Eva Longoria: You don’t have to be rich to be a philanthropist

EXCLUSIVE! Eva Longoria spoke to Marie Claire online about how we can follow her lead and do more charity work

Eva Longoria may have found fame starring in Desperate Housewives but she’s since used her celebrity for incredible causes, in particular helping Latino women to build better futures for themselves via her charity, The Eva Longoria Foundation.

As the stunning activist embarks on yet another fundraising initiative by throwing The Noble Gift Gala in London this weekend, Eva took the time to encourage all of us to get involved and stresses we don’t need to be a film star or have a huge bank balance to do our bit.

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Speaking exclusively to Marie Claire online about her charity work she said: ‘One of the biggest myths is that you have to be rich to be a philanthropist, that’s not the case.

‘Most charities and foundations are run by volunteers – people may not be able to give money, but they can still give their time.’

Right now times are tougher than ever and Eva wants to ensure people remember to keep giving. She added: ‘With the world being where it is economically, it’s more important to do charity work than ever before.

‘And it’s important to be part of this fundraising initiative [The Noble Gift Gala] to make a difference to women and children around the world who need our help.’

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Eva has managed to produce a star-studded guest list for this weekend's gala event at the ME Hotel with the likes of will.i.am and Mel B attending.

‘We have a great line up of talented people who have offered their time to be with us,’ said Eva who returns to the gala for the third time. ‘We always call it a fun-raising event, we put the ‘fun’ back in fundraising.’

But at the very core of things will always be charity and Eva summed things up nicely adding: ‘What we try to do with Noble Gift Gala, is help a lot of local foundations making sure we’re doing remarkable things in the country where we’re fundraising.’

The Noble Gift Gala supports The Eva Longoria Foundation, Caudwell Children and Fight for Life charities. To purchase a ticket for the event or for more information see thenoblegiftgala.com

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