We all hear statistics — about homelessness, hunger and the plight of children in far-off nations. We may even be startled by the numbers, and react in some way. Hopefully we give. But sometimes, it’s impossible to know what statistics really mean until we see them up close, and let them touch us first-hand.
Just over a year ago, on a trip to Sierra Leone, that’s exactly what Victoria’s Secret model Selita Ebanks did.
For the first time, she came face-to-face with children in a country where one in four of them will die before age 5. She spoke with women, eye-to-eye, in a country where one in 10 die during childbirth. “If you get injured and go to the hospital, you have to bring your own gauze, syringes, medicine — because they just don’t have it,” Ebanks tells Tonic.
She was moved, and decided to act. And when she got back home, she founded the Women’s Coalition for Empowerment and Opportunities (WCEO), her own charity that’s a subsidiary of Shine On Sierra Leone.
“Shine on Sierra Leone is working with the government to help hospitals to regain their focus on healing people, and providing health care and supplies for them,” she says. “I’m really honored to be working with them and getting that out there.”
Starting this Sunday, Ebanks will be able to get that message out there like never before. The sultry supermodel will be all over America’s television sets as one of the contestants on Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice (NBC, 8 p.m. EST) — a show in which stars like her compete not for their own gain, but to raise as much money as possible for the charities they love.
“Being given the opportunity to raise money — even the fact that I was chosen to be on the show gave me such a huge platform,” says Ebanks, whose overwhelming enthusiasm and articulate nature belies the clichés of her chosen profession. “Being on the show, I didn’t want to fall into the gap of that whole celebrity catfight, malicious, drama — I really tried to remain true to myself in just being positive, knowing the main reason I was on the show was to talk about my charity. In every other scene I’ll be saying, ‘Shine On Sierra Leone!’ I was plugging away.”
“I also got a chance to meet amazing, influential people, who I had no idea were so involved in their own charities,” she tells Tonic. “They were very inspirational to me, knowing that it’s important to use your celebrity [whether] A, B, C or D — if you’ve got a soap box, you’ve got to get on there, man!”
Her fellow contestants include rocker Bret Michaels, powerhouse Sharon Osbourne, and ex-governor Rod Blagojevich. “But I really fell in love with Cyndi Lauper — she’s hilarious. She’s a really big sweetheart, and she’d do anything for her charity, for gay rights. I love to see people who are passionate about their charities. Life is so much bigger than yourself, and I love to see people who share the same desire of just giving back.”
While filming the show, Ebanks bonded with Holly Robinson Peete, whose son has autism — “Fundraising is what she does. She’s a huge philanthropist. She literally opened my eyes to a whole different world,” she says — as well as Olympic Gold Medalist, swimmer Summer Sanders. In fact, the three women are planning to team up and work together to raise money for their causes even after the show airs.
A ‘Model’ Citizen
It’s difficult to think of a more self-centered profession than modeling, which is part of the reason Ebanks doesn’t let modeling run every moment of her life.
“This industry can literally engulf you to the point where you don’t realize there are other people living in this world. You’re just so busy, and the industry keeps you in a little fishbowl,” she says. “But considering my childhood and the things I’ve seen, I’ve never really considered myself a ‘model.’ My dad said to me when I first got into modeling, ‘This is a career.’ This is a job. Nine to five, or whatever it is, might be 5 a.m. ‘til 3 the next day … but when I get home, I’m still Selita. I want to go home and cook dinner for my friends, and play Taboo, and these days I want to get on a plane and fly to Sierra Leone to speak to the First Lady about microloans and healthcare. Those things are way more interesting and gratifying to me than going to that Gucci modeling event. The parties are always going to be there, but at the end of the day I want to make sure that I’m giving back — in any way shape or form.”
Besides Shine On Sierra Leone and her own foundation, Ebanks is a big supporter of the Fresh Air Fund, and New Yorkers for Children. “That’s really near and dear to my heart, because I was once in the child services system in New York,” Ebanks reveals. “I was a foster care child, and it’s not something that kids at any age should have to go through.”
