Whether you like their music or not, you will love ‘m for their charity work.
Harry Styles, for example, gets so much involved that he is literally planning on donating a part of himself to charity. He is known for his long locks and the thought of him cutting it, sends fans all over the world in a frenzy, but there is reason he is growing his hair out: he plans on donating his hair to charity when it’s long enough. That’s dedication. Another band member that is very dedicated to charity, but doesn’t move in the public eye as much as Harry Styles does, is Louis Tomlinson.
Considered Prince Charming by many of his fans, last august Louis decided to spread his fairytale magic and held a proper Cinderella Ball. Together with Believe in Magic he set up a night that was very much as one would imagine the ball from the Disney movie would’ve been like. For one night, terminally ill children had the chance to feel like princes and princesses and live the fairytale. Louis bought the little girls princess dresses and the boys dapper suits and bought toys for all the kids to enjoy. On the night itself they held an auction, to which the other 1D members also donated stuff; the little boys and girls got to dance in the ballroom and they could get their face painted. Overall, it was a magical night. Louis was there all night, as was his bandmate Liam Payne, and that’s not surprising if you look at how personally involved they are with the people the charity is for.
An example of this involvement is found in the life of Harvey: a little boy with down syndrome and neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer. Louis met Harvey in 2014 and has since then done a lot for the boy: he’s taken the family to exclusive events as his guests; bought them various gifts and paid for a family trip to Disneyland, which he later joined them on. His latest plan for Harvey was to build a winter wonderland in the family’s garden, but sadly Harvey passed away before this could become a reality. Louis tweeted a tribute to Harvey after his death and plans on staying involved in the family’s life. Harvey’s mother spoke out about it recently: ‘When Louis suffers bad press, he goes to his mum and tells her ‘come on, let’s make someone happy today’. That’s the kind of man Louis is. He is very grounded, family oriented and he holds a very special place in my family’s hearts.’
All this good doing is also a way for One Direction to inspire their fans to do the same. They did that by setting up Action/1D (an action in late 2015, where they asked the fans to voice their wishes for the world in the future), but the fans took it upon themselves to really make a difference. Every year for the boys’ birthdays, the fans set up fundraisers to raise money for a different charity. Last February Harry Styles turned 22 and the fans set up a fundraiser for the Malala fund. They ended up raising a little more than 15.000 dollars in honor of Harry’s birthday. For the same occasion, the platform 1D Fans Give, raised a little over 22.000 dollars for Switchboard, a British LGBT+ helpline. 1D Fans Give started in 2013 and has now raised more than 104.000 dollars for charities such as Eden Dora Trust, London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard, The British Asian Fund and Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland.
The boys are now on a hiatus for at least a year. So while Instagram shows Niall Horan to be busy getting a tan on a beach in Thailand and Harry Styles is supposedly working hard on his Pilates skills in London, the fans, inspired by the boys, are keeping up the good work by continuing to raise money for charities that are close to the boys’ hearts. Apart from their own charity work, that’s an incredible impact the boys made in the last five years.
Sources:
- http://www.1dfansgive.com/
- http://www.inquisitr.com/2703917/louis-tomlinsons-fly-high-buddy-the-full-story-told-for-the-first-time/
Start your own fundraiser!
You can start your own fundraiser to raise money for a charity of your choice. One direction fans reach a great deal of people, because their strength is in numbers. Perhaps you can use your own idol as a way to raise money.