Kylie Jenner, Kelly Clarkson and More Celebs Who Are Giving Back This Holiday Season
Celebs are feeling the holiday spirit.
Taking a break from fulfilling their own families’ Christmas wish lists, these stars set aside time and resources to make sure complete strangers have just as wonderful holiday seasons. Whether they were making sure no one went hungry in their communities or setting up magical experiences for those most in need, the 10 do-gooders below have left us with leaky eyes this month.
Cardi B
The rapper was spotted at a local Miami Target on Dec. 20, where TMZ reports she stocked up on thousands of dollars in gifts for children — everything from dollhouses to sports sets and more. The holiday haul — reportedly valued at $5,000 — was then loaded into a rented moving truck before heading off to be delivered to lucky recipients.
A rep for Cardi B didn’t immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment, but the “Press” singer’s past generosity is well-documented. Last year, the rapper visited the Gravesend neighborhood in Brooklyn to donate free winter coats to families in need. Although she was raised in the Bronx, Brooklyn has special meaning for Cardi — it’s where she shot her videos for “Red Barz” and “Pull Up on Me.”
Kylie Jenner
The beauty mogul billionaire was joined by mom Kris Jenner on a trip to the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission, where they passed out food and toys from the Kylie truck and posed for photos. “I had so much fun. I had such a great time meeting all those people and just seeing everybody so happy as we left made the rest of my year,” Jenner said in the vlog documenting their trip.
Michael B. Jordan and Ellen DeGeneres
In a preview of DeGeneres‘ holiday special Ellen’s Greatest Night of Giveaways on The Ellen Degeneres Show, the Just Mercy star made a surprise visit to the Educational Gilmore Community Learning Center, a New Jersey organization that aids at-risk youth. Founder Frank Gilmore was left in happy tears when the actor announced DeGeneres would be covering his rent for two years, giving him $50,000 cash toward improving the program and gifting it a Mercedes van.
“This is a huge burden lifted off my shoulders,” Gilmore said. “I was just so emotional. That was my first time crying in front of any one of my mentees. I couldn’t believe that this was happening to me.”
Gary Sinise
The Forrest Gump actor’s nonprofit, the Gary Sinise Foundation, and American Airlines treated about 1,000 children of fallen military members to an all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World earlier this month. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of these families,” Sinise told WKMG about the event. “I love them and I want to just do something to help them through.”
“The important ingredient is that these kids meet each other and they know they’re not alone. They make friendships that last a lifetime,” he added.
LeBron James
The NBA star has a tradition of treating students at his I Promise School to a magical trip on the Polar Express.
Last year, James opened the I Promise School through his Lebron James Family Foundation as an addition to the Akron Public Schools in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. The institution serves at-risk children and their parents, and provides free meals and bikes to students.
Kevin Hart and Kelly Clarkson
On The Kelly Clarkson Show, a single mother named Andrea told her story of sharing a house with 10 other people while raising her two sons and pursuing a nursing degree. The celebs surprised the mom with a scholarship to cover her tuition, presents for her boys, and a fully furnished apartment for her to move into courtesy of Xfinity.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos
The husband and wife duo joined Amazon in hosting a holiday party for New York City-based charity Win NYC, which provides shelter and housing for homeless families, in delivering items from the organization’s AmazonSmile Charity List.
“We’ve really been very fortunate in our lives, our kids are healthy and our parents are relatively healthy and, so we’ve been blessed beyond, beyond. So to be able to be involved with an organization like this and give a little something back means everything to us because we’ve already been blessed beyond our wildest dreams,” Ripa told PEOPLE about their involvement.
Nick Cannon
Cannon dressed up as Santa Claus at the second annual L.A. Give Back presented by the Zen, Power 106, Nick Cannon Mornings & Variety BGC in Los Angeles on Dec. 21.
DJ Khaled & Meek Mill
The hip hop stars hosted a shopping spree with support from REFORM Alliance for children at the NBA Store in N.Y.C. in late December, helping kids buy sports apparel. Later, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft arranged to fly the families to Gillette Stadium on the Patriots’ charter plane to watch the team take on the Buffalo Bills.
Jesse McCartney
The singer visited Minneapolis’s Masonic Children’s Hospital to perform for patients and give them Love Your Melon beanies. There, he gave a special serenade to a patient who had just undergone heart surgery. “This is Julia. We met in the elevator at The Masonic Children’s Hospital just two days after her open-heart surgery,” McCartney wrote on Instagram. “These are my favorite venues. The ones that make a difference. Mom’s reaction makes it all worth it!”
Ally Brooke, Emma Roberts & David Arquette
The trio joined forces in L.A. two weeks before Christmas, teaming with Feeding America and Para Los Ni?os to host the annual Felices Fiestas in Los Angeles to celebrate the holidays and raise awareness around the issue of hunger. They helped provide lunch and fresh produce to more than 700 children and families, distributing fresh fruit and veggies farmers’ market-style to the more than 2,000 attendees.