Celebrity Foundations Piss Me Off

I was watching TV earlier when I realized celebrity foundations piss me off. You can thank Michael J. Fox for this revelation.

I am sure most of us know he suffers from Parkinson’s. Many of us know he now has his own organization.

And that is what pisses me off. Why the hell should we support this foundation – or any other started by a celebrity - after they or someone close to them contracts a disease?

In Fox’s case, as with breast cancer, spinal injury, diabetes, and a host of other diseases, there are a number of existing organizations. The National Parkinson Foundation (http://www.parkinson.org/Page.aspx?pid=201) has been around since 1957.

Why does Fox need his own? Does it somehow improve on the efforts of existing organizations? Wouldn’t throwing his support behind then do as much or more good than starting his own? Does he receive some income form it or does it just feed his ego?

There are a few exceptions to this. Celebrities who have worked for others for years, given their time and effort, used their face and power to help others with no personal connection. Jerry Lewis comes to mind. Although he has suffered from prostate cancer, diabetes, and pulmonary fibrosis, he is best known for his work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) telethons. (Some great video clips from past telethons on the web site: href=http://www.mda.org/telethon/ )

I suggest when we see some celebrity starting a foundation we ask ourselves if they wouldn’t do more good by throwing their support behind others already doing the work. Then we find those existing foundations and support them.