From Meryl Streep to Chance the Rapper, from Flea to Taylor Swift, these celebs are giving back to art programs and young students around the country.

• Andra Day

  Share

  Andra Day volunteers in her home city of Chicago with the Urban Arts Partnership. "I am a product of arts education and of teachers in a community who believed in students who loved the arts," Day recently told CBS News.

• Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers

  Share

  Flea co-founded the Silverlake Conservatory of Music in 2001. Cutbacks in arts education programming throughout Los Angeles public schools prompted Flea to co-found the school, in an effort to fill the void and bring music to the community. Offering reasonably priced lessons for all and scholarships to students whose families could not otherwise afford lessons, the conservatory expanded to include ensemble classes, summer camps and workshops.

• Chance the Rapper

  Share

  Grammy-winning artist Chance the Rapper recently donated $1M to improve Chicago schools and offer kids a better learning experience.
• Alfre Woodard

  Share

  Alfre Woodard has advocated for kids art programs all the way to elected officials in Washington. She is part of a Presidential Committee on Arts and Humanities and has worked with students to turn around underachieving schools through the arts.

• Justin Timberlake

  Share

  Timberlake started the Justin Timberlake Foundation back in 2001 to help bring music programs to schools, which he sees as a vital part of education. He has also donated six-figure gifts to the Memphis Music Foundation in his hometown.

• Steven Van Zandt

  Share

  Steven Van Zandt’s TeachRock project brings multimedia educational materials to teachers and students everywhere, and they do it at no cost. The lesson plan collections and resources at teachrock.org help teachers engage students by connecting the history of popular music to classroom work across the disciplines. From social studies and language arts to geography, media studies, science, general music, and more. Van Zandt also lets teachers come to his solo shows for free. Doors open early to teachers at 5:15 for snacks and networking, the workshops run from 6-7, before the doors open to the public.
• Taylor Swift

  Share

  Taylor Swift gave a whopping $4M donation to the new education center at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville back in 2012.She has also donated thousands to the music departments of various colleges around the country.

• Meryl Streep

  Share

  Streep has a charity called Silver Mountain Foundation for the Arts, which provides various arts education grants to colleges around the country. According to Inside Philanthropy, these include Streep's alma mater of Vassar College, as well as Indiana University and Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, NY

• James Franco

  Share

  Franco reportedly volunteers and contributes to several arts charities, working with kids via The Art of Elysium and 826 National.
• Rosie Perez

  Share

  Rosie Perez is reportedly one of the most philanthropic celebs when it comes to arts and education. For the last 25 years, she has worked tirelessly with her foundation, Urban Arts Partnership, which provides after school art-based programs to several low-income New York and Los Angeles communities, CBS News reports.

• Mase

  Share

  Former rapper Mase has noted how much the arts impacted him in his life, and has been working in Atlanta to support them. Just last week, he surprised the graduates of the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta with a surprise performance. "I'm expecting great things out of all of you, and I'm just proud to be able to be a part of this moment in your journey," Rolling Out quoted him as saying.

• Big Boi

  Share

  Along with Mase, Big Boi also celebrated the 2019 graduates of the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. He has been a proponent of kids using their talents as artists to improve their lives. "Everyone knows Big loves the kids. This is the work I love to do, inspiring these kids and letting them know they can do anything they dream," he said.

Sign me up to for the BENefits Club email newsletter!

Make sure that you’re a member of one of Philadelphia’s most fun groups: The 95.7 BEN-efits Club to get concert and contest info, local and music news, and so much more straight to your inbox!

First Name *

Last Name

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.