3 Female musicians who have redefined philanthropy

The music business is definitely a very demanding field in show business. The constant pressure from the record company for an artist to produce records, sell merchandise and go on tours becomes very taxing after a period of time. It is also quite a widespread notion that musicians never make enough money unless they hit it big time.

It is a well-known fact that talk show host Oprah spends a large part of her billions on philanthropy and that footballer Cristiano Ronaldo donates a sufficient portion of his earnings to charity. However, owing to the immersive nature of the music business, it is not common that musicians end up pursuing philanthropy. Below is a list of female musicians who have gone against such a norm to pursue it.

1. Beyonce

In 2002, Beyonce and her band Destiny's Child endeavoured to increase awareness about HIV/AIDS. They donated 30,000 dollars along with 300 custom-designed dolls based on the band, to an AIDS Foundation retreat programme in Houston. From the very beginning of her solo performing career in 2003, she was a strong proponent for the eradication of hunger across the globe. She has taken part in concerts to provide aid every month to over 80,000 natives from South Africa. During one of her tours, she even asked attendees contribute by donating canned goods or a sum of 5 dollars to help eradicate domestic hunger in Chicago.

She has also been known to be very active in donating to help drug rehabilitation facilities. In 2008, she donated the paycheck worth 4 million dollars from an acting gig with Cadillac Records to a drug rehabilitation centre in Phoenix.

2. Shakira

The Colombian singer established the Barefoot Foot foundation which provides aid to the impoverished youth residing in Columbia and those neighbouring it. One of the several objectives of the Foundation is to continue working until all children have acquired excellence in education and every one of the promise in the Millenium Development Goals have been fulfilled. Since 1997, the Foundation has set up more than five schools and implemented adequate access to education and nutrition to more than 30,000 children and their families in Colombia.

In 2003, despite being the youngest nominee, she was branded as "Goodwill Ambassador" of UNICEF due to her constant endeavour to create awareness on education, internationally. The "Hips Don't Lie" singer has utilized her popularity to become voice for the organization ever since.

3. Whitney Houston

The singer who was affectionately nicknamed "The Voice" was responsible for many philanthropic contributions in the 90s. These include her founding a global non-profit known as the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children, which was a relief centre that was responsible for taking care of many children who were disabled due to homelessness.

The generous grants that were accumulated throughout the 90s were used by the organization to set up rehabilitation and recreational facilities for children in the United States. She also contributed 300,000 dollars for the upliftment of children in South Africa. Houston also heavily endorsed the Diabetes Fund for Children by contributing millions of dollars towards the cause.