Recognize this lady? For my second Make a Difference Monday, I’m focusing on by biggest girl crush—someone I consider an incredible role model: Sophia Bush. Though an amazing actress, she is an activist at heart: smart, bold, and by no means afraid to stand up for what she believes is right.
Formerly known as Brooke Davis on “One Tree Hill,” Bush is also known for her roles in “John Tucker Must Die,” “The Hitcher,” “Stay Alive,” and “Partners,” CBS’s short-lived comedy. She’s currently filming her new show, “Chicago PD”—apparently a partner show to the popular “Chicago Fire.” Admittedly, I was/still am/always will be a huge One Tree Hill fan, and Brooke Davis is without a doubt the show’s best character (don’t try to argue with me—you’ll lose.), probably because Bush put so much of herself into the role. In high school, Brooke was the seemingly shallow but deep-down insecure and kind-hearted cheerleader trying desperately to find herself, and when she reached adulthood, she spent her time doing good in every way possible and making up to those she’d hurt in her younger years.
Real-life Sophia Bush is a lot like grown-up Brooke. Seriously, this woman is incredible. We tend to spend all of our time focused on celebs who go crazy—drugs, scandalous clothes, public reality-show relationships, etc.—which is why many may not realize the work that Bush does, or may not even know who she is. This is one woman who has used her fame for nothing but good. Several years ago, following the oil tragedy in the Gulf, Bush decided to run a half marathon to raise money for cleanup and wildlife rescue. I donated to her cause, as did hundreds of others, and she raised over $18,000. She encouraged people to donate by sending donors signed copies of OTH, tshirts, and Water Bobbles—she sent me a limited edition Sophia Bush Water Bobble and I was completely ecstatic when it came in the mail (fan girl moment). Along with that, she took the opportunity to not only work toward saving the gulf, but also to encourage people to use reusable water bottles (like the Bobbles) to prevent plastic waste from disposable bottles. Additionally, she and OTH costar Austin Nichols put together Gasoline Rainbows, an album available on iTunes, to benefit Gulf relief. Pretty cool.
But that’s not all. She has raised over $300,000 for charities through Crowdrise, and uses Twitter to spread messages of love, tolerance, and justice on a regular basis. Rather than playing in to typical celebrity gossip or self-advertisement, she writes about global and national issues—war, famine, education, AIDS, domestic violence, healthcare, equality, suicide, etc. There is no matter too big or too small; she is passionate about every one of them. Most recently, she worked frantically via social media to help find a lost dog in her neighborhood, asking people to share the dog’s picture and story as many times as possible. The dog was found the next day.
If someone disagrees with her opinion or leaves a hateful comment on her Twitter, she has no problem responding in an educated, classy, and compassionate way.
Host of the 2013 VH1 Do Something Awards, some of her chosen charities include The National Wildlife Humane Society, Global Green Gulf Relief, F Cancer, and the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Fund. For her 30th birthday last year, she asked her followers, whom she calls “Little Voices” (a play on Lady Gaga’s “Little Monsters”) to help her raise $60,000 to build a school in Guatemala through Pencils of Promise. She raised $63,000. As of today, she’s built not one, but three schools.
Finally, a graduate of USC, Bush seems to love the hashtag #SmartIsSexy, and focuses much of her energy on encouraging people to get an education and to stay informed. As she stated in a 2009 interview, “Real glamour and beauty is not just mascara, Chanel No.5 perfume, and perfect lip gloss. It’s being a role model, being beautiful on the inside, and caring more about others than you do yourself…I think if young women payed a little more attention to their teachers and a little less attention to the weekly tabloids, we’d be in a better situation.”
I could go on and on, but you can see all of her activism for yourself on her Crowdrise, Twitter, Facebook, Whosay, Instagram, etc. She’s one motivated lady and such an inspiration! Also, read more about her recent work with Give with Target here!
