Sure, fame helps, but we can all raise money for a cause

By Kristen Seymour - August 19, 2008 Not everyone can make a $10,000 donation to keep an animal shelter from closing like David Spade did recently. And most of us aren't going to raise $90,000 by singing karaoke, although Gwyneth Paltrow did so to raise money for Palestinian refugee children. However, just because you can't easily put up the big numbers like these celebrities, that doesn't mean you can't take inspiration from the stars when it comes to supporting your favorite cause. Lots of celebs have gone more manageable routes to raise funds. For example, Pamela Anderson held an estate sale to help out PETA. And of course, her estate sale raised thousands more than my yard sale would -- she did sell lots of beautiful French furniture, chandeliers, and a brand new golf cart. But it's still a great idea -- if you're holding a yard sale, or selling something on E-bay, set the cash aside for your chosen charity. Or, if you can, make a commitment to match whatever your sale earns to double your giving power! How about holding a poker night with your buddies, agreeing to donate the half the pot (or all of it) to charity? Don Cheadle is taking part in Ante Up for Africa's online celebrity poker tournament, with all funds going toward the helping the victims in Darfur, Sudan. Who cares if your poker night only raises $50? Everything helps! A slightly bigger commitment you could make is spending your next vacation doing volunteer work, like Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher recently did. They headed to Guatemala to build houses for indigenous organic farmers on behalf of Habitat for Humanity. Charity work like this can easily become a family thing -- Demi and Ashton were encouraged to take this trip by Demi's daughter, Scout, who had already been there! There are tons of ways to get involved in volunteer vacations, but be sure to get references to make sure you know what to expect. At the very least, you can make a concentrated effort to shop with businesses that give back, like Glenn Close's FetchDog online dog supply store. The Charitable Gift Giving Blog is a good resource for finding out where to shop and make a difference at the same time. Photo via celebcrazy.net.