Kirsten Dunst: Charity Work & Causes

At the tender age of 12, Kirsten Dunst took the world by storm with her role in ‘An Interview with a Vampire’. Just months later, she appeared in ‘Little Women’ and her profile rocketed even further. It was her portrayal of Mary-Jane Watson in the Spider-man Trilogy, however, that placed her firmly in the hearts and memories of audiences everywhere. She has since filmed five major films, earning a ‘Best Actress Award’ at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Lars Von Trier’s ‘Melancholia’. Not content with smashing the silver screen, however, she has also modelled and recorded various songs, be it Jazz or Indie, for soundtracks.
Her whirlwind career hasn’t stopped her from helping causes she believes in. She was recently honoured for her work with The Art of Elysium, a charity which sends celebrities to hospitals to meet sick or dying children. Dunst, however, seems to appreciate the charity just as much as they do her, as she told journalists “I’m grateful to be allowed to be of service. It’s really lovely.”
Art of Elysium isn’t the only children’s charity Kirsten supports. She helped raise funds for Inner City Arts, a charity which has worked to restore arts education to the children in and around Los Angeles’ skid row area.
An advocate for the fight against cancer, Dunst has starred in campaigns raising funds for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. She’s also helped the fight against HIV and AIDS, supporting the BID 2 BEAT AIDS and Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Most notably, however, is Dunst’s support of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation which works to prevent pediatric HIV infection and eliminate pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention, care, and treatment programs. For years Dunst has been promoting the charity and raising funds in any way she could, designing necklaces and using her high profile to publicise the charity.
Dunst’s whirlwind work schedule may leave some of us spinning, but it is the fact that she chooses to spend what little free time she has promoting her charities that should really leave us in awe.