CHARITY  (ALSO)  BEGINS  IN  SHOW  BUSINESS

[PHOTO AT LEFT - Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan: Young stars should use their status to help others]

MANILA, NOVEMBER 12, 2009 (STAR) STAR BYTES By Butch Francisco - (First of two parts)

When I did my two-part series recently to inform showbiz hopefuls what they should expect from the profession (the dangers and hazards), I got this text message from Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan, who also writes a column for this paper every Tuesday:

Hey, Butch, I thoroughly enjoyed your article today. Great eye-opener. May I also ask you to encourage the youngsters who end up in showbiz to make sure they use their fame and fortune to help improve the lives of others? There are so many ways they can do that with the success they derive from showbiz. For as long as they keep their head above their shoulders, continually grow in wisdom and with their feet firmly planted on the ground they will discover their purpose for their much-coveted role in showbiz. Best regards, Maricel Laxa-P.

Since I was already in the writing profession when Maricel burst into showbiz after a long stay in the US, I am familiar with the career direction she took. And I know that she was talking from experience with this text message she sent me.

Personal confession: I didn’t think she’d succeed in show business the first time I met her. For one, she was forever being compared to her actress mother, the beauteous Imelda Ilanan, and no one found her pretty in the beginning — maybe because of her brown hair that I loved to say then was the color of a dead rat. But she blossomed into a classic beauty herself and best of all she developed into a fine actress.

For a while, I thought her greatest achievement was that she had become a Jose Javier Reyes signature actress and reaped acting awards along the way. But with a supportive husband like Anthony Pangilinan, the public now admires her not only as an outstanding performer, but most especially as an ideal mother to her brood. She may not have turned out to be a superstar, but she is respected as an actress of note and as an exemplary mother and I think the latter is the best role she has ever done and continues to do.

Yes, Maricel is right: There are so many things celebrities can do to help improve the lives of others. In her case, I don’t know about her charities because she doesn’t talk about these (and you’re not supposed to as much as possible), but being a good example to others (and being there for others) is her greatest contribution to society.

I pondered on Maricel’s suggestion and if you think about it, there are really various ways celebrities can do to help improve the lives of others. Topmost on the list, of course is charity work.

Share your blessings with others. Do this not because everyone says that the more you give, the more you will receive (the rewards may not be on this earth, but I’m sure heaven is watching). And please try to do this without calling media attention because that can be a turn-off to a lot of people. Do your charity work quietly.

Doing charity work, however, isn’t all that simple because — young as you are — you may not know if you are giving to the right people. Here are a few pointers to go about doing charity work:

Research — It is important to research on the kind of charity work you want to get into. Look for charitable institutions that are not yet teeming with donations. I recall a shoot we did one time in an orphanage and the staff brought food for the children and they refused to eat. It turned out that all kinds of generous souls (bless them) visit the place almost daily and hold parties for the kids. When we left, there were a lot of uneaten food that went to waste. But there are a lot of institutions there that are begging for help and donations and take time to find them.

Don’t get disheartened easily — There will be a lot of disappointments along the way. Iza Calzado didn’t tell me this and she doesn’t even know I know, but there was a time when she helped a family who lived in a container van (or was it under a truck?) in Port Area and relocated them to better lodgings in Bulacan (and I think had the mother trained in some skills to be able to fend for her children).

The family did move, but after having consumed all the groceries Iza gave them, went back to Port Area where they obviously feel more comfortable, don’t have to work and just wait for dole-outs. I don’t know if Iza got burned doing charity work — I hope not — but I can understand if she did. To young celebrities still trying to find the right vehicle for them to help others, I suggest the Philippine National Red Cross because there is never hanky-panky there (that will not happen with Rosa Rosal monitoring).

Hook up with a more established foundation. Some of the reporters in GMA 7’s news and public affairs already have their own — like Kara David, for example. She knows her way around the NGOs that assist her in monitoring even those she helps in the provinces. Of course, some people she had been helping had already gypped her, but — with the help of her connections (and her journalistic nose) — she is able to unmask in time those who do not put the donations to proper use (like education for the children, for instance).

I’m sure those reporters would gladly take you under their wings and team up with them because they need funds. When the time comes you feel you are ripe enough to put up your foundation, you can start your own (although I still believe in safety in numbers). But please, don’t establish a foundation just for the sake of having one under your name. Forget about egos. Doing charity work is not a popularity contest and, shudder, not a stepping-stone to politics.

Let charity begin at home — People will not take that against you if you look after the welfare of your immediate family first. Most showbiz aspirants, after all, get into the business to help send their siblings to school and basically put food on the table. However, you also have to teach them how to stand on their own two feet when they are done with school — and make sure they finish their education. Do not make them your dependents for life (with your parents do that only when they are already old and helpless). Teach them responsibilities so that they, too, can help improve the lives of others in time.

Do little charities every day — Bring packets of biscuits in your car all the time so that when street children knock on your vehicle — expect more of them this Christmas season — you don’t have to give them money because for all you know, they may be part of a syndicate. This may seem to be just a minor gesture, but this is a good start — whether you are in showbiz or not — to help reach out to others in need.

(To be concluded)