Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: Alicia Keys and Ludacris Give Back to Philippines Typhoon Refugees

In response to the devastation of Typhoon Hayian that hit the Philippines earlier this month Alicia Keys and Ludacris are using their celebrity to give back. The Grammy award winning singer distributed coloring books and crayons to children at the Villamor Air Base. Keys who was in town for a concert, visited with the evacuees for an half hour. Keys explained to the local media,

Music has a way of lifting your spirit and that’s what I hope to do for the Filipino people.

She also tweeted,

I’m so grateful I was able to come to the Philippines and spend some time with some of the most resilient, beautiful spirits I’ve ever met. Today was next level. Thank you for your inspiration!

Ludacris also stepped up in a major way. The rapper and actor donated $50,000 to help the Typhoon victims. In a statement he urged others to give also explaining,

If we can give what we are able to help the families who have been devastated by this tragedy, we can all make a difference. You don’t need to be an entertainer to help. You just need a mobile phone. The world is made up of many voices, but we are one community. By making a text donation, we are a community of action, helping our fellow world citizens in their time of need. Suffering knows no borders. Our charity and compassion can stretch across the sea. It’s simple — you use your cell phone every day. If you can, use it today to make a $10 donation to help the people of the Philippines now when they need it most.

The donation will reach the victims with the help of The mGive Foundation, an organization that distributes money to five nonprofits including the United Nation’s World Food Programme. [AP, USA Today]

-@lipstickheelstv