- Content: Why This Actress Helps Families in Need: ‘As Christians, We’re Called to Mission Work’
Movieguide® Contributor
As a Christian and notable actress, Teddy Bear Award® winner Melissa Joan Hart is sharing why she feels called to give back to those in need.
“I love all kinds of community outreach on a local level and on a wider level,” Hart told World Vision in October. “…I also am the community outreach committee member for my kid’s football team. I think it’s important to serve our community and to give back because we have been so blessed. It’s important to share those blessings.”
“I’ve met a lot of different people and learned different ways of life, and it’s all fascinating to me. I feel it’s our job to take care of our neighbors,” the SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH actress said of her desire to serve others.
She believes everyone deserves basic necessities: food, water, safety and education.
“I love being a part of that, and bringing in as many people as I can to help,” she explained. “[My family’s] faith is a big part of what we do and why we want to help. As Christians, we’re called to mission work — to helping our neighbors and our fellow man.”
Part of that call to help is a desire for a “lasting change.”
“The idea of lasting change is the ultimate prayer for peace and for ending poverty. No child being hungry, no one having to die of terrible diseases because they can’t get clean water. Putting an end to all of that,” she said.
She’s seen that lasting change firsthand on her visits to Zambia.
“We have seen families develop. When we first visited Zambia, I met a family who was not part of the sponsorship program yet and you could see the poverty. You could see the malnutrition in the children”
“You could see them struggling. You could see the lack of hope in their faces. Our sponsored child’s family struggled with poverty too,” she explained.
“But now, four years later, they are thriving. They’re healthier. The smiles on their faces told us everything.”
The children could now go to school since they had bicycles. They had homes and chickens that helped them eat better and provide income.
“They had a thriving farm and water nearby. They couldn’t stop thanking us for helping them get on their feet. And it just reconfirmed my love for World Vision because I get to see the changes being made,” she said.
“My family and I have been to Zambia twice, and we’ve just seen such a difference between four years ago and now with the families that have been helped [from] sponsors,” she said. “The girls that we sponsor are now going to school, they have clean clothes, they have a house, and a bed and clean water really close by so they can go get water when they want to cook or clean.”
On Tuesday, Hart spread awareness for Feeding America.
She shared in an Instagram post: “Today is #GivingTuesday and the clock is ticking! Every $1 can help provide at least 10 meals to people facing hunger through the @FeedingAmerica nationwide network of food banks. Help make the holidays full for all…”
READ MORE: ACTRESS MELISSA JOAN HART CALLS OUT DIVISION IN BODY OF CHRIST WITH THIS VERSE
Hart is mom to three boys, Mason, 18, Braydon, 16, and Tucker, 12. She loves to involve them in her charitable work.
“I think this is so important for our boys to see the work that World Vision is doing and to see that there are parts of the world that are struggling. I want them to know we can do so much good — with our time, our energy, our money — to be able to help people in need that live far away. It’s crucial to show our kids good charitable works,” she said.
“I believe we’re called in to it, and [my husband and I] want them to learn what gifts they have that they can share. As they grow, they can be a shining light to others and that it’s so important.”
For this next year, Hart is looking forward to continuing her work and helping those in need. She also looking forward to new developments in her family and career.
“There are so many things on the horizon that I’m excited about, from work to family,” she said. “We’re getting to a new phase with our kids. We now have two new drivers in the family.”
She said earlier this year that her sons have a lot of interests that she tries to understand and encourage — like flying planes and playing sports.
“I have a son who graduated high school. My middle child is playing football. I had a new movie come out this year called THE BAD GUARDIAN on Lifetime,” she said. “I’m excited about all of that.”
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