Charity Work & Causes

Selena Gomez was involved in the UR Votes Count campaign which encouraged teenagers to learn more about 2008 presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. In October 2008, she participated in St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital “Runway For Life” benefit. She is the ambassador of DoSomething.org after being involved with the charity Island Dog, which help dogs in Puerto Rico. She got involved while filming Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie in Puerto Rico.

Selena is also involved with the charity RAISE Hope For Congo, an initiative of the Enough Project, which helps raise awareness about conflict minerals and violence against Congolese women.

In 2009, she is involved in Disney’s Friends for Change, an organization which promotes “environmently-friendly behavior”, and appears in its public service announcements. Selena, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers recorded “Send It On”, a charity single with all of its proceeds to the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.

Also in 2009, Selena made a surprise visit to a Los Angeles elementary school as part of the “A Day Made Better” program that was sponsored by OfficeMax. During her visit, She gave the school an award and $1,000 worth of school supplies, and talked to students about the importance of giving back to the community.

On January 22, 2010, She participated in the Hope for Haiti Now Telethon with a number of other celebrities. In April 2012, Selena was named ambassador to the Ryan Seacrest Foundation.

UNICEF
In October 2008, Selena was named UNICEF’s spokesperson for the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign, which encouraged children to raise money on Halloween to help children around the world.

Selena was named spokesperson for UNICEF’s 2009 Trick-or-Treat campaign, for the second year in a row. She raised over $700,000 for the charity in 2008, stated that she hopes to be able to raise 1 million dollars in 2009.

Selena traveled to Ghana in West Africa where she witnessed the work UNICEF is doing to help get kids the things they need to survive and thrive—like clean water, food, education and medicine. Since becoming a UNICEF Ambassador, Selena has also lent her support to other UNICEF initiatives including the Tap Project, the UNICEF Snowflake Ball, and the ELIMINATE Project.