Shakira And Gerard Pique Pose Semi-Nude To Help Raise Money For UNICEF (PHOTOS)

Shakira and soccer player Gerard Piqué have shared a new photo, this time posing before the camera semi-nude to show off her pregnancy (and of course, his beefed up chest). The occasion? The celebrity couple invites everyone to participate in a very special baby shower created by UNICEF.

“The countdown begins! And we'd like to invite you to participate in our world baby shower joining efforts with UNICEF. http://uni.cf/baby,” said Shakira through her social networks.

The photo, which was taken just days before the highly anticipated birth of Shakira and Piqué’s first child,aims to raise funds for UNICEF, a United Nations program that helps children worldwide and for which the singer has served as an ambassador for many years.

According to the organization, at the baby shower, gifts are provided as small donations of $5, $10, $37, $50 and $110, to help buying mosquito nets to prevent children from contracting malaria, vaccines to protect kids from polio infections, baby-weighing scale to monitor their growth, oral rehydration salts and therapeutic food.

For Shakira, children and education have always been a priority. She founded the "Pies Descalzos" organization that has opened hundreds of schools and education centers in her native country, Colombia. The artist has also used her celebrity status in the past to meet with political leaders like President Barack Obama and advocate for Latino children in the United States, especially for those who are part of undocumented families.

Shakira is expected to become a mother in the next couple of days, and his son, who is already known to be male, will be born in Barcelona, Spain.