to shift the focus in Africa from aid to trade.

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Elton John has earned a reputation as a philanthropist – having used his wealth and popularity for good causes, making him in fact one of Britain’s most generous individuals.

He has been active in AIDS charities following the deaths of some of his closest friends, Ryan White and Freddie Mercury. He collaborated with various artists such as Stevie Wonder and Dionne Warwick to record singles for the benefit of the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Together with close friends, he has performed in outdoor concerts to generate funds for AIDS awareness. He has also auctioned some of his artwork, cars and wardrobe to increase funding for the foundations he supports.

Later, he established the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) in the United States in 1992 and in the United Kingdom in 1993 to expand his initiatives. It has become one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations and a top grant-maker for HIV/AIDS advocacy, raising over $150 million to support significant programs in 55 countries worldwide. EJAF derives support for its work mainly through proceeds from special fundraisers, cause-related marketing projects and donations from individuals, corporations and foundations.

EJAF’s thrusts are on eradicating the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS through education and advocacy, prevention programs, political lobbying and direct services to include treatment, testing, counseling, social services, food distribution, and legal services.

Elton John has become one of the most visible and outspoken AIDS activists in the world, testifying before Senate hearings, appearing at press conferences, writing editorials, and delivering speeches before political bodies. For his passionate and steadfast commitment to AIDS awareness and prevention, Elton John was given the CARE International Humanitarian Award in 1997.

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Britney Spears launched one of the most successful and influential careers in the record industry, boasting of 32 million sold albums in the US and an estimated 83 million record sales worldwide. Britney Spears believes in giving this success back to people in need, especially children.

She started the Britney Spears Charitable Foundation, Promises Foundation and became part of The Giving Back Fund’s family of charities. She believes that children can make their dreams come true while they are young. She donated profits from her Dream Within a Dream tour to fund the construction of a performing arts summer camp for underprivileged kids in Massachusetts. From those proceeds, she also donated $1.00 for every ticket sold to help children of the New York police officers and firefighters killed during the rescue of the victims of 9/11.

Britney Spears has become a spokesperson for efforts that help create awareness for funding organizations that help seriously sick children. One of these organizations is the Starlight Children’s Foundation, a group that provides funding for in-hospital and outpatient services. She gives her time by visiting many sick children who are battling serious illnesses like cancer.

She also donates personal items to various auctions like the NASCAR Driver Auction and a $50,000 donation to Gilda’s Club Worldwide, a cancer support network throughout North America.

Britney finds fulfillment in helping others and believes that by giving back to her fans, and to the communities, she will give meaning not only to her own life, but to others as well.

Britney Jean Spears was raised in Kentwood, Louisiana and is listed by the Guinness World Records as having the “Best-selling album by a teenage solo artist” for the album Baby One More Time; her debut album that sold over thirteen million copies in the United States alone.

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