Ben Affleck Joins Facebook To Teach Philanthropy Lesson
Ben Affleck heard 2012 calling and decided to answer by joining Facebook. But the "Good Will Hunting" star isn't looking to promote his on-screen gigs -- he's more interested in sharing his philanthropic work with the social networking community.
By setting up his page, (he went straight for Timeline), Affleck hopes to let the world in on the causes that are most dear to him. One of those causes is helping out those in need in the Congo.
"Looking forward to bringing some awareness to what's happening in the Congo today," Affleck wrote on his Facebook page, "and sharing stories of the extraordinary people I've met along the way."
The actor recently told People that it was his kids, Violet, 6, and Seraphina, 3, who inspired him to bring good into the world.
"I got to a point in my life where I felt like I had been very fortunate," Affleck told the news source, "and I wanted to do something more with my life than just make movies and try to make money. I wanted to do something that was important to me in other ways and would serve as an example to my kids."
Affleck has campaigned Congress on behalf of the Eastern Congo Initiative, a U.S. based advocacy and grant-making agency that works to meet needs specific to Eastern Congo.
Before ECI was founded, Affleck served as a correspondent for "Nightline" , and in 2009, when ECI was established, he wrote a piece for TIME , outlining the many layers of corruption, hunger, and poverty that exist in the region.
"The nation most in need of investment gets the least by the cruel logic that it is the most broken," Affleck wrote, "It is a self-fulfilling prophecy that ultimately fosters indifference in the guise of wisdom. That should not be the case in Congo."
To donate to Eastern Congo Initiative, click here. Or, to fund projects being started in Congo, click here.
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First Posted: 02/25/2012 11:41 am Updated: 02/26/2012 11:46 am