“I’m just so fortunate and so blessed to be a part of New Yorkers for Children, because they really try to empower and give opportunity to these young people — to let them know, ‘it’s not about where you came from, it’s about where your going.’”
Partially raised in the Cayman islands, and in part on Staten Island, Ebanks says that her mother always taught her and her siblings “to keep an open mind and look at everything as an opportunity.” And that’s exactly the message she shares with kids when she travels to Cayman to speak at schools, or when she’s visiting her father on Staten Island and a high schooler recognizes her and says hello on the sidewalk.
“I always take the time out to speak to them,” she says. “The way I look at it, everyone we meet is for a reason. I never want a young person to say ‘She was so negative.’ I always want to leave a young person with some sort of encouragement or a smile. Little things go a long way, especially for a young person. A smile, a high five, a pat on the back — at the end of the day, it’s all inspirational. And I try to say, ‘Hopefully you’re going down the right path.’ At the end of the day, I preach this all the time, that there’s consequences and repercussions for every one of your decisions. All you can do is try to do positive things with your life. Whatever those consequences are, you have to deal with them, but you don’t cry over spilled milk — you stay positive and you stay focused.”
And you have to give back, always. “I believe that my success derives from the fact that I do give back. I think it’s extremely important. I believe in Karma and being positive. What’s the point of me being successful if I can’t inspire someone else to be successful? I would never have thought in a million years that I would be the success that I am. To this day, seeing myself in a magazine, it still gives me butterflies. It will never get old!”
In Cayman, she regularly hands kids her business card, with her email address on it.
“And these kids email me all the time. No issue is too big or too small. Whenever they want to talk about something, I’m there,” she says. “A lot of these things the kids are going through, I have to laugh a lot: ‘Oh, this girl’s talking about me or this boy.’ But sometimes I can really sink my teeth in and say I’m gonna help you and your family.’ A lot of them can’t afford groceries, or food supplies, so I would literally fly to the Cayman Islands and drop off school supplies and food vouchers.”
It’s not something Ebanks seeks to publicize, and she would think twice before sharing those experiences on camera.
“I try to keep it private. I too was a young person and I know how embarrassing it was for me to walk into a grocery store with my colored money, these food stamps. I understand the importance of keeping it private, and don’t disclose kids’ names,” she says. “But I also want to let them know it’s not a bad thing to ask for help. You’ll never grow if you’re not asking questions. ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen to you. Someone says ‘no’?’ Honestly, I wouldn’t be a model if I listened to the word ‘no.’”
When Ebanks first thought about modeling at age 16, an agent told her — to her face — that she was too short and could never model. “And a year later,” she says, “I got scouted.”
“It’s important to hear ‘No.’ I think ‘no’ is the test to see if you really want it, if you’re going to really work for it, to be ready for it. I always tell girls that want to model that, all the time. There’s always another door that will open. The key to it, not only in modeling but in success in general, is when that door opens are you going to be ready?”
“You have to stay consistent and persistent and strive for your goals. If it’s meant to be it will happen for you,” she says.
We’ll have to watch and see if that ‘consistent and persistent’ mantra will win her the grand prize on Celebrity Apprentice — or if she’ll face the ultimate ‘no’ in the words of The Donald: “You’re Fired!”
(Don’t tell anyone, but Ebanks assures us that she was able to raise money for Shine On Sierra Leone through her appearance on the show. So we’re guessing she doesn’t get fired in episode one!)
Working for the cause, she says, “Is something I’ve become really passionate about.” And whether she manages to stay on this TV show for weeks on end, or she’s back on the runway with Victoria’s Secret, that’s a really great reason to keep watching this beauty at work.
See the full slideshow on modelinia.com
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Photos courtesy Selita Ebanks and Victoria’s Secret, Slideshow and video courtesy Modelinia.